Han Fei's Return

Han Fei put away all of Lu Zhong's belongings. The haul was fairly satisfying.

Most importantly, he had also obtained a mid-grade Storage Bag from Lu Zhong. It had much more space.

"There are too many things. It seems I need to deal with them first."

With that in mind, Han Fei abandoned his plan to return to Taihe Peak and headed instead to Worry-free Town at the foot of Taihe Peak.

Tian Yuan City was quite far from Taihe Peak, located at the foot of the main peak. Therefore, for the convenience of trade, there were sizable towns at the foot of each of the Tianyuan Divine Sect's Thirty-Three Peaks.

At the foot of Taihe Peak and Giant God Peak stood one such town. Its scale was fairly decent, selling all sorts of things, and anything one wanted could be found there.

If Han Fei had possessed his current wealth from the beginning, he might have been able to buy the medicinal ingredients needed to refine Spirit Gathering Pills in this town.

After taking a stroll through Worry-free Town, Han Fei indeed found the ingredients for refining Spirit Gathering Pills. However, while they had Floating Spirit Grass and Jingyuan Flowers, they did not sell Three-leaf Clover. According to the shopkeeper, Three-leaf Clover could only be found in Tian Yuan City and could not be bought in the surrounding towns.

Although the ingredients were unavailable, Spirit Gathering Pills were for sale, priced at fifty Spirit Stones each.

When Han Fei picked up a Spirit Gathering Pill, Yan Di said in the group, "I was wondering why the Spirit Gathering Pills here have side effects. So they use Floating Spirit Grass, Jingyuan Flowers, and Moxu Grass to refine them."

"Although Moxu Grass has the same effects as Three-leaf Clover, it contains toxins. It would be strange if Martial Artists suffered no side effects after taking it."

The shopkeeper smiled. "Young hero, have you taken a liking to that Spirit Gathering Pill? If you want it, I can give you a discount."

Han Fei smiled and politely declined, then took out his other herbs one by one.

"I have no use for Spirit Gathering Pills for the time being. I have some extra herbs here. Will you take them?"

The shopkeeper sorted the dozen or so herbs one by one. Only three could be used to refine second-grade pills, while the rest were cheap herbs used for refining low-grade pills.

"For all these herbs together, I can offer thirty Spirit Stones. What do you think? If not, you can ask around at other shops."

Han Fei nodded. "Thirty it is."

After collecting the Spirit Stones, Han Fei went to the blacksmith shop and sold dozens of weapons in one go.

These weapons were mostly forged from iron, with only one sword being a Treasure Artifact. It was the Dragon Roaming Sword used by Lu Zhong.

The shopkeeper asked somewhat doubtfully, "You want to sell this sword too? This is a Treasure Artifact. We may not be able to afford it here. You will have to go to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion."

Han Fei nodded. After receiving one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones, he did not hurry to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion. He first sold off all the miscellaneous items in his Storage Bag. In the end, including Lu Zhong's Treasure Artifact sword, he sold everything for nearly seven hundred Spirit Stones.

By this calculation, from the time Han Fei left Taihe Peak until his return, his total gains amounted to one thousand five hundred Spirit Stones, along with a mid-grade Storage Bag.

He had more healing medicines and Spirit Recovery Pills than he could count. Overall, he had made quite a small fortune.

After finishing his transactions, Han Fei did not leave the Treasure Gathering Pavilion. Instead, he browsed through its wares.

He wanted to find a weapon that suited him. The iron sword he currently used simply could not bring out his full strength.

The shopkeeper said, "Sir, many Tianyuan Divine Sect disciples buy their weapons from my shop. The quality is absolutely reliable. We have cheap iron-forged weapons for only a few dozen Spirit Stones. We even have high-grade Treasure Artifacts, though their prices..."

The shopkeeper knew Han Fei had just sold goods worth several hundred Spirit Stones and was not short on money, so he mainly introduced Treasure Artifacts to him.

"Low-grade Treasure Artifacts generally cost between three hundred and five hundred Spirit Stones. Mid-grade ones are more expensive, costing around one thousand Spirit Stones. As for high-grade Treasure Artifacts, our shop only has two. One is the Trident Halberd, priced at five thousand Spirit Stones. The other is the Crescent Blade, priced at four thousand five hundred Spirit Stones."

Han Fei shook his head. "Neither of those weapons suits me, and I do not have that many Spirit Stones. Do you have any mid-grade Treasure Artifact swords?"

The shopkeeper said, "Yes. We have two mid-grade Treasure Artifact longswords."

As he spoke, the shopkeeper led Han Fei to a display counter.

Han Fei saw two exquisitely beautiful longswords.

"The milky-white sword on the left is called Snow Mist. It was forged from century-old cold iron and possesses freezing attacks. Wounds cut by it are frozen by cold energy and are difficult to heal. However, only the blade itself is a Treasure Artifact; the hilt and Sword Sheath are forged from iron. They cannot quite suppress the cold energy, so it sells for only nine hundred Spirit Stones."

