CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 49: WHY RISK YOUR LIFE FOR A FEW HUNDRED SPIRIT STONES?

From the very beginning, letting the Cyan Simurgh Sect disciples inspect the storage bag was not within Lu Yan’s considerations.

Other cultivators might at most carry some demonic magical artifacts or practice some demonic secret skills, and their storage bags might even contain a single refined corpse.

Strictly speaking, these people wouldn’t pass the inspection, but their connection with the demonic path wasn’t significant.

However, if the contents of Lu Yan’s storage bag were exposed, it wouldn’t just be a matter of being a demonic cultivator; he would appear as a rising star of the demonic path, a born demonic seed!

Lu Yan knew very well that once the contents of his storage bag were exposed, Xie Yun would certainly act against him.

Rather than taking a beating passively, it would be better to kill everyone present to seal the news before the inspection.

In front of eight hundred fierce ghosts, cultivators below the Foundation Establishment had absolutely no room for resistance, the only person Lu Yan had to be wary of was Xie Yun.

Xie Yun and Cheng Yu were both in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, both born from major sects, and Xie Yun’s methods wouldn’t be perfectly countered by Lu Yan as Cheng Yu’s were, making him much more troublesome.

More importantly, Xie Yun was positioned in the air; if the Soul Banner could not trap Xie Yun as soon as it was unfurled, Lu Yan wouldn’t be able to catch up with the speed of a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s sword flight.

If Xie Yun wasn’t killed, Lu Yan’s attempt to silence the witnesses would fail, and then he would face relentless pursuit from righteous sects.

It must be noted that different world versions have information mirroring!

Once Lu Yan is hunted by righteous sects in the Xianxia world, in the urban version it would translate to being hunted by the official council federations of each city, in the apocalypse version it would be being hunted by survivor gatherings, and in the mysterious version, hunted by the True God Church...

Just thinking of such scenes made Lu Yan shiver inwardly.

Even if he believes he has great strength and cross-version means, it’s impossible to withstand the combined force of all the righteous organizations across different world versions.

Unless Lu Yan can endure for three months and, during the next version update, choose the urban version to kill all righteous experts, otherwise taking direct action to silence the witnesses is the worst option.

As the loose cultivators gradually pass the inspection, fewer and fewer cultivators remain on site.

Most loose cultivators left Cyan Valley Marketplace without looking back as soon as they passed, fearing encountering similar troubles again.

Witnessing this scene, Xie Yun’s lips curved more noticeably.

The sect’s upper echelon wasn’t foolish regarding the dispute over the true successor.

It’s useful to simply accuse someone of indulging demonic cultivators, but it won’t have a decisive effect unless he really catches a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator of the demonic upper sect or a qi cultivation stage prodigious demonic cultivator in Cyan Valley Marketplace.

However, causing these loose cultivators to feel a sense of crisis and damaging the reputation of Cyan Valley Marketplace would lead to the decline of the entire cultivation marketplace.

If a dignified true disciple cannot protect the markets under their command, it will certainly spark internal sect discussions, at which point the direct disciple backing him might propose to the Elder Council to revoke Zuo Yu Fairy’s true successor position.

Had this been three years ago, even if Zuo Yu Fairy had no market under her command, no one would have dared to make such a proposal.

But now, Zuo Yu Fairy’s talent and potential have largely depleted, making it immensely difficult for her to advance to the Golden Core, and certainly, someone would seize the opportunity to free up a true disciple spot in the sect.

Using this merit, he even hopes to become a direct disciple in the future!

With this thought, Xie Yun’s heart was ablaze.

Just then, a cultivator in the crowd below suddenly moved.

The person looked quite young, and having reached the fourth layer of qi cultivation at such an age was considered quite good among loose cultivators.

This young man was none other than Lu Yan, who had made up his mind.

Walking to the position below Xie Yun, Lu Yan cupped his hands towards Xie Yun in mid-air and spoke:

"I wish to personally give my storage bag to Senior Brother Xie for inspection."

"Senior Brother?" Xie Yun narrowed his eyes, looking unkindly at Lu Yan below.

What qualification did a mere loose cultivator have to call him ’Senior Brother’?

Feeling displeased, Xie Yun was about to reprimand, but then he heard Lu Yan saying:

"The contents of the storage bag are related to Senior Sister Ji."

Immediately, Xie Yun’s heart tightened.

At this crucial juncture, the only person who could be called Senior Sister Ji by Xie Yun was Ji Xingyao, known as Zuo Yu Fairy.

However, Ji Xingyao’s name was scarcely known in the sect, let alone to a mere loose cultivator.

