Audacious Beyond Measure

To one side.

Having listened for quite a while and finally pieced together the whole matter, Wei Fan's expression gradually turned strange.

He pointed at He Song in front of him.

Then he pointed in the direction of the Spirit Medicine Pavilion.

After repeating this several times.

Wei Fan wore an expression that seemed to say, Are you kidding me? Yet he finally understood the full sequence of events.

"I was just wondering how a fellow cultivator as cautious as you could suddenly offend someone. Who would have thought it was a friend's good intentions gone awry that caused you to offend that Chen Zhou?"

Struggling to hold back his laughter, Wei Fan spoke on, but the amusement in his eyes could not be concealed.

This sort of disaster falling from the sky would leave anyone utterly dumbfounded.

Chen Zhou had suddenly had his Spirit Field reclaimed. From then on, he needed to run between two places every day to cast the Spirit Rain Technique, greatly increasing the time he wasted.

But on He Song's side, the Spirit Field had been specially arranged for him by a friend, so it was impossible to return it to Chen Zhou.

Both sides had their own grievances, and they were destined never to return to how things had been.

With that, the grudge between He Song and Chen Zhou had been thoroughly forged.

One was a Rogue Cultivator at Qi Refining Layer 4.

The other was an Immortal Market cultivator at Qi Refining Layer 4.

Who had the greater combat strength was obvious at a glance.

And He Song happened to know his own limits. He knew he could not defeat Chen Zhou, which was why he had come to Wei Fan, hoping to resolve this trouble.

The combat strength of an Immortal Market cultivator truly could not be compared with that of a Rogue Cultivator.

If Chen Zhou genuinely wanted revenge, He Song would likely have no choice but to remain on guard at all times.

But while one could be a thief for a thousand days, one could not guard against thieves for a thousand days.

If He Song let his guard down even once.

Well.

He might not even live to regret it.

With He Song's cautious nature, he would never give Chen Zhou such an opportunity.

No matter how unwilling he was, he would probably have to strike first.

Having understood this, Wei Fan's gaze toward He Song immediately gained a trace of teasing.

"Although this was a disaster falling from the sky, since you have come to me, I imagine you already have a plan in mind. Why not tell me? If it is feasible, it would not be impossible for me to lend a hand."

Knowing that He Song was not in immediate danger, Wei Fan relaxed somewhat.

He handed He Song a cup of tea.

Wei Fan's eyes flickered uncertainly.

Based on his many years of knowing this friend, he could even guess what He Song was about to say.

But even so, he wanted to hear He Song say it himself.

After all, this was the first time He Song had come asking him for help.

That time three years ago, Wei Fan had been the one to suggest it. He Song had not asked.

"I would like to ask Brother Wei to investigate him. If Chen Zhou has no intention of retaliating and is ordinarily weak-willed as well, then let it be. But if he does, then I will have to trouble Brother Wei."

"When the time comes, I will have my friend at the Spirit Medicine Pavilion remove his name from the list of Spirit Plant Farmers, turning him back into a mere Rogue Cultivator. Then Brother Wei can act."

Taking the teacup Wei Fan offered, He Song set it aside. Yet his words did not pause in the slightest as he laid out the thoughts in his heart.

Even now, He Song could not determine whether Chen Zhou had been pretending or whether he was simply that cowardly by nature.

Therefore, he could only trouble Wei Fan to investigate him.

If Chen Zhou truly was as cowardly as he appeared and had no thought of revenge, then sparing his life would be no great matter.

But if Chen Zhou was not ordinarily so cowardly, if the timid manner he had shown when meeting He Song had been an act, or if he harbored thoughts of revenge, then He Song could only ask Wei Fan to strike first.

At the same time, if they truly needed to act, He Song would have Zhao Lin help remove Chen Zhou's name from the list of Spirit Plant Farmers.

That way, Chen Zhou would no longer be an internal cultivator of the Immortal Market, but a mere Rogue Cultivator.

Mutual slaughter among internal cultivators of the Immortal Market was expressly forbidden.

Once caught, one's cultivation would be crippled before being cast out of the Immortal Market.

But if an internal cultivator of the Immortal Market killed a Rogue Cultivator, so long as it did not happen within the Immortal Market, no one would pursue the matter.

Even if the Enforcement Squad knew full well that it was you, they would not interfere.

The cultivation world was one where the strong devoured the weak.

The Immortal Market's Enforcement Squad only guaranteed safety within the Immortal Market and prevented killings between internal cultivators.

They did not care how many Rogue Cultivators died.

Nor would anyone else care.

Every year, countless Rogue Cultivators died outside. One or two more would not draw anyone's notice.

And before coming to Wei Fan's place, He Song had already thought through everything.

Now, all he needed to do was wait for Wei Fan's findings before taking action.

"Alas, fellow cultivator, you are still too cautious. If it were me, the moment I sensed something was amiss, Chen Zhou would already have been slapped to death." Wei Fan clearly did not quite agree with He Song's answer.

His original thought had been that He Song would directly ask him to act and kill that Chen Zhou with a single palm strike.

That would have been truly decisive and swift.

Yet he had not expected He Song to ask him to investigate first and then decide based on the circumstances.

Even when acting, He Song wanted another friend to remove Chen Zhou's name from the list of Spirit Plant Farmers first.

This... was too troublesome.

Although this reduced both the chance of wrongly killing an innocent person and the potential consequences after killing someone to the lowest possible level.

It was simply too cautious.

But after thinking it over, Wei Fan felt relieved.

Wasn't this exactly the kind of person his friend was?

If He Song stopped being cautious, then he would no longer be He Song.

"Stay in my courtyard for a while, fellow cultivator. I will first make a trip to Lingjian Pavilion to find out where Chen Zhou lives, then investigate him. Wait here for my return."

As he spoke, Wei Fan had already risen to leave, but he soon halted again.

He turned to look at He Song.

After some thought, Wei Fan handed He Song several defensive Spirit Talismans.

"Keep these Spirit Talismans for now, fellow cultivator. I am worried that Chen Zhou might be audacious beyond measure and come here looking for you."

Only after He Song accepted the Spirit Talismans did Wei Fan leave with peace of mind.

The small courtyard's pavilion.

Watching Wei Fan's departing back.

Then glancing at the several defensive Spirit Talismans in his hand, He Song shook his head helplessly.

He recognized at once that these defensive Spirit Talismans were the ones Wei Fan had bought for his own protection three years ago.

Yet they had not been used then.

And now, these Spirit Talismans had somehow ended up in his hands.

Shaking his head, He Song put away the Spirit Talismans and decided that once Wei Fan returned, he would give them back.

These were high-grade Spirit Talismans. Only Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators like Wei Fan could bring out their true power.

Using them himself would be a waste.

Lingjian Pavilion.

After leaving his own courtyard, Wei Fan hurried to Lingjian Pavilion.

Ignoring the respectful bows of the cultivators around him.

Wei Fan headed straight for the ledger that recorded the residences of the Immortal Market's internal cultivators.

Taking the ledger to the second floor, Wei Fan quickly began scanning through it.

"He Song, currently residing at House No. 13, Chuanyun Street, Area B, outskirts of the Immortal Market."

"Su Jin, currently residing at House No. 31, Chongfeng Street, Area A, outskirts of the Immortal Market."

"Chen Zhou, currently residing at House No. 7, Moxiang Street, Area D, outskirts of the Immortal Market."

"..."

As his gaze swept over name after name and residence after residence, it soon stopped on the name Chen Zhou.

"Chen Zhou, House No. 7, Moxiang Street, Area D."