"The silver one on the right is called the Gale Sword. It was refined from iron found in magma. It cuts through iron like mud and carries flames of its own, reducing wind resistance. Its power and speed are both exceptionally terrifying. It is priced at one thousand two hundred Spirit Stones."

Yellow Emperor said, "Though both swords are nothing more than scrap metal to me, they are still suitable for you at present. Choose the Gale Sword. It better suits your attributes and abilities. Once we find suitable materials, I will personally forge you a sword."

Hearing Yellow Emperor's promise, Han Fei was instantly overjoyed. Yellow Emperor was an ancient master artifact forger who had once forged a weapon like the Xuanyuan Divine Sword, one that shook heaven and earth and made ghosts and gods weep. His forging ability needed no further explanation.

Since Yellow Emperor had said he would forge a sword for him, Han Fei was naturally ecstatic beyond measure.

After haggling with the shopkeeper, Han Fei finally bought the Gale Sword for one thousand one hundred Spirit Stones and directly strapped it to his back.

In Yellow Emperor's words, if one wanted to wield a sword well, one must first understand what a sword was. Spending every day with one's sword was also a way to become familiar with it.

After leaving the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, Han Fei let out a soft sigh. "I thought I was quite wealthy, but after taking a lap around the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, I realized I am truly pitifully poor."

However, Han Fei soon accepted it. The Treasure Gathering Pavilion primarily catered to the Tianyuan Divine Sect's Dark Guards and stewards. They received rewards of hundreds or even thousands of Spirit Stones for a single mission, so naturally they did not care about such a small amount.

But how many ordinary disciples could afford such things? Relying on one Spirit Stone a month? They would be lucky to save enough by graduation.

Feeling thoroughly satisfied, Han Fei headed toward Taihe Peak.

At that moment, Taihe Peak was in an uproar. Han Fei and Lu Zhong, both participants in the Thirty-Three Peaks Martial Arts Tournament, had disappeared at the same time, leaving Daoist Sanyuan, the Peak Master of Taihe Peak, frantic with worry.

As for the other missing disciples, Daoist Sanyuan did not care much. The Tianyuan Divine Sect did not restrict its disciples' movements in the first place.

When Han Fei returned to Taihe Peak, he immediately received a summons from Daoist Sanyuan.

Slightly puzzled, he nevertheless headed toward Taihe Hall.

"Master, you summoned me?"

Upon seeing Han Fei, Daoist Sanyuan revealed a faint smile. The heavy stone in his heart finally fell away.

"Where have you been these past few days? The Thirty-Three Peaks Martial Arts Tournament is imminent, yet you vanished without a trace. You truly worried your master."

Han Fei respectfully bowed. "It was precisely to prepare for the Thirty-Three Peaks Martial Arts Tournament that this disciple went down the mountain to train, hoping to fight for Taihe Peak's ranking and bring honor to Master."

Han Fei attributed all his intentions to fighting wholeheartedly for Taihe Peak, which greatly pleased Daoist Sanyuan.

"The Thirty-Three Peaks Martial Arts Tournament is the day after tomorrow. Rest well today, and tomorrow at dusk, accompany your master to the Heaven-Connecting Main Peak. This tournament will depend on you."

Han Fei accepted the order and left Taihe Hall. How could Daoist Sanyuan not know that Han Fei had obtained a fortuitous opportunity? A Martial Artist whose cultivation had jumped several levels in succession could not escape Daoist Sanyuan's notice. Yet Daoist Sanyuan wisely refrained from mentioning it. Compared to a fortuitous opportunity, Taihe Peak's standing within the Tianyuan Divine Sect was more important.

He had been suppressed for far too long. Even among the disciples of past years, some had achieved decent status within the sect, but they still could not change Taihe Peak's bottom-ranked position. He needed proof—proof that Taihe Peak could also produce geniuses, even monstrous talents.

After leaving Taihe Hall, Han Fei headed toward his Side Hall.

Yellow Emperor had already promised to teach him the Dragon Slaying Sword Art that Qi Xuanxuan had used that day.

Known as the progenitor of swordsmanship, Yellow Emperor had learned the Dragon Slaying Sword Art after watching Qi Xuanxuan use it only once. In his eyes, such swordsmanship could not have been any more basic. Yet Han Fei still treated it as something high-level, which left Yellow Emperor rather speechless.

However, when he passed Dong Jie's pavilion, Han Fei stopped.

As if possessed, Han Fei entered Dong Jie's room, but Dong Jie was not there. Only a note had been left on the table.

"If you want her to live, come to Lava Valley at midnight for a talk. If a third person learns of this, do not blame me for taking her life."

Han Fei's heart skipped a beat. A bad feeling crept over him, and boundless hatred instantly filled his heart.

His right hand clenched the note tightly in his palm. With a dark expression, he said through gritted teeth, "Whoever you are, if you dare touch even a single finger of Dong Jie, I will smash your bones and feed them to the dogs."