Fang Xing tailed Xu Linyun towards the cottage while looking around, ‘This woman said Xiao Mahn had been practicing with her, so she should live here too, right? But where is everyone else?’

　　Xu Linyun may have been leading the way, but she had been purposefully keeping a close eye on him. Seeing that he was looking around as if in search of something, she gave a cold laugh. “No need to look for her. Xiao Mahn is practicing elsewhere, and I won’t tell you where it is. You will not see her for at least another three years.”

　　Fang Xing’s response was quick, “Who said I was looking for her? I was merely appreciating the scenery here!”

　　Xu Linyun laughed at his answer. “Do you even know what it means to appreciate?”

　　“Of course!”

　　“What do you think of this place, then?”

　　“Ordinary!”

　　“……”

　　Momentarily unable to answer, Xu Linyun blamed herself for asking the little brat any questions at all. Hadn’t she clearly been inviting trouble by doing so?

　　The cottage’s interior was simple yet elegant. There were no decorations present aside from a few potted plants, and towards the center of the cottage stood numerous wooden shelves filled with books on either alchemy or cultivation. There were also a few shelves that showcased delicate vases of various sizes, all of which contained pills and pellets that had been crafted by Xu Linyun. In the precise center of the room was an old-looking copper furnace covered in carvings of intricate and complex symbols: Xu Linyun’s personal alchemy furnace.

　　“You do know that for me to craft your Poji Pellet, you will still have to prepare all the ingredients, right?” Xu Linyun stopped at the northern end of the cottage and sat down on a nearby chair, a cold smile hanging on her face.

　　“I know the rules!” Fang Xing’s reply was filled with contempt. As he spoke, he took out a small parcel from his storage ring before opening it up in front of Xu Linyun, showing the eight different medicinal herbs and a small sack of Ore Essence Powder; all of the ingredients were there.

　　Xu Linyun hadn’t expected this. “You actually collected all of the ingredients? Where did you get the Ore Essence Powder from?”

　　Fang Xing rolled his eyes. “I have it, and that’s all you need to know!”

　　Xu Linyun swallowed some of her saliva and quietly examined Fang Xing from head to toe, as though trying to decipher something. An invisible force suddenly wrapped around the parcel and sent it into a side storage room with a quick wave of her arm.

　　“When can I come to retrieve the pellet? And don’t you alchemists, like, sign a contract of some sort?” Fang Xing asked.

　　Xu Linyun did not answer; instead, she waved her hand once again and a small purple vase flew towards Fang Xing. He took hold of the small vase and opened it only for it to release a strong herbal scent, and inside was a round, milky-white pellet—the Poji Pellet. A powerful force could be felt sealed within this small pellet. At that exact moment, the [Book of Revelation] had already automatically activated within his mind, and it read it out as well, ‘Spirit Stage Poji Pellet’.

　　“You’ve already prepared it?” Fang Xing looked at Xu Linyun in astonishment.

　　Xu Linyun, however, did not intend to answer his question and merely gave a cold command, “You can go now. Do not ever get within three miles of my Linyun Valley!”

　　Xu Linyun had never actually expected Fang Xing to be able to collect all of the raw materials required for the Poji Pellet and thought he was trying to extort a free pellet from her. As such, the moment she returned to her valley, she had spent the next three days crafting this Poji Pellet, and of course she was the one who had prepared all of the ingredients. When she asked Fang Xing earlier for the ingredients, it had been done with the purpose of embarrassing him after he had hurt her beloved crane.

　　Xu Linyun had never thought that Fang Xing actually wanted her to craft the pellet instead of simply asking for and taking it, and this little misunderstanding actually increased the amount of respect Xu Linyun now held towards him. ‘He sure must have some ability, at least, to be able to gather all of the materials required for the Poji Pellet.’

　　Xu Linyun began to secretly praise Fang Xing, yet as soon as such thoughts surfaced, Fang Xing’s vile voice rose as well, “Shijie Linyun, it looks as though you wanted to gift me the Poji Pellet anyway! Can you give me back my ingredients then?”

