Gu An witnessed the entirety of the duel, his heart pounding in secret alarm. Though the battle was brief, it had been fraught with underhanded tricks and extreme peril!

Every last one of those vicious little tricks had been unleashed upon a fellow sect member!

Han Geng was truly venomous. Killing a man was one thing, but to drag his family into it was simply shameless!

Earlier, when Han Geng had dragged him into the argument, he hadn't spoken up in the man's defense. This bastard would likely hold a grudge. At the thought, Gu An felt as though needles were pricking his back. Murderous intent surged within him.

The Emerald Shadow Needle slipped silently from the water, shooting straight toward Han Geng.

The silver needle pierced the air, but unexpectedly, Han Geng's expression abruptly changed. He rolled to the left, narrowly dodging the Emerald Shadow Needle.

"Who is it?"

Han Geng shouted sharply. He had flown this way intending to divert the disaster toward someone else. Having found no one, he naturally kept his guard up and remained on high alert.

Gu An emerged from the riverbed's mud and vaulted out of the water. "Han Geng, you have murdered your Senior Brother! Heavenly law cannot tolerate this, and your crimes are unforgivable! Today, I, Gu An, shall exact justice on behalf of heaven!"

Hearing this, a vile fire surged in Han Geng's chest. He roared, "Didn't you see he was the one hunting me down? I-"

Gu An knew this man was cunning and had no desire to waste words. Before Han Geng could finish, the Entangling Spell lashed around his ankles. Three water spears shot straight for his face, while the Emerald Shadow Needle struck toward the back of his head.

At the same time, a Lightning Summoning Talisman and a Chain Fireball Talisman slipped silently into his grasp, ready to be triggered the moment anything went wrong.

But his caution was clearly unnecessary. Han Geng was already grievously wounded and could not possibly dodge Gu An's pincer attack. He barely managed to condense a golden shield in front of himself to block the water spears, but the Emerald Shadow Needle pierced straight into the back of his skull. With a muffled groan, he collapsed face-forward.

Gu An swiftly activated a Fireball Talisman, reducing Han Geng's corpse to ashes. He then triggered several Water-Gathering Talismans to wash away the traces of battle. Snatching up the Storage Bags and Magical Artifacts, he shot off toward Qingyuan Immortal City at top speed.

...

An hour later, Gu An arrived at Qingyuan Immortal City.

He found an inn, spent one Spirit Stone on a premium room, and ducked inside.

"Phew, let's see what kind of good stuff we have here!"

Gu An rubbed his hands together. First, he opened Zhu Ziming's Storage Bag. The internal space was massive, easily twice the size of the one Yun Xiuyan had given him.

The contents were bountiful: one hundred and twenty-seven Spirit Stones.

A First-Grade Lower-Tier White Jade Boat, much faster and far more elegant than his Black Wind Kerchief. Gu An's heart itched just looking at it, but unfortunately, it was stolen goods. He couldn't risk bringing it out into the open just yet.

Two Spirit-Gathering Pills, both First-Grade High-Tier. At the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, a single pill cost forty-five Spirit Stones. They were highly effective for late-stage Qi Condensation cultivation.

One Jadeite Pill, also a First-Grade High-Tier Pill, worth sixty Spirit Stones. Its healing properties were extraordinary; whenever the Treasure Gathering Pavilion occasionally stocked them, they were instantly snatched up.

One First-Grade High-Tier Lightning Summoning Talisman, and one Divine Wind Talisman.

There were also seven or eight First-Grade Middle-Tier Talismans.

A few pieces of Middle Grade and Low Grade Spirit Iron, one Origin-Restoring Fruit-a supplementary ingredient for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill-and sixty jin of Spirit Rice. The rest were merely ordinary mundane items.

Adding the First-Grade High-Tier Magical Artifact Mystic Iron Peak and the First-Grade Middle-Tier Magical Artifact Silver Origin Needle, Zhu Ziming's net worth exceeded a thousand Spirit Stones!

A minor Qi Condensation clan like the Zhu Family could never afford to support him like this. This kid had either stumbled upon some Fated Chance, or he moonlighted as a Robber Cultivator. To think he had died at the hands of Han Geng, a man an entire realm beneath him. It was truly lamentable!

Looking at the dazzling array of spiritual items, Gu An's heart pounded fiercely. No wonder the saying went, "Murder and arson bring a golden belt; bridge-building and road-paving leave no bones." The thrill of getting rich overnight was truly difficult to resist.

Yet, despite being at the eighth layer of Qi Condensation and holding every advantage, Zhu Ziming had still been counter-killed by Han Geng. And Han Geng, in turn, had been finished off by Gu An playing the oriole from behind. Those who kill will always be killed. It was better to stay far away from this kind of dangerous business!

After finishing with Zhu Ziming's Storage Bag, Gu An turned his gaze to the pile of items left behind by Han Geng.

First was the Black Sand Shield, its spiritual light entirely dimmed. It had been smashed away repeatedly by the Mystic Iron Peak during the battle, severely damaging its spirituality and warping its surface. It was beyond repair; he could only hope to smelt some Spirit Iron out of it to sell.

