Immortality: Starting with the Fruit of Taiyin

……

That concludes our conversation.

Only after the two parted ways on the official road did Wang Xuan finally relax.

Although he could vaguely sense Lin Qingyi's final silence and disdain, it actually aligned with his own thoughts.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Wang Xuan could roughly guess the cause and effect.

The claim that the "Four Fiends of Hengyang" destroyed the Han family in order to seize the family line is largely unfounded.

After all, cultivators who have undergone tribulation do not have families or sects. They live for the moment and do not think about the long term.

Unless someone already possesses talent and has achieved something in the art of puppetry, why would they bother to seize the inheritance?

Even if one were to forcibly seize something, the target should be a Core Formation spiritual item, or a breakthrough pill for the mid or late Foundation Establishment stage.

This not only aligns more closely with their core interests, but also makes it more worthwhile for them to take the great risks and defy the odds.

So if he really had to find a reason, Wang Xuan would rather believe that Lin Qingyi had bribed this group of robbers and then turned his back on them, intending to use their presence to draw fire, rather than that the other party had done it on their own initiative.

Otherwise, with the experience and methods of a veteran cultivator, it would be impossible for them to leak the information so easily; and even if they did take action, they would likely wipe out the entire sect in one blow and then flee thousands of miles away.

Even if it causes a stir in one area, it will quickly subside and will not have a significant impact.

"As expected, this is the norm in the cultivation world."

Looking in the direction Lin Qingyi had left, Wang Xuan couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

If you cheat me, I'll cheat you. Unless your path to success is truly smooth, everyone should be more cautious.

In this respect, cultivators from pure sects and families might be in a slightly better position due to their more advantageous environment.

Just like Lin Qingyi before the sect's destruction, he would never have been as decisive as he is today.

……

a few days later.

Without lingering on the official road for too long, to prevent any cultivators who came to follow the true teachings from passing by, Wang Xuan changed to a less frequented location, but one that was much closer to the market.

He drew his black dagger and carved out a temporary cave in the cliff, leaving Xiaoqing to guard the area.

Taking out the communication talisman from the storage bag, Wang Xuan finally had time to check the messages he had accumulated.

The meeting a few days ago confirmed Ye Yan's warning before he left: with Lin Qing also present, there were probably more than just one or two Foundation Establishment cultivators within a thousand miles.

In comparison, Baihe Market, as the largest cultivation market in the surrounding area, is actually the safest place, enough to avoid many risks.

"Yes, the first bunch... are mostly messages from Yang Yunzhi."

With a sweep of his spiritual sense, he absorbed the contents into his mind.

As Wang Xuan expected, since more than half a year ago, apart from a few polite greetings at the beginning, the other party has mostly been asking about his whereabouts and asking for pills to replenish his qi and blood.

Judging from his words, Yang Yunzhi was very anxious, giving the impression that "if you don't come now, you'll miss your chance."

Wang Xuan didn't seem to feel anything about it, but he couldn't help feeling a little strange.

"Even if Baihe Market isn't a celestial city, I'm definitely not the only alchemist here."

"It's just a few elixirs to replenish blood and energy, it's not that rare..."

Wang Xuan shook his head slightly, making his own guess.

In this matter, Yang Yunzhi may have received kickbacks and concealed the true amount of compensation.

Or perhaps he failed to contact other suppliers in time, leading to a sudden supply disruption and causing him to be exposed by those behind him.

Fortunately, this has little to do with Wang Xuan, as he doesn't rely on these Qi and Blood Pills to make money anyway.

So he casually erased the relevant information and continued scrolling down.

"Hmm... Aside from the pills, the other party's most recent message was sent five days ago."

"But considering the ridiculously large 'time difference' of the message token, I received the message yesterday."

"However, in this message, Yang Yunzhi not only didn't bring up the old issues, but instead excitedly claimed that he was 'on the verge of achieving foundation building' and 'would make great contributions to the Lu family,' thus gaining the favor of his master, which was quite different from before... Huh, what a coincidence?"

Slightly taken aback, Wang Xuan looked at the contents and couldn't help but have a guess.

"A few days ago... could it be because of me that Lin Qing noticed Yang Yunzhi's presence before fleeing?"

"Considering my praise and flattery of him, perhaps Lin Qing genuinely believes that the other party is highly valued by the Lu family and can successfully pass on messages for him, thereby attracting the attention of the higher-ups."

"This has caused quite a stir..."

Given the sensitive nature of his identity, Lin Qingyi certainly didn't have time to investigate Yang Yunzhi's situation in detail.

Given that there was no one else available, the other party's choice doesn't seem surprising.

Wang Xuan was at a loss for words, both amused and exasperated. Things had progressed to this point, and he had no idea where things would go from here.

Lu family, Jie Xiu, Lin Qingyi.

Upon hearing the news, Foundation Establishment cultivators and other forces, both overt and covert, arrived, and even he himself...

In the original "future" that Chen Yao saw, the life around this true disciple of Nanhua was probably not this chaotic.

"But then again, no matter what, one thing is certain: the Han family is likely in trouble this time."

Thinking it over, Wang Xuan couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.

"Being targeted by four fierce Foundation Establishment cultivators, one of whom was even a Foundation Establishment Ninth Level cultivator who was only one step away from Core Formation."

"Even that former second-tier puppet master would be wary, let alone the Han family, who merely inherited the estate..."

Moreover, Wang Xuan vaguely felt that Lin Qing had probably had contact with the Han family, but the result was probably not good.

Considering several recent events, the Han family's decision to send their young disciples to the market seems particularly suspicious.

They may have known something all along, but they couldn't help but feel lucky; or perhaps they were reluctant to give up the spiritual vein of Xiaoze Mountain, which they had finally obtained, and did not want to lose this foundation of their clan.

In short, even knowing the danger, they could only take it one step at a time... It wasn't until a month ago, when the arrival of the fake pill from the Lu family, that they were motivated to take further action.

"The Mysterious Talisman Foundation Establishment Token... Is the Han family really going all out to exchange it for Foundation Establishment Pills ahead of schedule?"

"I don't recall anyone in the younger generation of the Han family being qualified to pass the test, right?"

A strange light flashed in Wang Xuan's eyes, and he understood.

Logically speaking, the arrival of the Lu family members had nothing to do with them.

However, things are interconnected, and a single hair can affect the whole situation; it's never that simple.

Just like Lu Yuan's arrival, the Lu family knew that their ancestor had come for a low-grade demon beast whose bloodline had reverted to its ancestral form, but how could the Han family know the inside story?

They would only assume that someone's whereabouts had been exposed, which led the Xuanfu Lu family, who were originally uninvolved, to personally intervene.

However, this would naturally increase the likelihood that a certain true disciple might resort to desperate measures.

Correspondingly, the risks faced by the Han family also naturally increase.

"Similarly, if the Han family has something to do, it is theoretically none of my business, and I never intended to get involved."

"To be even more precise, the year-long vacation that Han Changde gave me has not yet ended."

"Even if the Han Clan's Pill Pavilion suddenly explodes, it won't affect me."

"However, judging from the current situation, things aren't that simple..."

Wang Xuan rubbed his fingers against the communication jade talisman. Besides Yang Yunzhi, the person who had sent the most messages to Wang Xuan in the past six months was Han Li, who was entrusted by him to send him updates on the market from time to time.

It was from the message sent by the other party that Wang Xuan realized there was some trouble.