I See You're Here to Pick a Fight, Aren't You?

On another island in the lake.

Only after confirming that the Great Grandmaster was nowhere nearby did Xu Fan emerge from the lake onto the island.

"Good thing that woman lacked combat experience, and her strength was far inferior to Mu Yunyang's."

To keep Mu Yunyang from relentlessly pursuing him, he had deliberately avoided the woman's heart, severely wounding her instead of killing her outright.

That had left Mu Yunyang with only two choices.

Either continue the pursuit or take her back for treatment.

He had also wanted to test the Great Grandmaster the two had spoken of.

For now, it seemed that the Great Grandmaster had merely located him with a thousand-mile enemy-tracking technique and informed the two.

Otherwise, Xu Fan would already have fled to the Land of Wu to hide for a while.

"Mu Yunyang really is strong. As expected of a true disciple of the Mystic Yang Sect. He's just too full of himself."

He might have been able to kill a Grandmaster who had just entered the Innate realm, but killing a powerhouse among Grandmasters like Mu Yunyang in a head-on fight was unrealistic.

As for the Mystic Yang Sect, he knew about it. Only the Yin Mountains separated it from Yin Mountain Prefecture.

It was located in Bingzhou.

It was one of only two sects in Lingnan Circuit, and it had a slight edge over the Clearwater Sect.

"There are too many Innate Grandmasters, and there's even a Great Grandmaster who doesn't play fair, secretly tracking my location."

"Once I've gathered some cultivation resources, I'll go train for a while, then come back and beat you all down."

Having made up his mind, Xu Fan wasted no time. He moved to another spot and used his Spiritual Sense to search for suitable treasure fish and exotic beasts.

The resources in the Land of Wu were all controlled by aristocratic clans and sects. If he went there empty-handed, then with his status as a Rogue Cultivator, forget buying spells and pills-even meeting the needs of his normal cultivation would be difficult.

He had the resources of an entire world at his disposal; he couldn't let them go to waste.

Before long, Xu Fan caught a Blood Dragon Sturgeon four or five meters long.

"With this Blood Dragon Sturgeon, I have enough to trade for a Storage Bag and cultivate in the city for a while."

He had learned on his last visit to Yishan City that the lowest-grade Storage Bag cost a hundred Spirit Stones and had only one cubic meter of space.

But that was enough for him.

"I'll take it one step at a time. Once my Storage Bag is big enough to let me bring more spiritual items, I'll be able to make one more round trip between the two worlds."

Flowing Cloud Market.

Disguised as a burly man with a scarred face and a full beard, Xu Fan carried the Blood Dragon Sturgeon on his shoulder and walked straight into the thick fog.

He didn't attract much attention.

Quite a few Rogue Cultivators were carrying Demon Beasts in, evidently unable to afford Storage Bags either.

As he passed Shopkeeper Xu's shop, he noticed it wasn't open for business. He had no idea where the man had gone.

Without pausing, he walked on and turned into a shop that bought Demon Beasts.

"This fish Demon Beast... actually has a trace of a diluted dragon bloodline?"

After examining it, the shopkeeper looked at Xu Fan in some surprise, a little uncertain.

Demon Beasts with dragon bloodlines had more uses and were worth considerably more than ordinary Demon Beasts. They were hard to come by.

Even if one encountered one, one might not be able to beat it.

The fish Demon Beast before him clearly hadn't finished growing, which was why it had been killed by a Fetal Breathing cultivator who had formed five wheels.

"Seven hundred Spirit Stones. What do you think, customer?"

After a little thought, he quoted a fairly reasonable price.

"Agreed."

"I'll take a Storage Bag and the Spirit Eye Technique, too."

Xu Fan nodded in agreement.

He had thought it would sell for only four or five hundred Spirit Stones. He hadn't expected the Blood Dragon Sturgeon to really have a flood dragon bloodline.

It seemed the legends about Peach Blossom Spring Lake weren't entirely without foundation.

Had flood dragon blood really fallen into Peach Blossom Spring Lake?

Were there actually flood dragons in the martial world?

If there were, they were probably terrifying beings on the level of Land Immortals.

And this cross-world trade was outrageously profitable.

"After deducting the cost of the Storage Bag and the Spirit Eye Technique, there are five hundred and eighty left. They're all in the Storage Bag."

Xu Fan marveled inwardly as he accepted the Storage Bag. He swept it with his Spiritual Sense and nodded in satisfaction.