　　For Xu Linyun, although all of the other materials to make a Poji Pellet were plentiful, she definitely did not have an abundance of Ore Essence Powder. All of the savings she had accumulated from past crafting jobs had already been used up, yet this brat wanted to have all of the ingredients back without considering how to compensate her for her losses. It was shameless to the extreme! Her fingertips darted towards the entrance of the valley as she demanded, “Leave!”

　　“Whoa, what’s with the hostility? Are you a stray dog or something?” Fang Xing muttered to himself as he turned to walk out, the words overheard by Xu Linyun and causing her to grow upset once more. As he continued to mutter, he took further advantage and swiped a few vases from a shelf on his way outside, putting them in his pockets. He didn’t even bother to check what was inside them.

　　“Leave my pills behind!” Xu Linyun was so angry it was as though her head was about to explode.

　　Fang Xing showed only a smirk as he replied, “I’m only taking them to have a closer look. I’ll return it to you later!” Fang Xing then ran out of the cottage with a few small steps, and even though Xu Linyun had originally wanted to chase after him, her pride prevented her from doing so and she let him be.

　　Once Fang Xing had left the cottage, he saw the white crane had already recovered some of its vigor, its gaze following his movement. Fang Xing gave a sharp stare back at the crane and began to curse, “Have you not learned your lesson yet, you feathered animal?”

　　The white crane might be physically large, but it was still only three years old; despite being a spirit beast, its human-like thoughts had not yet fully matured, and its mind was more like an infant’s. After Fang Xing’s earlier torture, fear had already crept inside its heart; now that Fang Xing scolded it further, it dropped its head down immediately and was too afraid to look at him.

　　“I’ll break your legs if you bully He’er again!” It was the furious voice of Xu Linyun from inside the cottage, and she sounded as though she was reaching the maximum limit of her patience.

　　Knowing that a wise man knew better than to fight when the odds were against him, Fang Xing picked up his speed towards the outside of the valley and loudly yelled back, “Such pretension! Just watch me bed you one day!”

　　In any case, Fang Xing had managed to get his hands on a Poji Pellet and was quite cheerful, and he sang a light tune before heading back to the Yunyin Summit. After arriving at the summit entrance, however, there were two disciples from the summit, and both of them hid away in surprise when they saw Fang Xing. Fang Xing had at first merely thought they were cowed by his “glorious feats”, yet as he walked inside, he could sense that something was wrong; instead of the usual greetings from everyone, they all appeared to be cautious towards him.

　　Fang Xing was fortunately in a good mood today, so he did not mind all of that and made his way into his cottage as soon as he could.

　　“You’re Fang Xing?” someone coldly questioned just as Fang Xing was about to step into his cottage. It was one of the two men coming out from the shadows nearby, and as Fang Xing looked upwards, he found that they both had unfamiliar faces and were in the second tier of cultivation.

　　“Who else would be so handsome? What do you want?” Fang Xing impatiently asked, wanting to get back to his cottage.

　　One of the men moved in front of Fang Xing and spoke with a faint smile, “There’s no rush. We’re here on behalf of Shixiong Xuanzhao. He’s prepared a meal for you at the black bamboo forests. Please do come with us.”

　　‘Meng Xuanzhao? What does that bastard want by inviting me to drink with him all of a sudden?’ Fang Xing was slightly stumped, but his gaze slowly stiffened. ‘Unless… unless he’s guessed something?’ It seemed that because of the [Nine Snakes’ Sword], even Meng Xuanzhao had begun to suspect him.

　　In fact, Fang Xing’s thoughts were rather on point. The outer court disciples had all suspected Fang Xing to be related to the Black Market Bandit, as he had been seen using the [Nine Snakes’ Sword] in front of everyone. Ordinary disciples did not dare to act on this suspicion in broad daylight out of fear towards his relations with Meng Xuanzhao and Shijie Linyun, but it just so happened that this rumor had finally reached the ears of Meng Xuanzhao himself.

　　When Meng Xuanzhao first heard the rumor, he had only laughed it off as impossible; Fang Xing had been the one that gifted him the Ore Essence Powder, after all. As he slept on the rumor for a few more nights, however, suspicions began to rise to the surface. There was the fact that Fang Xing had not wanted a single Spirit Stone in exchange for the powder, which was an unusual act even if someone did want his protection. Furthermore, the timing of the Black Market Bandit was just too perfect….