He Wasn't Even Human

That afternoon, Ye Tianhe brought over the Minor Spirit Gathering Array.

The Minor Spirit Gathering Array was actually a circular jade plate about a meter in diameter, with nine slots along its edge.

When cultivating, one only needed to place nine spirit stones into the slots, and the Minor Spirit Gathering Array would activate.

Su Fan placed the Minor Spirit Gathering Array in the Cultivation Room, set the meditation mat on top of it, then took out nine spirit stones and inserted them into the slots.

Sitting cross-legged on the mat, he began cultivating the Primordial Chaos Technique.

Time passed unnoticed. After circulating his cultivation power through nine cycles, Su Fan slowly opened his eyes.

This felt amazing.

It was his first time using the Minor Spirit Gathering Array, and the sensation was simply indescribable.

Dense spiritual energy surged toward him, making Su Fan feel as if he had taken some kind of drug. It was as though every cell in his body was cheering and leaping for joy.

His cultivation speed had also increased considerably—at least twofold, by his estimate.

This was true cultivation.

No wonder the Cultivation World emphasized wealth, techniques, companions, and land. The immortal sects occupied lands with Spirit Veins, so it went without saying how fast their disciples cultivated.

As for the many Rogue Cultivators, they could only cultivate at the edges of the Spirit Veins, relying on the tiny amount of spiritual energy that spilled out from the immortal sects' Spirit Veins. The difference between them was simply the gap between clouds and mud.

Su Fan was so excited he could barely contain himself.

With this Minor Spirit Gathering Array, reaching the Late Qi Refining stage was just around the corner. Even the Foundation Establishment Realm was not impossible.

Just as he was about to stand up, he suddenly froze.

He picked up a spirit stone from one of the slots along the edge of the Minor Spirit Gathering Array and was instantly dumbfounded.

The spirit stone in his hand had completely lost its spiritual nature. It was no different from an ordinary rock.

Su Fan slapped his forehead in vexation. Old Ye had tricked him again.

Cultivating with the Minor Spirit Gathering Array was indeed faster, but each session consumed nine spirit stones. Who the hell could afford that?

Cultivating twice a day required eighteen spirit stones.

Over the course of a year, that would consume more than six thousand spirit stones.

The few spirit stones he had on hand would not even last half a year under the Minor Spirit Gathering Array's ravages.

Actually, this could not be blamed on Ye Tianhe. As an elite disciple of a sword sect, when had he ever lacked spirit stones?

In his eyes, perhaps a few thousand spirit stones were merely pocket change—nothing worth mentioning.

Su Fan sighed. It really did feel amazing.

Too bad he could not afford to play this way.

Forget it. He would better use this thing sparingly from now on.

That evening, Su Fan cultivated the Primordial Chaos Art once again.

Before long, he stopped.

After experiencing the abundant spiritual energy provided by the Minor Spirit Gathering Array, making him cultivate as he had before left him as miserable as if weeds had sprouted in his heart.

There was simply no comparison.

Su Fan thought for a moment, then took out the Minor Spirit Gathering Array again and inserted the spirit stones.

The spiritual energy around him once again danced with excitement as it swarmed toward him.

After circulating his cultivation power through nine cycles, Su Fan opened his eyes and let out a long sigh.

Old Ye, you tricked me again!

He really wasn't even human.

Although his heart ached over the spirit stones, his cultivation speed had increased by so much that he had to grit his teeth and keep going.

They're just spirit stones. Once I use them up, I'll earn more.

The next day, Su Fan came to the market under another identity.

He found a shop and sold off part of the cultivation resources he had seized from the Qiankun Society.

There was too much of it, so it would take a long time to get rid of everything.

At noon, Su Fan arrived at the open-air stall market.

As soon as he set up his stall, someone came over to collect the fee. They only asked for thirty Magic Coins, and their attitude was quite good.

After chatting with the stall owner beside him, he learned that after the Qiankun Society's destruction, the market had been taken over by Taihe Hall.

Compared with the Qiankun Society's domineering and tyrannical ways, the people from Taihe Hall were relatively reasonable.

