Conflict

Hearing the richly dressed old man's cold snort, the rogue cultivator visibly shuddered in fright. He immediately bowed to the old man, then retreated into the crowd and hurried out of the Thousand Mechanism Hall.

Xu Yan had heard every word these rogue cultivators said. Seeing that someone really was offering a Space Stone as a mission reward naturally filled him with delight.

His only concern now was whether the richly dressed old man would accept the mission.

Seeing the rogue cultivator leave the Thousand Mechanism Hall, the richly dressed old man's expression darkened noticeably. He turned and gave the cultivators clustered around him a meaningful look. One of them, a cultivator with a deep, imposing aura, immediately stepped forward and headed outside with a cruel smile.

Xu Yan witnessed this and concluded that the old man was the sort to avenge even the slightest slight.

Once that was done, the richly dressed old man's gloomy expression eased somewhat, and he fixed his gaze on the mission displayed on the Crystal Stone.

Hopefully, he's really just here to provoke Master Gu, who posted the mission, as that rogue cultivator said.

Xu Yan prayed silently. If the old man really accepted it, he would have to find another way.

It seemed the rogue cultivator had indeed seen through the old man's intentions. His aged eyes remained fixed on the Crystal Stone, but he made no other move.

By now, all the rogue cultivators surrounding the Crystal Stone had fallen silent, afraid of disturbing the richly dressed old man before them.

The old man stared for a full half-incense stick's worth of time, seemingly waiting for something.

Just then, a middle-aged cultivator hurried over to the richly dressed old man, bent down, and whispered into his ear.

Whatever the middle-aged cultivator said, a distinct smile flashed across the richly dressed old man's face upon hearing it. His aged eyes even glanced toward the entrance of the Thousand Mechanism Hall.

Then the richly dressed old man retrieved his Identity Jade Token from the stone platform and stood arrogantly to one side, staring intently outside the Thousand Mechanism Hall as though waiting for someone.

His behavior immediately caught the attention of the many rogue cultivators in the hall. Everyone's gaze settled on him, eager to watch the show.

Thus, when the richly dressed old man stepped away from the Crystal Stone, no rogue cultivator approached it for a time.

Xu Yan was delighted by this. Just as that quick-witted rogue cultivator had guessed, the richly dressed old man had not accepted the mission. He immediately decided to take it himself. Though he might offend the old man, he was determined to obtain that Space Stone.

Soon, he reached the Crystal Stone.

Everyone's attention was focused on the richly dressed old man, and Xu Yan intended to accept the mission as discreetly as possible. Yet the moment he placed his Identity Jade Token on the stone platform, something unexpected still happened.

A beam of golden light shone from his Identity Jade Token, drawing the attention of quite a few rogue cultivators and making the richly dressed old man look over as well.

This is bad, Xu Yan thought. Still, things had already reached this point. No matter what, he was going to accept this mission.

He immediately began rapidly browsing the alchemy missions on the Crystal Stone.

A dozen or so breaths later, his eyes lit up.

Found it! I never expected the reward to be so generous! Xu Yan was secretly astonished.

Besides a hundred low-grade spirit stones, the reward for this mission included a Space Stone containing a space three zhang to a side.

Reading the Space Stone's description filled Xu Yan with delight. A space three zhang to a side would be enough for him to refine plenty of Pills, further strengthening his resolve to obtain it.

With that thought, Xu Yan took a low-grade spirit stone from his Storage Bag, preparing to accept the mission.

The moment he took out the low-grade spirit stone, a furious voice rang out.

"Stop!" A burly cultivator beside the richly dressed old man swiftly darted over to Xu Yan and stopped him.

At that moment, the richly dressed old man also noticed what Xu Yan was doing. His aged face immediately darkened, and he approached with a cold gleam in his eyes.

The rogue cultivators who had been waiting to watch the spectacle immediately erupted into heated discussion.

"Heh, who's this blind fool? He actually wants to snatch Elder Wu's mission!"

"He must have gone mad thinking about Spirit Stones. Ever since Master Gu posted the mission, Elder Wu has declared that he's determined to take it."

"Quiet! He's a First-Rank Alchemist too. Neither you nor I can afford to offend him."

The rogue cultivators in the hall chattered among themselves, watching the commotion and caring little how big it grew.

By now, the richly dressed old man had approached, his face covered in frost.

After glaring coldly at Xu Yan with his aged eyes, he made a show of cupping his hands and said, "I am Wu Hua. Would you do this old man the courtesy of not accepting this mission?"

Hearing the richly dressed old man's near-commanding tone, Xu Yan immediately felt displeased.

Since he would offend the old man regardless, he ignored him and looked instead at the cultivator beside him, saying each word distinctly, "Get out of my way! Under the Rogue Cultivator Alliance's rules, anyone who prevents a cultivator from accepting a mission will pay a heavy price. Are you trying to challenge the Rogue Cultivator Alliance's authority?"

Xu Yan infused his shout with magic power, making it thunderously loud!

It immediately drew the attention of the two Rogue Cultivator Alliance cultivators stationed there. Two middle-aged cultivators in blue Daoist robes hurried over.

Both were Foundation Establishment cultivators with immensely powerful auras. Upon arriving, they swept their gazes over everyone and said coldly, "The Alliance's rules are not to be challenged!"

Seeing the two Rogue Cultivator Alliance cultivators approach, the richly dressed old man unexpectedly broke into a smile. He carefully looked Xu Yan up and down before slowly saying, "Hmph! Even if you accept this mission, you won't be able to complete it."

When Xu Yan remained silent, the richly dressed old man continued his mockery.

"Do you know that one of the spirit herbs required for this alchemy mission is Seven-Absolute Grass? That herb is lethally poisonous. To refine this pill, you must completely remove its toxicity. Even as a first-tier mid-grade alchemist with a spirit item to assist me, I only have some confidence in succeeding. A First-Tier Low-Grade Alchemist like you should stop coming out here to make a spectacle of yourself!"

Xu Yan remained expressionless at those words and moved to accept the mission.

Seeing this, the richly dressed old man's face darkened to the point that it seemed water might drip from it. Gritting his teeth, he stared at Xu Yan and threatened him, word by word, "Surely you can't stay inside the Rogue Cultivator Alliance for the rest of your life. Why insist on crossing me?"

The richly dressed old man's repeated threats stirred a trace of killing intent in Xu Yan's heart. The old man's cultivation was not high, only at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining. He had merely gathered a few rogue cultivators around him through his status as an alchemist. If it were only the old man himself, Xu Yan did not consider him much of a threat. He could now advance to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining at any time.

Besides, this identity of his was false. At worst, he could simply act under another identity later.

Seeing how overbearing the richly dressed old man was, he decided to lay a trap for the old bastard.

Xu Yan's expression turned cold. He snorted at the richly dressed old man. "You old bastard, you keep saying I can't complete this mission. Do you dare make a wager?"

Xu Yan's words made the richly dressed old man's expression turn utterly ugly. No one had ever dared speak to him like this. Xu Yan's voice was so loud that he could already feel the strange looks the surrounding rogue cultivators were giving him.

The richly dressed old man stared venomously at him and forced down his anger. "What sort of wager do you want?!"

"Master Gu is here!"

Just then, someone among the rogue cultivators cried out in surprise.