The Twin Saints Festival

Several years later...

"Kuixing Island... it should be somewhere around here."

Lu Shang had already spent several days searching around Kuixing Island.

He remembered that there was something on Kuixing Island that he dearly wanted to obtain.

Only after emerging from seclusion a few days earlier had he remembered the Gold Devouring Beetles.

Without the heaven-defying Heaven-Control Bottle, several of Han Li's greatest assets would have been of little practical use to Lu Shang even if he acquired them.

But the Gold Devouring Beetles were different.

All he needed to do was feed them. Besides, he only intended to use them until he reached the Spirit Realm, so he was not worried about any problems that might arise afterward.

After coming out, Lu Shang had first looked around the vicinity, then begun his search.

But after several days of searching, with the Twin Saints Festival fast approaching, he began to suspect that someone had already taken them.

"By rights, Han Li lived nearby as soon as he arrived on Kuixing Island, which was why he had the chance to pick them up. But with fifteen or twenty years between then and now, someone might have moved into that place or discovered them."

"Plenty of cultivators have passed through Kuixing Island over these twenty years. If someone really took them, finding them won't be easy."

"If I can't get the Gold Devouring Beetles this time, I'll probably have to wait until I return to Heavenly South and enter the Heavenly Lan Prairie."

With that, Lu Shang resumed his search.

Another two or three days passed before he became certain: someone must have taken the Gold Devouring Beetles.

He was so certain because he had discovered traces resembling theirs on a nameless little island, along with signs of human activity.

"Ah, forget it. If they're gone, they're gone. Once I return to Heavenly South, I'll find a chance to visit the Heavenly Lan Prairie."

Lu Shang shook his head helplessly.

He could only head into Kuixing Island and find somewhere to stay for now.

His cultivation was now quite advanced, though nowhere near comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator's, so he concealed it at late Foundation Establishment.

This would provide good cover and make anything he wanted to do easier.

Although the system's help had brought his cultivation to the peak of the late stage, his cultivation techniques had seen little improvement.

His Wild Desolation True Demon Art was at the fourth level, his Heavenly Origin Sword Art at the second, his Pure Water Soul-Calming Art at the first, and his Great Evolution Art was stuck at the third.

Of these, Lu Shang had already decided to abandon the Great Evolution Art. He did not want to spend much time on its so-called trial of the mortal world, so he would stop cultivating it. Other techniques the system provided later would offer the same effects anyway.

The Great Evolution Art could only give him a little improvement for the time being.

Lu Shang was not attending the Twin Saints Festival to prevent the coming incident. He did not yet have the strength to stop something involving a transformed great demon.

Even if he gave his all now, it would merely be mending the pen after the sheep were lost.

Kuixing Island had long since been infiltrated by Extreme Yin Island, and Feng Xi was stronger than an ordinary eighth-stage demon beast. Lu Shang had no desire to throw his life away.

He was attending this grand celebration mostly to try his luck.

Perhaps many of the things that had happened to Han Li would happen to him as well, and he might even meet Zi Ling and Yuan Yao ahead of time.

More importantly, he wanted to see Wen Qiang one last time.

Lu Shang did not believe that his casual remark back then could have persuaded him to stop.

When the Twin Saints Festival arrived, Lu Shang headed out onto Kuixing Island's streets and began browsing.

"The Twin Saints Festival certainly lives up to its name. It's so lively that it holds its own against any festival I saw in my previous life," Lu Shang remarked as he stood on a street.

Even before setting foot on Kuixing Island's main island, he had noticed a steady stream of people gathering nearby.

They were presumably all there for the Twin Saints Festival, which showed just how influential the Twin Saints were within the Star Palace's domain.

The Twin Saints had been famous for several hundred years, and their renown had only grown. Over those centuries, who knew how many cultivators and mortals had heard their names from the moment they came into the world until the moment they were buried in the earth?

As he walked down the street, countless hawkers' cries reached Lu Shang's ears.

Most were advertising low-grade trifles that did not interest him, but whenever he came across something unusual, he bought it generously.