After all, the arrogant and overbearing Qiankun Society had just been slaughtered to the last man by some mysterious expert.

The newly arrived Taihe Hall naturally had some reservations.

Although the prices of talismans in the market had dropped considerably, they were still higher than before.

Su Fan stopped pretending and directly covered his stall with all kinds of talismans—nearly a hundred of them.

There were several hundred mid-grade talismans he had originally acquired, his own stock, and those he had seized from the Qiankun Society this time.

Added together, he had nearly a thousand talismans.

Su Fan thought for a moment, then took two low-grade spiritual artifacts from his Storage Bag and placed them on the stall.

Unexpectedly, someone asked the price as soon as he put them down.

Since they had been seized loot anyway, he gave the buyer a fair price. The other party bought one without even haggling much.

Su Fan immediately perked up and took out several low-grade magical artifacts, placing them on the stall.

Not only that, but he also brought out a pile of pills he had no use for, various spirit herbs, refining materials, and even several magical swords.

Once he had arranged the stall, he looked over the various goods and found it dazzlingly full.

The several stall owners beside him were green with envy.

One of them finally could not hold back and came over to ask, "Old Fan, where did you get all this stuff?"

"They were all left here by other people for me to sell..."

The nearby stall owners curled their lips. It was obvious they did not believe him.

You're just some lousy talisman seller. Who would leave their goods with you on consignment?

Everyone secretly speculated that Fan Talisman Master had teamed up with Rogue Cultivators who had turned to banditry and was helping them sell stolen goods.

The items on his stall were so miscellaneous that their dubious origins were obvious at a glance.

Yet no one said anything, and they had even become much more polite than before.

Su Fan had no time to care what they thought. They could think whatever they wanted. At that moment, his eyes contained nothing but spirit stones.

There was no helping it—the Minor Spirit Gathering Array burned through spirit stones too quickly.

On top of that, he needed pills, which would also cost no small amount over the course of a year.

His leisurely days from before were gone forever.

But if he gave up the Minor Spirit Gathering Array, he truly could not do it.

The Cultivation World was dangerous. Without strength, he did not even have the qualifications to lie flat.

He might as well keep a low profile.

Starting today, he would work hard to earn spirit stones and strive to break through to the Late Qi Refining stage as soon as possible.

The goods on Su Fan's stall were incredibly diverse. There were dozens of kinds of talismans alone, and the prices were extremely fair.

Once people came to his stall, they no longer needed to browse much elsewhere.

He was kept busy until evening before things finally settled down.

But the harvest was substantial. He earned a little over a thousand spirit stones.

Since the magical artifacts, pills, and such had cost him nothing, every spirit stone from their sale was pure profit.

Su Fan regretted it. Why had he sold those things to the shops? He could have gotten considerably more by selling them at his stall.

In any case, he was not short of goods. The cultivation resources he had seized from the Qiankun Society alone were enough to keep him selling for quite some time.

In the past, if he had earned so many spirit stones, Rogue Cultivators who had turned to banditry would have set their sights on him long ago.

But ever since the Qingxuan Sect had stationed itself in Shaoyang Market, this place had already changed beyond recognition.

Not only had the market flourished, but its security was far better than before—at the very least, the area around the market was safe.

The daily flow of spirit stones through the open-air stall market alone was a considerable sum.

Even the former bandit cultivators of the market had washed their hands of their old ways and come ashore, becoming organized criminal syndicates.

To be honest, collecting protection fees was much faster than robbing people.

Over the next few days, Su Fan went to the open-air stall market at noon and did not return until evening.

As more than twenty magical artifacts and dozens of bottles of pills gradually sold out, his turnover began to plummet. In truth, this was the stall's normal level.

The remaining items, such as talismans, spirit herbs, and Spiritual Materials, were not nearly as quick to sell.

Thanks to the monthly tickets from the great master suxiankun, and thanks to suxiankun, Dao One True God, I'm Your Sis, Xingyue Tongying, and all the great masters for your recommendation tickets. Old Bu is deeply grateful. Thank you all for your affection and support.