Lu Yan halted, then turned to look behind him.
A lean young man in a brown long robe was looking at Lu Yan with a face full of pleasant surprise, as if he had run into a friend he had not seen in years.
Lu Yan frowned slightly. After searching his memories, he was certain he did not know the man before him at all.
Unexpectedly, the lean young man walked right up to Lu Yan with familiar ease and said delightedly:
"Fellow Daoist Lu, you don't remember me? I'm He Dongsheng's friend. When you bought the First Order Spell Compendium from him, I was right beside him, selling spirit medicines at my stall."
At those words, Lu Yan immediately recalled him.
Back then, when He Dongsheng had tried to trick Lu Yan into buying the Heavenly Dao Treatise, this was the young man who had pretended to expose the scam from the side while actually helping him make the sale.
To a certain extent, he could be considered a member of He Dongsheng's counterfeit goods team.
"I am He Luyuan."
"So you're Fellow Daoist He."
Lu Yan put on a faint smile at the appropriate moment and cupped his hands toward the lean young man.
He had shared a little shallow camaraderie with He Dongsheng, but with He Luyuan, he had merely met once.
The other man had set his sights on him the moment he entered the market, and had even taken the initiative to greet him afterward. There was surely something fishy about such eager hospitality offered for no reason.
Those seven rogue cultivators had been watching me from the start. They must have had some source of information. Perhaps it was He Luyuan, whom I had met once, who supplied it.
By now, Lu Yan had already linked He Luyuan with the seven rogue cultivators who had tried to rob him.
On the surface, he remained impassive, but inwardly, Lu Yan had already grown wary of He Luyuan.
"How come I haven't seen Fellow Daoist He?"
Lu Yan asked as though casually.
He wanted to know whether He Dongsheng had also taken part in this matter.
"Didn't you pass Fellow Daoist He some counterfeiting techniques before? He recently went to some mortal city to test them out. I estimate it'll be some time before he can return."
As he said this, He Luyuan's expression remained perfectly normal, as if nothing were amiss.
But Lu Yan keenly sensed that something was wrong. When they had discussed the creation of fake antiques back then, Lu Yan had deliberately used a soundproof talisman to prevent outsiders from overhearing them. That matter should have been known only to He Dongsheng and Lu Yan.
Although He Luyuan was He Dongsheng's partner, He Dongsheng should have understood that every additional person who knew about the counterfeiting meant an additional risk.
Given He Dongsheng's personality, there was no way he would have told He Luyuan the truth.
There had to be a problem here!
His mind jolted, but on the surface, Lu Yan merely put on a regretful expression and said:
"I didn't expect Fellow Daoist He to be away. I had wanted to make a deal with him."
With that, Lu Yan turned to leave.
He Luyuan's expression shifted slightly, and he hurriedly stepped in front of Lu Yan.
"Fellow Daoist He isn't here, but I can make a deal with you too, Fellow Daoist Lu."
Lu Yan halted and looked He Luyuan up and down. Although He Luyuan was likewise a member of the counterfeiting gang, he was only at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement, a full tier below He Dongsheng in cultivation.
Lu Yan shook his head. "Let's wait until Fellow Daoist He returns."
With that, Lu Yan walked around He Luyuan and continued toward the Cave Residence district.
Being looked down on by Lu Yan left He Luyuan somewhat annoyed, but he still hurried after him and said anxiously:
"Although Fellow Daoist He isn't here, I have all of his connections."
"If Fellow Daoist Lu wants any ancient texts, I can find them for you too. Here in Azure Valley Market, I, He Luyuan, still have some influence."
Lu Yan gave no response. The Cave Residence district was less than a hundred meters ahead.
Without renting a Cave Residence, one was not permitted to enter the Cave Residence district. He Luyuan was merely a Mid-Stage Qi Refinement cultivator living in a wooden hut on the outskirts of the market; he had no right to enter the district.
As the distance grew shorter and shorter, He Luyuan, driven to desperation, drew close to Lu Yan and lowered his voice:
"Fellow Daoist Lu, I have a way to obtain scriptures of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect!"
Lu Yan finally stopped.
