From the very beginning, Lu Yan had never considered honestly letting the Azure Parasol Sect disciples inspect his Storage Bag.
At most, the other cultivators carried a few Demonic Path Magical Artifacts or practiced some Demonic Path Secret Techniques. At worst, they had a Refined Corpse in their Storage Bag.
Strictly speaking, these people would not pass the inspection, but they had little to do with the Demonic Path.
But once the things in Lu Yan's Storage Bag were exposed, it would probably no longer be a matter of being a Demonic Path Cultivator. He would become a Rising Demonic Star, an Innate Demonic Seed!
Lu Yan knew very well that once the contents of his Storage Bag were exposed, Xie Yun would definitely attack him.
Rather than passively take a beating, it was better to kill everyone present and seal off the news just before the inspection.
Before eight hundred vengeful ghosts, cultivators below Foundation Establishment had no room to resist. The only person Lu Yan truly feared was Xie Yun.
Both Xie Yun and Cheng Yu were in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage. They were disciples of major sects, and Xie Yun's methods would not be perfectly countered by Lu Yan the way Cheng Yu's had been. He would certainly be much more troublesome than Cheng Yu.
More importantly, Xie Yun was in the air. If the Hundred Soul Banner failed to trap him immediately after being unfurled, then with a Foundation Establishment cultivator's speed while flying on a sword, Lu Yan would have no chance of catching him.
If he could not kill Xie Yun, then Lu Yan's plan to silence everyone and seal off the news would be impossible. At that point, there would still be an endless stream of Righteous Sect cultivators hunting him down.
One had to know that different world versions contained Information Mapping!
Once Lu Yan was hunted by Righteous Sects in the xianxia world, Information Mapping would turn it into a hunt by the City Council Federation Officials in the Urban Version, a hunt by the Survivor Gathering Places in the Apocalypse Version, and a hunt by the True God Church in the Mysterious Version.
At the thought of such a scene, Lu Yan could not help shivering inwardly.
Even if he believed his strength was formidable and that he had plenty of cross-version methods, he still could not withstand every Righteous organization across all the different world versions.
Unless Lu Yan could survive for three months and select the Urban Version in the next Version Update, killing all the Righteous experts, directly silencing everyone was the worst possible choice.
As the Rogue Cultivators gradually passed the inspection, fewer and fewer cultivators remained at the scene.
Most of the Rogue Cultivators left Azure Valley Market without looking back the moment they passed, afraid of running into similar trouble again.
Seeing this, the curve of Xie Yun's lips grew even more pronounced.
When it came to the struggle for the Direct Disciple position, the upper echelons of the sect were not fools.
Simply pinning the blame for indulging Demonic Path Cultivators on someone was useful, but it could not play a decisive role. Unless he could truly catch a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator from a Demonic Path Upper Sect in Azure Valley Market, or a Heavenly Pride Demonic Cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage.
But making these Rogue Cultivators feel threatened and damaging Azure Valley Market's reputation would cause the entire cultivation market to decline.
If two markets under a dignified Direct Disciple's command could not even be protected, it would inevitably cause an uproar within the sect. At that point, the Direct Disciple behind him could propose to the Council of Elders that Jade Polishing Fairy be stripped of her Direct Disciple position.
If this had happened three years ago, then even if Jade Polishing Fairy had not had a single market under her command, no one would have dared make such a proposal.
But now, most of Jade Polishing Fairy's talent and potential had been exhausted. Advancing to the Golden Core in the future would be exceedingly difficult, and there would definitely be people willing to lend a hand and free up the sect's Direct Disciple position.
With this achievement under his belt, he might even have hope of becoming a Personal Disciple in the future!
At the thought of this, Xie Yun's heart burned with excitement.
Just then, a cultivator in the crowd below suddenly moved.
The other party looked quite young. At such an age, with a cultivation base at the fourth level of Qi Refinement, he was already considered fairly impressive among Rogue Cultivators.
This young man was none other than Lu Yan, who had already made up his mind.
Walking beneath Xie Yun, Lu Yan cupped his hands toward Xie Yun in midair and said:
"I would like to personally hand my Storage Bag to Senior Brother Xie for inspection."
"Senior Brother?" Xie Yun narrowed his eyes slightly and looked down at Lu Yan with an unfriendly gaze.
What qualifications did a mere Rogue Cultivator have to call him Senior Brother?
Displeasure rose in his heart. Xie Yun was just about to rebuke him when he heard Lu Yan say:
"The things in the Storage Bag are related to Senior Sister Ji."
Xie Yun's heart immediately tightened.
At this juncture, there was only one person Xie Yun could think of who might be called Senior Sister Ji: Ji Xingyao, who was known as Jade Polishing Fairy.
But even within the sect, few people knew Ji Xingyao's name, let alone a mere Rogue Cultivator.
