Secret Meeting at the Market
Not long after.
The two Communication Talisman sent out by the Qi Training Late Stage Refining cultivator guarding the entrance and exit of Cloudwater Market Town flew into the hands of the shopkeepers of the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall and the Hundred Spirits Grocery Store, which Ling Pengyun had just visited.
Sun Yuan, the manager of the second floor of the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall, looked at the Communication Talisman in his hand with a greedy and fiery expression, muttering to himself.
"If I can inform Martial Uncle Lin about this person and have him killed, I will definitely get a large sum of Spirit Stone. With these Spirit Stone, I can then gather enough to buy a hundred-year-old Azure Essence Fruit Spirit Stone gentle spiritual energy and the effect of breakthrough."
"With this fruit by my side, I will surely be able to reach the Qi Training Completion. At that time, with my cultivation complete, I can also try my hand at Foundation Establishment."
"Who knows..."
As for the manager of Hundred Spirits Grocery Store who also received the message, when he saw the contents of the Communication Talisman, his expression was the same as that of Sun Yuan, the manager of the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall, both with greedy looks on their faces, but their thoughts were different.
Without much hesitation, the two left their shop as quickly as possible and went to the gate of a large courtyard deep in the market. They knocked on the gate together.
A few breaths later, the courtyard gate was opened by a middle-aged man dressed in the robes of the Hundred Spirits Sect steward.
This middle-aged man was named Lin Lan. His cultivation level was as high as the mid-Foundation Middle-Stage Foundation Establishment. He was not only a steward of the Hundred Spirits Sect, but also one of the Marketplace Lord of the Cloudwater Market Town.
There were originally two Hundred Spirits Sect Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Bailing Sect stationed in Cloudwater Market Town. However, the other Hundred Spirits Sect Foundation Establishment deacon from the Hundred Spirits Sect was transferred to the front lines to participate in the battle due to the sect's recent demon-slaying campaign.
Lin Lan noticed that the two managers of the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall and the General Store only came to report on their respective businesses and reconcile accounts once a year at the end of the year. However, they suddenly arrived now, and their expressions were also strange. This unusual behavior made Lin Lan's expression light up.
After bringing the two managers who had come this time into the courtyard, Lin Lan asked with a slightly excited expression.
"But is there another easy target?"
After the departure of the other Foundation Establishment Cultivator stationed in Cloudwater Market Town, Lin Lan, who appeared to be a respectable Foundation Establishment Cultivator in charge of a market, began to have wicked thoughts because he was eager to break through to the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment and needed a lot of resources for cultivation.
In order to obtain more Spirit Stone, he had made an agreement a year ago with the managers of several shops owned by the Hundred Spirits Sect in this market, as well as the Hundred Spirits Sect disciple guarding the market entrance, to have these people act as informants to find easy targets.
Once the target is identified, Lin Lan, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, will take action.
After the deal is done, the profits will be split 30/70: the person who finds the fat sheep gets 30%, and Lin Lan gets 70%.
It was precisely because the Hundred Spirits Sect disciples who were in charge of managing and guarding the entrances and exits of the market did not need to take action themselves that those people Lin Lan's ambush plan.
Although the plan only lasted for about a year, the benefits received by everyone were considerable.
Lin Lan, who took the lion's share, earned one or two thousand Spirit Stone in just one year through this scheme.
"I've inquired about it. That young cultivator spent six or seven hundred Spirit Stone on the first floor of my Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall alone, and also purchased a Flying Magical Item on the second floor of the Hundred Spirits Pavilion that I manage."
"Furthermore, as far as I know, after that cultivator left the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall, he asked someone to help him purchase a large quantity of refining materials and fruits from various shops in the market within a short period of time, spending nearly two thousand Spirit Stone." Sun Primordial Spirit, the second-level manager of the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall, said with a fiery expression.
"That's right, I can testify to this. I also learned about this through various channels. Moreover, that young cultivator spent a full five hundred Spirit Stone at my general store to buy two jars of fifty-year-old Rice Flower Brew and ten First-Tier Superior-Grade Spirit Talisman Cave," the manager of Hundred Spirits Grocery Store chimed in.
After listening to what the three managers had to say, Lin Lan's eyes gleamed even brighter.
"Spending two thousand Spirit Stone in such a short time is indeed extravagant, especially for a young cultivator. He's most likely from one of those Foundation Establishment clans. Have you investigated his background thoroughly?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Yuan of the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall Wu Hai the Hundred Spirits Tavern immediately froze.
Seeing the expressions on Lin Lan guessed what was going on and asked in a deep voice, "Is that person someone of extraordinary background?"
Neither of the two managers wanted to say anything; they just kept their heads down.
Seeing this, Lin Lan's eyes flashed with anger. When she recruited these two people, she had already agreed to find out the truth about this easy target.
