Rogue Cultivator Ways

After a long while.

Inside Wei Fan's small courtyard.

He Song waited at Wei Fan's home for a full hour before he saw Wei Fan return from afar.

After welcoming the returning Wei Fan into the courtyard, He Song deliberately poured him a cup of tea, then sat beside him and waited for him to speak.

Picking up the cup of tea He Song had specially poured for him.

Wei Fan drained it in one gulp. Only then did his furrowed brows ease. After letting out a long breath, he spoke.

"Phew. Fellow Daoist, you can inform that friend of yours working at the Spirit Medicine Pavilion to strike Chen Zhou's name from the Spirit Plant Farmers." As he spoke, a flash of anger passed through Wei Fan's eyes before he continued.

"That Chen Zhou is nowhere near as mild-tempered as he appeared before you. Relying on his Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivation, he often beat up cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining and extorted Spirit Stones from them. But since he hasn't caused any deaths, the Enforcement Squad can do nothing about him."

"The people at the Spirit Medicine Pavilion must be blind to recruit someone like him as a Spirit Plant Farmer. Who knows what the person who brought him into the Immortal Market was thinking. Such rogue cultivator conduct is beneath contempt."

"Besides, when I went to investigate, Chen Zhou was secretly asking around about you. Judging by his manner, he clearly meant no good. So I did not continue investigating and came straight back."

"We'll do as you said. First strip him of his status as a Spirit Plant Farmer, then force him out of the Immortal Market. When the time comes, I will naturally make my move."

Wei Fan set down his teacup, his face darkening.

He made it sound easy enough.

Yet during his investigation, he had discovered that Chen Zhou had brought every last bit of the foul habits of rogue cultivators into the Immortal Market, turning the area around his residence into a miasma of smoke and filth.

Rogue cultivators, left unchecked in the outside world, naturally had twisted and unruly dispositions.

Murdering for treasure, extortion and blackmail, preying on the weak—such things came as naturally to them as turning a hand.

Among rogue cultivators, such conduct was exceedingly common. Unless one was a rogue cultivator pure by nature, no one thought much of such things.

But unless a kind-hearted rogue cultivator possessed extraordinary luck, they would not survive long in the circles of rogue cultivators.

And Chen Zhou?

He had originally been a rogue cultivator, yet he had joined the Spirit Medicine Pavilion with his Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivation and become a Spirit Plant Farmer.

After joining the Spirit Medicine Pavilion and becoming a Spirit Plant Farmer, it would have been one thing if he had followed the Immortal Market's rules and settled down to behave himself.

But he refused to.

Everything he had learned among rogue cultivators, not one thing left out, he brought it all into the Immortal Market.

He even exploited loopholes in the Immortal Market's laws, bullying the weak and extorting Spirit Stones.

He turned the Immortal Market's once peaceful atmosphere into a foul, smoky mess.

Thus, when Wei Fan—a cultivator of the Immortal Market who had lived in the Thick Earth Courtyard since childhood and had later continued residing in the Immortal Market—witnessed all this.

He was immediately enraged.

Such foul rogue cultivator habits were one thing outside the Immortal Market. He could pretend not to see them.

But Chen Zhou had brought all of it into the Immortal Market, tainting the "pure land" in Wei Fan's heart.

The anger in Wei Fan's heart was thus easy to imagine.

He had lived in the Thick Earth Courtyard since childhood and had been raised as an outer disciple of the Thick Earth Sect.

Later, because his cultivation was too low, he had been assigned to Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market as a steward of Lingjian Pavilion.

All his life, Wei Fan had lived in relatively stable surroundings.

His understanding of rogue cultivators had largely come from books.

Even so, he had always held rogue cultivators in considerable contempt.

Yet only today.

When Chen Zhou's conduct truly appeared before his eyes, did he gain a real understanding of rogue cultivators.

"Alright, I'll inform him right away." After hearing Wei Fan's account, a trace of relief and lingering fear flashed through He Song's heart.

Fortunately, fortunately.

Fortunately, he had been cautious enough.

Otherwise, Chen Zhou might have come knocking in the middle of some night, and he would still have been utterly clueless.

Fortunately, he had asked Zhao Lin to investigate Chen Zhou's background.

And after sensing that something was wrong, he had immediately come to Wei Fan.

If any step in this process had gone wrong, Chen Zhou might have fixed his sights on him from then on, leaving him no peace.

At the same time, He Song once again warned himself.

In the future, he absolutely could not judge people solely by appearances.

No matter how humble and courteous someone appeared before him, no matter how much they resembled a refined gentleman, he had to investigate their background thoroughly.

Especially those he had offended—he had to get to the bottom of them.

Like Chen Zhou this time.

Chen Zhou had been meek as a mouse before him.

Yet he had never expected that, before cultivators with even lower cultivation, Chen Zhou would bully the weak, extort Spirit Stones, and commit every evil imaginable.

It was only because his own cultivation was at the Qi Refining Middle Stage.

And because Zhao Lin of the Spirit Medicine Pavilion stood behind him.

That Chen Zhou had not turned hostile on the spot.

If he had been weaker, and Zhao Lin had not been a manager at the Spirit Medicine Pavilion.

The situation he encountered then would likely not have been so mild.

What was more, even without openly falling out with him at the time, Chen Zhou had secretly sought information about him.

What Chen Zhou had in mind was naturally plain to see.

Letting out a long breath, He Song moved his fingers, and a sheet of white paper immediately appeared in his hand.

"Brother Zhao, Chen Zhou has a twisted temperament. He habitually bullies the weak, extorts Spirit Stones, and commits every evil imaginable. His crimes are grave, and I have already asked a friend to verify this."

"I originally intended to deal with this man directly, but the Immortal Market forbids cultivators from turning on one another, so the rules must be observed."

"Left with no other choice, I can only ask Fellow Daoist to strike his name from the Spirit Plant Farmers and force him out of the Immortal Market. We can make further plans then."

"This matter is of great importance and concerns my safety and life. I hope Fellow Daoist will grant this request."

"He Song."

Spiritual power flowed freely from his fingertips, and several lines of writing soon appeared upon the white paper.

But just as He Song was preparing to fold it into a paper crane and send it out with the Sound Transmission Technique, Wei Fan beside him shook his head and gestured for him to wait.

"Allow me to add a few words."

As Wei Fan spoke, spiritual power had already surged from his fingertips, leaving a name on the white paper, along with a trace of his aura.

"Wei Fan."

Seeing this, He Song nodded and did not stop him.

This was a good thing.

With the aura of a Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator like Wei Fan present, Zhao Lin would understand the instant he received the Sound Transmission Paper Crane.

He Song had already enlisted a Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator and was preparing to make a move against Chen Zhou.

As He Song's friend.

Knowing full well that He Song had made preparations long ago, cooperating with him to strike Chen Zhou's name from the Spirit Plant Farmers would be no more than a trivial matter.

This way, Zhao Lin would not have to worry about Chen Zhou coming to cause trouble later.

With a Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator making a move against a Qi Refining Layer 4 cultivator like Chen Zhou.

Chen Zhou was as good as dead.

This was why Wei Fan had left his name and aura on the paper.

He did not know how close He Song and Zhao Lin were, but with his name and aura remaining on it, Zhao Lin would be more likely to help.

Nothing more.

After sending out the Sound Transmission Paper Crane.

He Song and Wei Fan waited for a moment.

Very soon.

A Sound Transmission Paper Crane came racing in from afar.