The Old Man

"Bro, you're finally back. What took you so long?" Chen Fan had barely reached the front door when Chen Jingjing came out to meet him. She was dressed and ready, as if she'd been about to go looking for him.

"I might not be able to get the inheritance for a while," Chen Fan said calmly.

"Did something happen?" Chen Jingjing asked, as if she'd guessed.

"I've already killed Elder Li. The inheritance is with the Demon Sect, but I'll get it back soon," Chen Fan said casually, as though he were talking about some everyday matter.

"What? You..." Chen Jingjing's eyes widened. Last night, Chen Fan had only told her to go home and rest, saying he'd handle the inheritance alone. She hadn't expected him to go kill someone.

"He was in cahoots with the Demon Sect. You might be in danger, so I'll teach you some talisman-making over the next few days. If you want to learn the sword, I can teach you that too," Chen Fan said indifferently.

Chen Jingjing shook her head and pressed her lips together. "I want to learn the Dao. Father was a Dao Cultivator, and he always hoped we'd become Dao Cultivators too."

"Fine. I'll teach you talisman-making first, then." Chen Fan nodded. He knew that anyone with a spiritual root and talent could practice the Dao, but the requirements for sword cultivation were much harsher. To go far on the Sword Immortal Path, one needed a heart devoted to the sword.

Then Chen Fan paused, as if remembering something, and said, "Call Rumeng over too. And pack some clothes to change into. I need to make preparations as well."

"Pack clothes? Are we going far away?" Chen Jingjing asked in surprise. This was rather sudden.

"The spiritual energy in Demon King Valley is denser than out here, and the Demon Sect won't disturb us," Chen Fan said calmly. Truthfully, he wasn't concerned about the Demon Sect. It was Immortal Sect he was worried about. If they sent a few Foundation Establishment cultivators to assassinate him, he might not be able to keep Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng safe.

"But Demon King Valley..." Chen Jingjing trailed off. Compared to Demon King Valley, her brother made her feel much more secure now. With him around, it seemed she had nothing to fear.

"Okay, I'll go find Rumeng!" Having made up her mind, Chen Jingjing broke into a happy smile and took off toward Zhang Rumeng's house.

Chen Fan pressed his lips together slightly, turned, and went inside, heading for his room.

He didn't waste any time. Closing his eyes, he stirred his Divine Sense and instantly entered the Heavenly Court.

The Heavenly Court avatar's eyelids twitched, then opened. The familiar medicinal fields lay before him. The Green-feathered Bird had, for once, failed to appear, and Chen Fan couldn't be bothered to wake it. He silently recited an Incantation, flickered, and appeared outside the Heavenly Court Hall.

Chen Fan walked toward the Heavenly Court Hall, standing outside the main hall and scanning back and forth as though searching for someone in a crowd. The next moment, a dry, shriveled hand suddenly came to rest on his shoulder.

"You looking for me?" a familiar voice asked.

Chen Fan's heart jolted. He turned and stepped back, looking at the grinning old man with his mouthful of yellow teeth. His gaze sharpened.

This old man was no ordinary fellow!

He'd approached soundlessly, without Chen Fan noticing him at all.

"Have you concealed your cultivation?" Chen Fan asked with a frown. Judging by the old man's aura, he didn't seem like an ordinary Qi Refining Layer 5 cultivator.

"Concealed my ass. Cut the crap. Did you bring the Three Flowers Gathering at Crown Talisman?" the old man said with a grin.

"Five." Chen Fan pulled a pile of yellow talismans from his robes. He'd drawn them after clearing the Second Layer Heavenly Court.

A glint flashed in the old man's eyes. He took the yellow talismans and stuffed them into his pouch without even looking at them.

"Do you know where I can exchange for Spirit Stones around here?" Chen Fan asked.

"Spirit Stones? What do you need them for? With your meridians this resilient and your physique this strong, you can refine Demon Cores," the old man said with another flash of yellow teeth.

Chen Fan was startled again and couldn't help taking a closer look at the old man. The old man had to be at a formidable level in the Earth Cultivation World; otherwise, he wouldn't have such keen insight. He could tell just by looking that Chen Fan's meridians were unusually strong. But Chen Fan didn't ask any questions. He only shook his head and said quietly, "I have my reasons."

The old man eyed Chen Fan suspiciously a few times, then took a Spirit Stone from his tattered little bag and smiled at him. "I deal in Spirit Stones too. Here in the Heavenly Court, one Low-Grade Spirit Stone is worth one Qi Refining Eighth Layer Demon Core. That's the market price."

Chen Fan was taken aback. That was cheaper than he'd imagined. A Low-Grade Spirit Stone contained about as much spiritual energy as a Qi Refining Seventh Layer Demon Core, but the energy in a Spirit Stone was gentle, unlike the violent energy in a Demon Core.

But if this were the Earth Cultivation World, even a Qi Refining Ninth Layer Demon Core probably wouldn't fetch a single Low-Grade Spirit Stone. Spirit Stones and high-grade spiritual herbs were often impossible to find at any price.

Though the Earth Cultivation World's legacy had endured for centuries since the Age of Dharma Decline, a few hundred years was nothing on the long road of cultivation. Truly old spiritual herbs and Spirit Stones had yet to grow there, so even a single Low-Grade Spirit Stone was exceedingly rare in the Earth Cultivation World.

