Chapter 69 - A Lone Shadow Accompanies

“What do you mean? Do I have to stay by your side from now on?” Chu Jianfeng questioned. Although having such a formidable figure beside him felt safe, his personality preferred freedom and disliked someone nagging him.

“You could say that, at least until your memory is unsealed and your strength is restored to your previous realm,” the old man nodded respectfully.

“What was his previous strength like?” Leng Yan asked curiously.

“At least twice as powerful as I am now,” the old man replied plainly.

“You used to be that strong?!” Leng Yan exclaimed in surprise.

“How should I know?” Chu Jianfeng was equally shocked, and responded.

“Master, we need to leave. Time is running out. We must act swiftly to restore your strength, or else things could get out of hand,” the old man said, glancing at the stone chamber ceiling as if he could see far-off places.

“What does all this mean? What trouble, what urgency?” Chu Jianfeng was getting more confused!

“I will explain everything slowly, Master. First, I’ll send your friend away from here, and then we should set off,” the old man said, making a gesture as his expression changed.

“Alright, whatever you say!” Chu Jianfeng was intrigued by the promise of his former power.

“Let’s go then! Which planet are you from? I will send your friend back.” the old man asked, looking at Leng Yan.

“Longmu Star!” Chu Jianfeng replied.

“Boy, we’ll meet again if fate allows. Remember my offer; becoming my disciple holds more promise than being an earthworm’s disciple!” The old man didn’t give Leng Yan a chance to reply. With a wave of his cane, Leng Yan found himself in a colorful tunnel, and then the scenery changed, placing him back on Longmu Star.

Looking around, Leng Yan realized he had no idea where he was, but it was certainly not Barbarian Tribe territory.

“I came with someone, but now I travel as a lone shadow! I better find someone to ask where this place is,” Leng Yan reflected, gazing at the vast grasslands around him.

With a lone shadow, Leng Yan walked across the prairie as the setting sun cast his silhouette far away.

The numerous tents formed a continuous line, each with goods displayed in front of them, clearly indicating a bustling marketplace.

People came and went, weaving among the stalls, some shouting prices and others bargaining as they wandered around.

Slightly sensing, Leng Yan noticed that there were actually cultivators present among the crowd, which puzzled him. Could it be that there were items among these vendors’ wares that were useful to those cultivating the dao?

There were bronzeware, porcelain, jade articles, ironware, and all sorts of crafts available.

Suddenly, Leng Yan detected a trace of essence power emanating from a small stall ahead.

“Could it really be a magical treasure?” Leng Yan smiled slightly and quickly walked over to the stall.

The stall owner was an old man around fifty, showcasing some jade items and various gold articles. The source of the essence power fluctuation was a hairpin that looked like a gold hairpin.

This hairpin appeared to be made of gold, but any cultivator would recognize it as a rare form of seafloor gold sand.

The hairpin was primarily made from this seafloor gold sand, accompanied by a few spirit crystals from the heavenly stars, with formations carved onto the crystals, making it at least a treasure tool.

With a sweep of his spiritual awareness, Leng Yan confirmed that the essence power fluctuation had attracted several cultivators.

“Old man, how much for this gold hairpin!” Leng Yan asked with a smile, holding the “gold hairpin” in his hand.

The old man had no idea what the gold hairpin really was. His youngest son had found it on the mountain, and seeing its exquisite style, he decided to display it for sale. Upon hearing Leng Yan ask for the price, he laughed and said, “You tell me what you think it’s worth, name your price!”

“How about a thousand taels?” Leng Yan inquired.

“You must be joking! This hairpin is worth three taels at most, even with its craftsmanship and beauty, it’s not worth that much!” The old man exclaimed, thinking Leng Yan was teasing him.

“Old man, I’ll offer five thousand taels! Will you sell it to me?” At that moment, a man dressed in green robes, accompanied by a girl in green, pushed through the crowd and shouted.

The surrounding townsfolk, having never heard of such a high-value transaction, gathered around, eager to see what could be worth so much.