He plainly did not have many high-grade Spirit Stones, but low-grade Spirit Stones were what people generally used in the cultivation world, and he had plenty of those.

Even setting aside the Spirit Stones in his System Inventory, those he had collected from cultivators he had killed and taken from certain clans since arriving in the cultivation world numbered well over a hundred thousand.

And even if he used them all up, he could sell the fifth-stage demon beast cores in his Storage Bag and have countless Spirit Stones again.

Buying a dozen or more of these little curios had only cost him a few hundred Spirit Stones, an expense he did not begrudge.

Little did Lu Shang know that those few hundred Spirit Stones represented an ordinary Qi Refinement cultivator's entire fortune. Even for someone at the Foundation Establishment Stage, they were a considerable sum.

Looking this way and that, Lu Shang eventually arrived at a place resembling a square. Perhaps because no goods were being sold here, there were fewer people as well.

Lu Shang stood there, letting the breeze brush his face.

"Fellow Daoist, I noticed you looking all around. Your clothes seem extraordinary, but the fabric isn't something found on Kuixing Island. Are you perhaps from elsewhere?" a woman's voice called from behind him.

Lu Shang turned at her words and saw two beautiful women in striking attire.

He furrowed his brow. "And you two are?"

"I'm Yan Li, a rogue cultivator, and this is my good friend Yuan Yao," one of the women introduced them, her manner outgoing.

Lu Shang's heart jolted when he heard that. Such a coincidence?

Though inwardly startled, he kept his expression unchanged.

"I'm Lu Shang, and indeed, I'm not a cultivator from Kuixing Island. May I ask what you two wanted with me?" he asked.

"We saw you looking here and there, so how about hiring us to help you find some good things? With us around, we can guarantee they won't dare inflate their prices. We noticed you've bought quite a few things, but they aren't worth that many Spirit Stones. They probably raised the prices because you're an outsider," Yan Li explained.

"Hahaha!" Lu Shang laughed at her words.

The two women were thoroughly puzzled by this and exchanged strange looks.

They thought they had run into a fool today-someone who laughed even after being cheated.

Seeing their expressions, Lu Shang guessed what they were thinking and explained, "You misunderstand. I only bought these things because I found them rather unusual. Consider it a little support for their businesses. I'm hardly some ignorant fool."

At his words, another phrase immediately sprang to both women's minds: A rich sucker.

"He has such an extraordinary air, with his white robes and dark hair. I thought he was some refined senior, but it turns out he's just a filthy rich moneybags," Yan Li whispered, leaning toward Yuan Yao.

Yuan Yao was already shy by nature. Her expression turned awkward, and she immediately caught Yan Li's left arm in warning.

"He... he's a False Core senior. You're saying that when he's so close..."

Only then did Yan Li realize that the man less than five feet away was a False Core cultivator.

But how could two Qi Refinement cultivators possibly conceal anything from Lu Shang's eyes and ears?

Hearing Yan Li's words, Lu Shang struggled to keep a straight face, his expression almost slipping.

"Ahem, ahem. S-so that's how it is. We won't disturb you, then."

As she spoke, Yan Li pulled Yuan Yao along, intending to slip away.

"Wait!"

Both women froze at his words, thinking Lu Shang intended to make trouble for them.

Th-this is bad. He's a False Core cultivator. His magical artifacts must be... Have we landed ourselves in serious trouble? Yan Li thought.

The two slowly turned around and stood rooted to the spot.

Young people, indeed. A few stray remarks, and they've frozen up like this.

Lu Shang could hardly bring himself to make things difficult for these two Qi Refinement cultivators.

"Don't worry. I only stopped you to thank you for your advice."

With that, Lu Shang took out a bag of Spirit Stones and placed it before them.

"I intend to keep strolling, so I won't say anything more. If fate permits, we'll meet again."

Having said that, Lu Shang walked away at an unhurried pace.

What Lu Shang did not know was that, after this whole performance, the two women were even more convinced that he was a "rich idiot heir, a filthy rich moneybags."