The Heavenly Court was different. It was a cultivation paradise rich in resources, a place the master of the Immortal Palace had personally founded and once lived in. Naturally, it couldn't be lacking. Low-Grade Spirit Stones weren't valuable enough to catch the attention of most cultivators; exchanging one for a Qi Refining Eighth Layer Demon Core seemed like a bargain. But now that the old man had named that price, Chen Fan found himself suspicious.

"One Qi Refining Eighth Layer Demon Core for two Spirit Stones," Chen Fan said, shaking his head.

The old man's eyes narrowed, and he grinned. "Young man, are you trying to swindle an old man?"

"I'm telling you the market price," Chen Fan said coolly.

"Bullshit! You don't even know where the Lingxiao City Market is, so what the hell do you know about market prices?" the old man cursed. Inwardly, he marveled at how sharp the kid was. One Qi Refining Eighth Layer Demon Core really was worth two Spirit Stones, because cultivation advanced far more easily in the Heavenly Court than in the Earth Cultivation World.

There were also large and small Spirit Stone deposits in the Heavenly Court. Whenever one was discovered, cultivators swarmed in to mine it. Over time, the value of Spirit Stones naturally fell.

"So there's a market," Chen Fan said, looking enlightened.

When the old man saw Chen Fan turn as if to look for the Lingxiao City Market, he nearly spat blood. The Spirit Stones he carried had been acquired through scams and trickery; naturally, he wanted to trade them for Demon Cores, which held their value far better.

"Wait, kid! Deal. How many do you want to trade?"

"How many do you have?"

"Definitely more than you think," the old man said confidently. In his eyes, Chen Fan was merely a little Qi Refining Layer 6 cultivator. How could he possibly go out and hunt Qi Refining Eighth Layer beasts? That would be suicide.

But the next moment, he froze on the spot, mouth hanging open, his expression rigid.

"Five..." the old man blurted out, then hurriedly clapped a hand over his mouth.

What shocked him wasn't the five Qi Refining Eighth Layer Demon Cores themselves. It was the fact that someone like Chen Fan had come up with five of them. That was downright terrifying.

"Ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Hand them over." Chen Fan held out his hand to the old man.

Only then did the old man snap out of it. With lightning-fast movements, he swept all five Demon Cores from Chen Fan's hand into his tattered bag. Then he rubbed his palms together furtively, swallowed hard, and asked, "Kid, where'd you find these Demon Cores? Share the good fortune!"

"I killed the beasts and took them. Where are the Spirit Stones?" Chen Fan frowned and held out his hand.

"Senior, senior, don't joke with this old man. There aren't any Monster Beasts within a thousand miles of Lingxiao City. Even if you crossed ten thousand miles using a Teleportation Array and found some, there's no way you could kill this many by yourself. You're only Qi Refining Layer 6," the old man said with a bitter smile.

Chen Fan shook his head and said calmly, "I killed them on the way through the Second Layer Heavenly Court. Now hand over my ten Spirit Stones."

"Second Layer Heavenly Court... the Battle of Immortal Qi?" The old man's eyes widened in disbelief. The Battle of Immortal Qi was the only challenge on the Second Layer that involved Monster Beasts, and it was the hardest of all the tasks.

Chen Fan nodded.

"Monster!" the old man exclaimed, his eyes narrowed and his yellow-toothed grin fixed in place as he shook his head again and again. Not only had a Qi Refining Layer 6 cultivator cleared the Second Layer Heavenly Court, he'd also had enough strength left to kill so many Qi Refining Eighth Layer beasts.

He didn't waste any more time. He pulled ten green-and-white Low-Grade Spirit Stones from his tattered bag and handed them to Chen Fan, smiling as he said, "That's a lot of Spirit Stones to carry. Want to buy a Storage Ring or Storage Bracelet?"

The old man's words stirred something in Chen Fan's mind, and a thought flashed through it.

"How many Spirit Stones?" Chen Fan asked, his expression unchanged. When doing business with a shrewd old man, he couldn't let a single thing slip.

"Ten," the old man replied without hesitation.

Chen Fan turned and walked away at once. Space-bound treasures like a Storage Ring didn't cost ten Spirit Stones even in the Earth Cultivation World. In the Heavenly Court, they were worth half as much. In his estimation, three Low-Grade Spirit Stones would buy a Storage Ring with plenty of space.

"Kid, wait up!" The old man hurried after Chen Fan, grinning with his trademark yellow teeth. "This Storage Ring of mine is a Magic Tool, not something some ordinary Spirit Tool can compare to. It has more than twice the space."

"I want to go to the Marketplace," Chen Fan continued walking and said coolly.

The old man's expression changed at once. He spoke with righteous indignation. "Absolutely not! The Marketplace is crawling with swindlers who'll eat you alive and leave not a bone!"

At those words, not only Chen Fan but even the passing cultivators shot him contemptuous looks.

Was there anyone in Lingxiao City more crooked than him? Anyone more shameless, who'd eat people alive and leave not a bone?

The old man stood before Chen Fan, enduring the surrounding mournful, contemptuous, and furious looks without a change in expression, as righteous as an upright gentleman.

"Two Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Take it or leave it," Chen Fan said, narrowing his eyes.

"Two Spirit Stones? That's robbery! A man may be killed, but not humiliated. This old man won't sell! I'll stamp out dishonest merchants and bring harmony to my Heavenly Court Marketplace!" The old man was so angry his beard bristled, and he rejected Chen Fan with righteous indignation.

With that, the old man turned and left. Anyone who didn't know him would've thought he had a great deal of backbone. But he'd barely taken two steps when Chen Fan's calm voice came from behind him.

"By the way, would you be interested in a Qi Refining Ninth Layer Demon Core?"