Hidden Threats in the Shadows

Lu Yan paused his steps and turned to look behind him.

He saw a thin young man in a brown long robe looking at Lu Yan with a face full of pleasant surprise, as if he had met a friend he hadn't seen in years.

Lu Yan frowned slightly, searching his memory and confirming that he didn't know the person in front of him at all.

Unexpectedly, the thin young man walked up to Lu Yan very familiarly and said happily:

"Fellow Daoist Lu doesn't recognize me? I'm a friend of He Dongsheng. When you bought the First Order Spell Compendium before, I was setting up a stall next to him selling spirit herbs."

As soon as these words came out, Lu Yan immediately remembered.

At that time, He Dongsheng wanted to trick Lu Yan into buying the Heavenly Dao Treatise, and it was this young man who pretended to expose him from the side, but was actually cooperating with the promotion.

In a sense, he was a member of He Dongsheng's counterfeit team.

"My name is He Luyuan."

"So it's Fellow Daoist He."

Lu Yan appropriately showed a few smiles and cupped his hands in greeting towards the thin young man.

He had a slight acquaintance with He Dongsheng, but with He Luyuan, it was only a one-time meeting.

The other party had targeted him as soon as he entered the Market Street, and then even took the initiative to come forward and greet him. There must be something fishy about someone being so overly friendly for no reason.

Those seven rogue cultivators targeted me early on, they must have a source of information, and it might be He Luyuan, whom I only met once, who provided the information.

At this moment, Lu Yan had already linked He Luyuan with those seven plundering rogue cultivators.

On the surface, he remained calm, but inwardly, Lu Yan had already become wary of He Luyuan.

"Why haven't I seen Fellow Daoist He?"

Lu Yan asked casually.

He wanted to know if He Dongsheng was also involved in this matter.

"Didn't you pass on some counterfeiting techniques to Fellow Daoist He before? He recently went to a mortal city to experiment with the techniques and is expected to be back in a while."

When saying this, He Luyuan's expression was normal, seemingly without any abnormality.

However, Lu Yan keenly realized that something was wrong. When discussing the production of fake antiques at that time, Lu Yan had specifically used a soundproofing talisman to prevent outsiders from hearing. That matter should only be known to He Dongsheng and Lu Yan.

Although He Luyuan had a cooperative relationship with He Dongsheng, He Dongsheng should know that the more people know about counterfeiting, the more risk there is.

Given He Dongsheng's personality, it was impossible for him to tell He Luyuan the truth.

There must be a problem here!

His mind was shaken, but on the surface, Lu Yan showed a regretful expression and said:

"I didn't expect Fellow Daoist He to be away. I still wanted to do a transaction with him."

After saying that, Lu Yan turned to leave.

He Luyuan's expression changed slightly, and he quickly blocked Lu Yan's path.

"Fellow Daoist He is not here, but I can also do a transaction with Fellow Daoist Lu."

Lu Yan paused, sizing up He Luyuan. Although they were both members of the counterfeiting group, He Luyuan was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining, a notch lower in cultivation than He Dongsheng.

Lu Yan shook his head, "Let's wait until Fellow Daoist He returns before discussing this!"

With that, Lu Yan bypassed He Luyuan and continued towards the cave dwelling area.

Being looked down upon by Lu Yan made He Luyuan somewhat annoyed, but he quickly followed behind Lu Yan, speaking anxiously:

"Although Fellow Daoist He isn't here, I have all his connections."

"If Fellow Daoist Lu wants any ancient texts, I can also find them for Fellow Daoist Lu. In this Azure Valley Market, I, He Luyuan, still have some face."

Lu Yan didn't respond. The cave dwelling area was less than a hundred meters away.

Without renting a cave dwelling, one was not allowed to enter the cave dwelling area. He Luyuan was merely a Mid-Stage Qi Refinement cultivator living in a wooden house on the outskirts of the market, without the qualifications to enter the cave dwelling area.

Seeing the distance closing, in his desperation, He Luyuan leaned closer to Lu Yan and whispered:

"Fellow Daoist Lu, I have a way to get ancient texts from the Red Lotus Demonic Sect!"