He remembered how envious he had been back when Senior Brother Tan Chengfeng had traded this item to Han Geng. In the blink of an eye, it was reduced to this state and had fallen into his own hands.

Next was the First-Grade Middle-Tier Magical Artifact, the Golden Mystic Sword. It was a fine piece, but it was also stolen goods and would need to be disposed of when the opportunity arose.

Opening Han Geng's Storage Bag, he found eighty-seven Spirit Stones, forty jin of Spirit Rice, and a single Spell Jade Slip.

A First-Grade Lower-Tier flying Magical Artifact, the Sky-Traveling Leaf. As a standard-issue Magical Artifact, it would be easy to fence. Its price was quite good, roughly equal to an ordinary First-Grade Middle-Tier Magical Artifact.

There were three First-Grade Middle-Tier Talismans-all Fire Serpent Talismans-and a handful of Lower-Grade Talismans.

One bottle of First-Grade Middle-Tier Body-Tempering Pills containing three pills, worth roughly ten Spirit Stones each.

Three Blood-Capped Mushrooms, a First-Grade Middle-Tier body-tempering spiritual herb.

There were several jade bottles containing various poisons, along with a bottle of milky-white spiritual ointment. It seemed to be the Spirit-Scattering Ointment Han Geng had mentioned. Good stuff!

After neatly categorizing and storing the various spiritual items, Gu An took out the Spell Jade Slip and pressed it to his forehead. Streams of information flowed into his mind. It was indeed the Tu Clan Wine Recipe.

It contained the records for the First-Grade Lower-Tier Bamboo-Fruit Spirit Wine, the First-Grade Middle-Tier Spirit Peach Wine, and a whole series of Beast-Blood Spirit Wines ranging from First-Grade Lower-Tier to First-Grade High-Tier.

Every step from selecting the ingredients to the final brewing was detailed perfectly. It was a full First-Grade High-Tier Spirit Wine inheritance. Furthermore, unlike the Sect versions that restricted the buyer from teaching others, this recipe could be freely passed down, immensely increasing its value.

The Beast-Blood Spirit Wines in particular would be highly beneficial to Gu An. Since he raised so many spirit beasts, he was perfectly suited to brew this type of Spirit Wine.

Gu An let out a long breath. This windfall was incredibly lucrative, but most of it couldn't see the light of day. Since he had no safe channels to fence the goods, they would have to sit at the bottom of his storage for a very long time.

He was aware of a black market in Qingyuan Immortal City that dealt in shady business. Many Rogue Cultivators and clan cultivators went there to fence stolen goods.

However, that black market operated under the tacit approval of the Qingyuan Sect. Flaunting stolen goods related to murdered Qingyuan Sect disciples over there was practically a death wish. If the Sect ever decided to investigate, it would be all too easy for them to trace it. Gu An had no desire to take such a risk.

...

Leaving the inn, Gu An strolled into the Treasure Gathering Pavilion and bluntly stated that he was there to sell.

Guided by a female attendant, he arrived at the side hall used for appraisals. Unfortunately, he didn't run into Senior Brother Gu Tong; instead, a beautiful middle-aged woman received him.

"One First-Grade Middle-Tier Ironline Snake skin. It has sustained some damage, so fifteen Spirit Stones."

"Twenty-four First-Grade Middle-Tier Water Shield Talismans, fifteen Rock Armor Talismans, and five Spirit-Soothing Talismans. We will take those at five Spirit Stones each. Three Fire Serpent Talismans, two Golden Sword Talismans, and five Serpent Vine Talismans; we will take those at four Spirit Stones each. That adds up to two hundred and sixty Spirit Stones."

"The total is two hundred and seventy-five Spirit Stones! How does Fellow Daoist find this price?"

The beautiful woman's red lips parted as she spoke in a warm, gentle voice, but her words made Gu An's heart ache. Just like that, he was losing one Spirit Stone of profit on every single Talisman. The Treasure Gathering Pavilion truly earned its Spirit Stones far too easily!

But he had no other choice. Gu An couldn't possibly squat in the streets and set up a stall to slowly sell them off. He nodded, accepting the price. "Alright!"

Hearing Gu An agree to the trade, the woman smiled brightly. "Then does Fellow Daoist require anything else? The quality of our Treasure Gathering Pavilion's spiritual items is unmatched in the entire Immortal City. Furthermore, disciples of the main Sect receive a ten percent discount!"

"Give me ten stacks each of White Wave Talisman Paper, Earth Horn Talisman Paper, and Spirit Source Talisman Paper. Also, bring me two jars of Three Mysteries Ink."

Gu An estimated that this batch of Talisman Paper would last him for more than half a year! He wouldn't need to step out of Bluewave Pool again until the Blood Moon Eels and Black Spirit Fish had fully matured.

"Anything else? The pavilion just received a new shipment of talisman brushes. Shall I show Fellow Daoist around?"

Gu An firmly refused. He felt his Snow-Bristle Brush was perfectly fine; there was no need to waste Spirit Stones.

Seeing that Gu An had no further desire to buy, the beautiful woman lost interest. She gave a slight nod to the female attendant, signaling her to show him out.