The other cultivators intended to bid as well, but upon seeing the green-robed man, they all stepped back and said nothing further.

“What? Five thousand taels! Is it really worth that much?” The old man’s hands trembled slightly, clearly thrilled by the prospect.

“Brother, a gentleman doesn’t rob others of what they desire. Don’t you think your actions lack grace?” Leng Yan smiled slightly, gazing at the young man.

The young man appeared to be in his twenties, possessing a cultivation level at the late stage of the primordial qi realm, which made him a standout in his sect.

“True, but my senior sister likes this item. To make her smile, I can’t really worry about manners,” the young man said, his words laced with arrogance. He mistakenly perceived Leng Yan’s intentionally projected true essence realm aura as genuine.

His words brought a flush of happiness and a shy smile to the green-robed girl’s face.

Leng Yan sighed internally, thinking of her as a naive girl. If it were just any ordinary item, he might have stepped aside. However, not only was it a high-grade magical treasure, but Leng Yan also intended to gift it to Shui Yunyao, so he didn’t want to yield. Smiling, he suggested, “How about letting the highest bidder win?”

“Fine! I’ll start with ten thousand taels. What about you?” the green-robed man responded arrogantly with a smile.

Leng Yan wasn’t particularly fond of anything besides gold. Although gold had little practical use in cultivating dao, he still collected it whenever encountered. With the vast storage space in the immortal land, he’d amassed over a million taels, making him quite wealthy. He casually said, “One hundred thousand taels! Care to bid higher?”

“Oh my goodness! A hundred thousand taels, Old Li has hit the jackpot.”

“Yeah! What makes that gold hairpin worth so much?”

The surrounding townsfolk expressed their astonishment.

Old Li’s lips twitched, seemingly overwhelmed with excitement. Leng Yan quickly sent a wisp of essence power to soothe the old man’s emotions, lest his joy overwhelm him.

“This!” The green-robed man was at a loss. How could an immortal cultivation practitioner carry so much gold? Mere mortals prized money above all, but unfortunately, he only had fifty thousand taels on him, which was far from enough.

“So, will you raise your bid?” Leng Yan asked with a smile.

“Senior Brother, I really like that gold hairpin!” the girl pouted, her voice sweet and affectionate.

The face of the green-robed man turned cold. He waved his hand, signaling the girl to stop talking, and said icily, “Fine, the hairpin is yours now. I hope you can keep it safe!”

“No need for your concern,” Leng Yan replied with a faint smile.

“Hmph! Let’s go!” the green-robed man said, pulling the girl along as they left.

“This guy dared to cross Zhong Chen. It looks like he won’t be leaving the Wood Kingdom in one piece,” a cultivator whispered to his companion.

“Yeah, but let’s not talk about Zhong Chen’s matters. Let’s go,” the other person replied.

Although the two spoke in hushed tones, Leng Yan caught every word. Perhaps they were genuinely trying to warn him.

From their conversation, Leng Yan gleaned valuable information: first, they were in the Wood Kingdom, and second, the man’s name was Zhong Chen.

With the excited old man in tow, Leng Yan returned to the town, deposited the gold under the old man’s name at the bank, and then flew toward the Water Kingdom using sword control.

Leng Yan was also well aware that Zhong Chen might be lying in wait ahead.

Flying swiftly on the sword, the fierce wind howled past his ears, causing his clothes to flap loudly. The Azure Sky Sword emitted a green glow, scattering the white clouds around it.

Suddenly, two beams of sword light approached from the side, revealing Zhong Chen and the girl on their flying swords.

Leng Yan halted his flying sword and, with a smile, said, “What seems to be the problem, you two? Want to raise the bid again? Sorry, but the transaction is complete, and the gold hairpin is no longer for sale!”

“Hmph! Even if you wanted to sell it now, I wouldn’t pay you. Be smart and hand it over, and I’ll let you go. Otherwise…” Zhong Chen threatened vehemently.

“Is that so? Let’s see what you’re capable of then!” Leng Yan’s expression turned cold, as the confrontation was about to begin.