Lu Yan's steps finally stopped.

He looked intently at He Luyuan, finally realizing what the problem was.

If He Luyuan truly had connections with those rogue cultivators, upon seeing him return, he would have realized that the seven rogue cultivators were in trouble and wouldn't still be loitering in front of him.

Before this, Lu Yan had only asked He Dongsheng about sects that cultivated karma, and had not mentioned anything about the Red Lotus Demonic Sect's ancient texts.

He Luyuan speaking like this almost confirmed that he had a need for the Red Lotus Demonic Sect's ancient texts, which was absolutely abnormal.

Lu Yan immediately thought of the storage bag on him.

The owner behind the storage bag was suspected to have an extraordinary background; Steward Chu didn't dare to use it and could only hide it in the basement.

And Lu Yan's current cultivation level was almost entirely dependent on the spirit talismans, spirit stones, cultivation techniques, and ancient texts in the storage bag.

Could it be that the force behind the storage bag's owner has come looking for me, but is wary of the Azure Parasol Sect behind the Azure Valley Market, and wants He Luyuan to lure me away from the Spirit Talisman Shop before making a move?

But I've never taken out the storage bag in front of anyone, so how did they pinpoint me?

Having largely figured out He Luyuan's purpose, Lu Yan felt much more at ease.

He casually circulated his mana to set up a soundproof barrier, and Lu Yan said with a face full of suspicion:

"Red Lotus Demonic Sect? That's one of the major demonic sects. You can get their ancient texts?"

He Luyuan was also somewhat regretful at this moment. In his desperation to keep Lu Yan, he had actually brought up the Red Lotus Demonic Sect.

However, with the arrow on the string, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say:

"The Red Lotus Demonic Sect is different from other demonic sects. They focus on cultivating in the mundane world and accumulating karma, and they particularly enjoy traveling through human dynasties.

Over the past few thousand years, disciples of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect have more than once instigated wars between mortal dynasties, allowing mortals to slaughter each other, solely to accumulate karma and improve their cultivation.

While there were certainly successful individuals among them, there were also some Red Lotus Demonic Sect disciples who failed due to accidents.

After their deaths, the Red Lotus Demonic Sect's ancient texts on their bodies were lost to the outside world.

Because the Southern Border region is too far from the Red Lotus Demonic Sect, most cultivators are unaware of this, but if you go to the Red Lotus Demonic Sect's territory, you'll know that the Red Lotus Demonic Sect's ancient texts below the Golden Core stage are not a secret."

Even the Red Lotus Demonic Sect is intentionally releasing low-level classics, with the purpose of selecting demonic cultivation geniuses with aptitude and karmic debt."

He Luyuan's words made Lu Yan show a look of interest.

"Where are the classics you mentioned?"

"In the hands of a cultivator in Ying Mountain Market Street. If Fellow Daoist Lu is willing to buy it, we can set off now!"

Hearing this, Lu Yan looked at He Luyuan with suspicion.

"Why is Fellow Daoist He so concerned about this matter?"

"I'm just trying to earn a little intermediary fee. After all, in the entire Azure Valley Market, it seems only Fellow Daoist Lu is interested in things from the Red Lotus Demonic Sect."

Lu Yan's eyes were thoughtful, but then he shook his head and said, "Although I am very interested in that classic, I have important matters to attend to. I'm afraid I have to decline Fellow Daoist He's kind offer."

He Luyuan immediately became anxious: "What matter? I can wait."

"I am preparing to break through to Mid-Stage Qi Refinement in my cave dwelling, which will take at least a month."

He Luyuan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and patted his chest, saying, "No problem! I'll have them keep the classic there, and you can go buy it after you come out of seclusion."

The two agreed on a month's time, and He Luyuan watched Lu Yan enter the cave dwelling area.

But he did not see that the moment Lu Yan turned around, the smile on his face suddenly disappeared, and a deep black mist seemed to fill his eyes.

A suspected pursuer from the Red Lotus Demonic Sect? Since they don't dare to act within the Azure Valley Market, at most they are a demonic cultivator in the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

A month's preparation should be enough!