If the target is Foundation Establishment clan or someone with powerful backing, they should be ignored. Only Rogue Cultivator can take action to kill them.
After all, even if the Rogue Cultivator died, no one would avenge them.
Furthermore, even if word of the ambush spreads, Lin Lan can claim that those Rogue Cultivator were Evil Cultivator to exonerate herself.
"Sun Yuan, what are you saying?" Lin Lan said.
Of the two managers, Sun Yuan, the older manager of the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall, heard the call, raised his head, and looked at Lin Lan's slightly angry gaze. He felt a chill run down his spine.
Under pressure from Lin Lan, who was Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Sun Yuan could only stammer and say.
"Reporting to Martial Uncle Lin, that young man has a close relationship with Ling Xiaohua and his wife from Lingxiao Grocery Store. The people who helped him purchase spiritual items in the market were none other than Ling Xiaohua and his wife. According to inquiries, the young man should be Ling Pengyun, a descendant of Ling Xiaohua and his wife who run Lingxiao Grocery Store."
Lin Lan had some impression of "Lingxiao Grocery Store". After thinking for a while, he remembered where he had heard of it before and asked.
"The Ling Xiaohua couple? Are you referring to the Ling Xiaohua couple who were involved with Wu Yan's Junior Brother Wu's partner, Yang Si?"
"That's right," replied the old steward, Sun Yuan.
Upon hearing the reply, Lin Lan's face immediately contorted with rage as she roared, "This person is related to Junior Brother Wu Yan, a descendant of the Golden Core cultivator! You still dare to covet him? Don't you want to live?"
"Or are you trying to frame me?"
"Have you two forgotten the rules we set out in the first place? If someone has an extraordinary background, no matter how wealthy they are, they must be ignored?"
Upon hearing this question, Sun Yuan, the manager of the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall, Wu Hai, the manager of Hundred Spirits Grocery Store, both changed their expressions drastically.
However, Sun Yuan was not willing to give up on Ling Pengyun, that big fat sheep, and spoke again.
"Martial Uncle Lin, you're exaggerating. That kid spent over two thousand Spirit Stone on spiritual items in just a few hours. His wealth is probably not small. If we can kill him, the harvest will be all the small gains we've made in the past year."
Lin Lan understood this principle as well, and was somewhat tempted by the idea of intercepting Ling Pengyun, but the consequences would be far too great.
He had heard that Ling Xiaohua's wife, Yang Qiuyun, and the father of Wu Yan, the descendant of the Golden Core cultivator, were siblings.
Given this relationship, if Ling Pengyun were killed, he would inevitably face repercussions from Wu Yan, Golden Core cultivator with Tong Tian within the Hundred Spirits Sect.
Thinking this way, even if Ling Pengyun was very wealthy, he couldn't muster any interest. Instead, he felt uneasy and broke out in a cold sweat.
"Enough, get out!"
After Lin Lan shouted angrily, his face turned gloomy, and his Foundation Establishment burst forth from his body, directly pressing down on the two managers Sun Yuan and Wu Hai.
Sun Yuan and Wu Hai, the two managers, were already struggling to breathe under Lin Lan's powerful Foundation Establishment pressure. After being threatened, they both broke out in a cold sweat.
Lin Lan only withdrew her Foundation Establishment aura after Sun Yuan and Wu Hai begged for mercy.
With the pressure from the Foundation Establishment gone, Sun Yuan and his companion felt a sudden relief. They dared not linger, and as for the matter of intercepting Ling Pengyun, they dared not mention it again, and hurriedly left.
Lin Lan watched Sun Yuan and the other man leave, a murderous intent flashing in her eyes.
"Many disciples of the Hundred Spirits Sect participated in my organization's ambush, and those people must have found out that Ling Pengyun was a fat sheep. However, only these two ignored the rules I set back then. This shows that these two have ulterior motives and should not be allowed to stay for long."
"There's no guarantee that if things come to light later, these two dishonest people will affect my future promotion."
"If it weren't for the fact that the market's City Protection Array has the ability to retain images, I wouldn't be able to delete them even if I had the array plate. Otherwise, I would definitely have kept those two here today."
The position of steward is only the lowest in the Hundred Spirits Sect. Above the stewards are the elders of the various Hundred Arts Hall, and above the elders are the deputy Hall Master.
As for the positions of Hall Master and Sect Master, they have nothing to do with ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator of the Hundred Spirits Sect. Hall Master must be at least Foundation Establishment Completion cultivators to compete for, and Sect Masters must be the number one person in the sect.
Even the elders of the various Hundred Arts Hall can still make a lot of money.
As for the effect of leaving a shadow within the market's City Protection Array, it is the effect of the Image Recording Restriction. This restriction is precisely to facilitate the investigation and accountability if anyone fights or even kills someone within the market.