He placed a Spiritual Sense imprint on it and quickly left the market without drawing attention. On the way, he changed his appearance again and entered Yishan City.

After changing into a scholar's outfit, Xu Fan took the alias Ning Caichen and rented a cave abode in the inner city.

"Once I've formed the Jade Capital Wheel, the final Spirit Beginning Wheel will fall into place as naturally as water flowing into a channel. There won't be any difficulty."

"Before I refine Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and advance to become a Qi Refinement cultivator, I still need to deduce whether there's a problem with the Plain Luminary Supreme Yin Wondrous Instruction."

Xu Fan sat cross-legged inside the cave abode, examining the [Plain Luminary Supreme Yin Wondrous Instruction] over and over.

The reminder from cultivating the [Great Universal Dharma Flower Return to Oneness Scripture], along with what the Lu father and son had said back then, suggested that there might be a problem with the Cultivation Method he practiced.

Even if there wasn't, it was good to be careful.

Even if he wouldn't truly die, he still didn't want to be tricked to death.

"Great Yin Spiritual Qi has been extinct for six thousand years. Great Yin Cultivation Methods can only be cultivated to the peak of Fetal Breathing, so presumably they won't be expensive."

"After I advance to become a Qi Refinement cultivator, I'll collect some Great Yin Purple Mansion Cultivation Methods and use them for deductions."

His cultivation had been too low before, so he hadn't had any use for the Taiji Dao Evolution Diagram's power of deduction.

Next, he would refine Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and become a Qi Refinement cultivator, so naturally he had to make proper preparations.

"Even if there's a trap, Grandpa Xu isn't actually afraid. At worst, I'll blow up together with those people."

"Grandpa Xu has countless lives to play with you. Let's see if you can afford to play."

He was merely being cautious. He wasn't afraid of those traps; he just thought it would feel awful to step into one without knowing anything.

He had been cautious in the martial world, and he couldn't shake the habit so soon after coming here.

He then took out the Spirit Eye Technique and, after recording it, began to cultivate it.

"With the Spirit Eye Technique, I can investigate cultivation levels and see through some ordinary formations quite effectively."

Xu Fan nodded in satisfaction.

The past ten-odd days spent cultivating the Spirit Eye Technique while condensing Fetal Breathing Spiritual Qi hadn't been wasted.

In the past, he had circulated Law Power through his eyes and observed other people's Qi and Blood and Law Power to estimate their cultivation.

With the Spirit Eye Technique, he could see the spiritual wheels on other cultivators, provided their cultivation didn't surpass his own.

"First, I'll go to the central plaza."

He stood up, tidied himself a little, and stepped out of the cave abode.

On his last visit to Yishan City, he had already learned where Rogue Cultivators gathered in the inner and outer city.

Flowing Cloud Market, thirty li south of the city, was mostly frequented by Fetal Breathing Rogue Cultivators who traded in Demon Beasts, talismans, and the like.

The central plaza in the inner city was a higher-class place, with many Qi Refinement cultivators. Sometimes even Foundation Establishment Ancestors came to join the bustle.

Most shops in the inner city belonged to cultivation lineages. Their sales were regulated, and their prices were higher as well.

For most Rogue Cultivators, the central plaza was an excellent place to go.

Before long, Xu Fan arrived at the plaza.

A glance revealed row after row of cultivators sitting on the ground, calling out to sell their wares. They were nothing like the immortal cultivators he had imagined.

"Senior, what pills and talismans do you have?"

Xu Fan came to a slovenly old man's stall and squatted down.

A number of jade bottles and several Jade Slips were laid out in front of the stall.

"Spirit Essence Pills, refined from Spirit Origin Fruit. Fifty Spirit Stones a bottle."

"Golden Sword Talisman, equivalent to a full-force strike from an early-stage Qi Refinement cultivator. It counters most Dao lineages. One hundred Spirit Stones apiece."

"Spirit Turtle Talisman, capable of blocking a full-force strike from an early-stage Qi Refinement cultivator. One hundred Spirit Stones apiece."

The slovenly old man glanced up and answered casually while waving his fan.

"What about Cultivation Methods and spells?"

"Do you have any Purple Mansion Cultivation Methods?"

Xu Fan nodded slightly and turned his gaze to the Jade Slips.

At the mention of Purple Mansion Cultivation Methods, the slovenly old man stopped what he was doing, his tone turning somewhat unfriendly:

"Young man, I see you're here to pick a fight, aren't you?"