His eyes gleamed as he looked at He Luyuan, finally realizing exactly where the problem lay.
If He Luyuan truly had ties to those rogue cultivators, then upon seeing Lu Yan return, he would inevitably realize that something had happened to the seven rogue cultivators. There was no way he would still be loitering in front of Lu Yan.
Before this, Lu Yan had only asked He Dongsheng about sects that cultivated Karma. He had never mentioned anything about scriptures of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect.
For He Luyuan to bring this up so directly practically confirmed that he knew Lu Yan needed scriptures of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect. That was absolutely abnormal.
Lu Yan immediately thought of the Storage Bag on his person.
The owner behind the Storage Bag was likely of extraordinary origin. Steward Chu had not dared to use it and could only hide it in the basement.
And Lu Yan's current cultivation was almost entirely thanks to the spirit talismans, Spirit Stones, and cultivation techniques and scriptures in the Storage Bag.
Could the force behind the Storage Bag's owner have come looking for me? But wary of the Azure Parasol Sect behind Azure Valley Market, they want He Luyuan to lure me away from the Spirit Talisman Shop before making their move?
But I have never taken out the Storage Bag in front of anyone. How did they manage to pinpoint me?
Having understood most of He Luyuan's purpose, Lu Yan instead felt considerably more at ease.
He casually circulated his magical power and set up a soundproof barrier, then said with a face full of doubt:
"The Red Lotus Demonic Sect? That's one of the Demonic Path Upper Sects. You have their scriptures?"
He Luyuan was also regretting it now. In his desperation to keep Lu Yan from leaving, he had actually brought up the Red Lotus Demonic Sect.
But with the arrow already nocked, he had no choice but to release it. He Luyuan could only force himself to continue:
"The Red Lotus Demonic Sect is different from the other Devil Dao Sects. It advocates entering the mortal world to cultivate and accumulate Karma, and is especially fond of traveling through mortal kingdoms.
"Over the past several thousand years, disciples of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect have incited wars between mortal kingdoms more than once, allowing mortals to slaughter one another solely to accumulate Karma and increase their cultivation.
"Some of them naturally succeeded, but quite a few disciples of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect also failed because of unforeseen accidents.
"After they died, the Red Lotus Demonic Sect scriptures they carried were lost to the outside world.
"The Southern Border is too far from the Red Lotus Demonic Sect, so most cultivators know nothing about this. But if one goes to the Red Lotus Demonic Sect's territory, one will learn that scriptures below the Golden Core realm are hardly a secret.
"In fact, the Red Lotus Demonic Sect deliberately releases low-level scriptures. Its purpose is to select demonic cultivator geniuses who are gifted and bear Karma."
This speech from He Luyuan made Lu Yan show a hint of interest.
"Where are the scriptures you mentioned?"
"In the hands of a cultivator from Ying Mountain Market. If Fellow Daoist Lu is willing to buy them, we can set out right now!"
Hearing this, Lu Yan cast He Luyuan a doubtful look.
"Why are you so invested in this matter, Fellow Daoist He?"
"I'm only trying to earn a little brokerage fee. After all, in the entire Azure Valley Market, you seem to be the only one interested in things from the Red Lotus Demonic Sect."
Lu Yan's gaze turned contemplative, but he still shook his head. "Although I'm very interested in those scriptures, I still have important matters to attend to. I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Fellow Daoist He."
He Luyuan immediately grew anxious. "What matter? I can wait."
"I plan to return to my Cave Residence and break through to the Mid-Stage Qi Refinement in one go. I'll need at least a month."
Hearing this, He Luyuan immediately breathed a sigh of relief and thumped his chest. "No problem! I'll have them keep the scriptures there. Once Fellow Daoist Lu emerges from seclusion, we can go buy them."
The two agreed on a month's time, and He Luyuan watched Lu Yan enter the Cave Residence district.
But he did not see that the instant Lu Yan turned around, the smile on his face vanished. Deep black mist seemed to roil within his eyes.
An investigator from the Red Lotus Demonic Sect, perhaps? Since they don't dare make a move inside Azure Valley Market, the most they can have sent is a demonic cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
One month to prepare should be enough, right?
Before you continue