With growing regard, Xie Yun slowly descended to the ground, gazing at the mid-stage qi cultivation loose cultivator before him, silently releasing Foundation Establishment pressure.

Facing Xie Yun’s pressure, Lu Yan merely smiled faintly, withholding the Profound Yellow Merit Fire within himself, easily dispersing the Foundation Establishment pressure.

This understated action added more to Xie Yun’s regard.

"What is it?"

Lu Yan spoke not a word, simply taking out a blue storage bag from his chest and tossing it to Xie Yun.

With a mere glance, Xie Yun could tell that Lu Yan had other storage bags on him, but at this moment, he couldn’t be bothered, focusing instead on the storage bag’s content.

As his divine sense entered the storage bag, Xie Yun’s pupils contracted sharply, his hand holding the storage bag trembling slightly.

Inside the storage bag was a half-person high Spirit Marrow Ore!

With Xie Yun’s discerning eye, he could naturally see that this Spirit Marrow Ore was of extremely high grade, truly a strategic resource.

Shocked to the core, Xie Yun didn’t notice the subtle shifts in Lu Yan’s gaze towards him.

Lu Yan’s intention was to use Ji Xingyao’s name to muddle through this matter, naturally preferring both parties to walk away without incident.

But should Xie Yun fail to appreciate it, at such close proximity it was the perfect moment to use the Soul Banner to prevent Xie Yun’s escape.

Returning from the shock of the Spirit Marrow Ore, Xie Yun waved his hand to set up a sound-proof restriction, his voice slightly dry as he asked:

"Where did you get this?"

Lu Yan merely shook his head: "That is not something Senior Brother Xie should know."

Xie Yun’s eyes carried a fierce glint: "Don’t you know that the one behind me is in an adversarial relationship with Senior Sister Ji?

Aren’t you afraid that I would kill you here, take this item, and label you as a demonic cultivator?"

Lu Yan chuckled lightly, his eyes showing a hint of pity:

"Senior Brother Xie, in my hometown there’s an old saying: Why risk your life for a few hundred Spirit Stones?"

"The one behind you wishes to compete for Senior Sister Ji’s position by sending you here to tarnish the marketplace’s reputation; while this deed is underhanded, it remains within sect rules, leaving Senior Sister Ji with no recourse against you.

Yet, you should be aware of the high value of the item within the storage bag.

To be frank, this item is crucial to Senior Sister Ji’s path.

If she loses the true successor position, Senior Sister Ji can still cultivate. But if her path is severed, can you guess how she would react?"

Even though Ji Xingyao’s potential has largely dwindled, she remains a Peak of Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator, with unrivaled combat prowess in the Cyan Simurgh Sect Foundation Establishment Realm.

Their ability to perform such petty acts hinges on Ji Xingyao being bound by sect rules.

If Ji Xingyao’s path comes to an end, given her personality she would undoubtedly rise in rebellion, sword in hand, slaying all those who hindered her.

Xie Yun, merely at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, would be easily dispatched by Ji Xingyao should she intend to kill him.

Imagining such a terrifying scene made Xie Yun shiver, instinctively extending his hand to return the storage bag to Lu Yan.

Yet, Xie Yun’s movements suddenly froze, he narrowed his gaze at Lu Yan: "You claim this item belongs to Senior Sister Ji, but what proof do you have to verify your relationship with Senior Sister Ji?"

Lu Yan’s brows furrowed slightly as he reached into his chest attire, for some reason making Xie Yun uneasy with this action.

Retrieving his hand, Lu Yan held a photograph.

Xie Yun did not know what a photograph was, but he could clearly see a woman wearing strange attire in it.

Unlike the current style in the Cultivation Realm, the woman’s skirt barely reached her thighs, the upper part of her attire sculpted elegant curves, almost matching the licentiousness of those Joyful Union Sect witches.

Upon closer inspection of her appearance, the woman seemed to be identical to Ji Xingyao.

"This..."

Xie Yun was greatly shocked; who would have expected the esteemed Zuo Yu Fairy to wear such indiscreet attire privately.

With critical eyes, Xie Yun wished to take another look, yet the photograph was swiftly taken back by Lu Yan.

"Senior Brother Xie, what do you think?"

Xie Yun’s gaze returned to Lu Yan, focusing with five parts of astonishment, four of admiration, and one of elusive envy.

"I never imagined she would fancy someone like you..."

Sighing and shaking his head, Xie Yun tossed the storage bag to Lu Yan, waving to lift the restriction.

"You may go!"

Retrieving the storage bag, Lu Yan turned and strode into the Cyan Valley Marketplace.