Taking the matter more seriously, Xie Yun slowly descended to the ground. He looked down at the Mid-Stage Qi Refinement Rogue Cultivator before him as an intangible Foundation Establishment pressure quietly spread outward.
Facing Xie Yun's pressure, Lu Yan merely smiled calmly. The Profound Yellow Merit Fire remained within his body, held back but ready, and easily dispersed the Foundation Establishment pressure.
Such an effortless action immediately made Xie Yun take him more seriously.
"What is it?"
Lu Yan did not speak. He simply took a blue Storage Bag from his robes and tossed it to Xie Yun.
With one glance, Xie Yun could tell that Lu Yan had other Storage Bags on him. But at this moment, he had no mind to bother with them. Instead, he focused his attention on the Storage Bag.
His spiritual sense entered the Storage Bag. Xie Yun's pupils suddenly contracted, and the hand holding the bag trembled slightly.
Inside the Storage Bag was a Spirit Marrow Ore half a man's height!
With Xie Yun's discerning eye, he could naturally tell that this Spirit Marrow Ore was of extremely high grade. It could truly be called a strategic-level resource.
Amid his shock, Xie Yun failed to notice that the look Lu Yan directed at him from the side had already changed in the slightest, almost imperceptible way.
Lu Yan's original intention had been to borrow Ji Xingyao's name and muddle through the matter. Naturally, the best outcome would be for both sides to remain at peace.
But if Xie Yun refused to cooperate, then at such close range, it would also be the perfect time to use the Hundred Soul Banner and prevent Xie Yun from escaping.
Coming back to himself from the shock of seeing the Spirit Marrow Ore, Xie Yun waved his hand and set up a soundproof restriction. His voice was slightly hoarse as he asked:
"Where did this thing come from?"
Lu Yan merely shook his head. "That is not something Senior Brother Xie should know."
A hint of viciousness entered Xie Yun's eyes. "You don't know that the person behind me is hostile to Senior Sister Ji?
"Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you here, pocket this item, and then brand you as a Demonic Path Cultivator?"
Lu Yan chuckled softly, a trace of pity appearing in his eyes.
"Senior Brother Xie, there is an old saying in my hometown: If the job is only worth a few hundred Spirit Stones, why are you risking your life over it?"
"The person behind you wants to compete for Senior Sister Ji's position, so he sent you to Azure Valley Market to damage its reputation. Although this matter is beneath notice, it is still within the sect's rules, and Senior Sister Ji cannot do much to you.
"But you should understand the value of this thing in the Storage Bag.
"To tell you the truth, this treasure concerns Senior Sister Ji's Dao Path.
"If she loses the Direct Disciple position, Senior Sister Ji can still continue cultivating. But if her Dao Path is severed, what do you think she will do?"
Although Ji Xingyao had lost most of her potential, she was still a Foundation Establishment Peak Great Cultivator. Her combat strength was unrivaled among the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Azure Parasol Sect.
The only reason they could make these petty moves was that Ji Xingyao was constrained by the sect's rules.
Once Ji Xingyao's Dao Path was severed, given her temperament, she would certainly rise up in resistance and kill everyone who had interfered.
Xie Yun was only in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage. If Ji Xingyao developed murderous intent, killing him would be nothing more than a single sword strike.
At the thought of that terrifying scene, Xie Yun shuddered. Almost subconsciously, he extended the Storage Bag in his hand toward Lu Yan.
But then Xie Yun's movement suddenly stopped. He narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Lu Yan. "You say this treasure belongs to Senior Sister Ji. What evidence do you have to prove your relationship with Senior Sister Ji?"
Lu Yan raised his brows slightly and reached his right hand into the front of his robes. For some reason, the moment he saw Lu Yan make this movement, Xie Yun felt a sudden unease in his heart.
When Lu Yan withdrew his right hand, he was already holding a photograph.
Xie Yun did not know what a photograph was, but he could clearly see that it depicted a woman wearing strange clothing.
Unlike the current style of the cultivation world, the woman's skirt barely reached her thighs, while the clothes on her upper body outlined graceful curves. The degree of exposure was almost on par with the seductive witches of the Joyous Union Sect.
Looking closely at her features, the woman was actually identical to Ji Xingyao.
"This..."
Xie Yun was utterly shaken. Who would have thought that the lofty Jade Polishing Fairy would privately wear such improper clothes?
Xie Yun was just about to take a few more looks with a critical eye, but Lu Yan casually tucked the photograph back into his robes.
"Senior Brother Xie, what do you think?"
Xie Yun's gaze returned to Lu Yan. In his eyes were five parts astonishment, four parts admiration, and one part barely perceptible envy.
"I never thought she would like someone like you..."
Shaking his head with a sigh, Xie Yun tossed the Storage Bag back to Lu Yan and waved his hand to dispel the restriction.
"Leave!"
Lu Yan took back the Storage Bag, turned around, and strode into Azure Valley Market.
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