Treasure Gathering Immortal Furnace

As Lu Fan stood at the end of the line waiting to queue, he saw a cultivator leaving the city walk to the gate and be led aside by a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Sword Pavilion, who was whispering something to him.

Moreover, seeing that the other party only asked a few questions and then let him pass after a few seconds of pause, Lu Fan had the illusion that the checks at the West Gate were not much different from those at the East Gate.

It seems like we should be able to get away with it.

However...

Just as Lu Fan was relieved, he heard a dark-faced man being questioned at the city gate shouting.

"Why are you checking my storage bag? No way, absolutely not!" The dark-faced man clutched his storage bag, seemingly uncooperative.

"Hmph! Refusing to be questioned? Could you be that scoundrel Li Niu in disguise? Seize him!" Gu Chen immediately shouted.

Two Sword Pavilion stewards immediately stepped forward and grabbed the dark-faced man, seemingly intending to forcibly search his storage bag.

The dark-faced man, grabbed by two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, immediately cowered, saying, "Hey, hey, don't be violent, we'll let you investigate!"

"Hmph, that's more like it," Gu Chen snorted.

Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, the dark-faced man had no choice but to obediently open the storage bag. Gu Chen scanned it with his divine sense and, after confirming that there were no top-grade magic artifacts, waved his hand to let him pass.

The dark-faced man cursed as he put away his storage bag and fled into the distance.

However, Lu Fan, who witnessed everything, was astonished. Searching the storage bag? How dare Gu Chen do this! Isn't he afraid of incurring public wrath?

You must understand, a storage bag is something that holds all the secrets of a cultivator. If you open the bag and let people search it, it's the same as exposing all your secrets.

Judging from Gu Chen's demeanor, he seemed completely unconcerned. Any passing cultivator who did not cooperate was forcibly controlled and subjected to a brutal inspection.

This made Lu Fan consider backing out, after all, his storage bag was full of stolen goods! It couldn't withstand scrutiny.

"It seems I can't leave like this. I have to think of another way." Lu Fan took a step back, preparing to return to the city when no one was paying attention.

However...

Before Lu Fan could turn around, a Foundation Establishment cultivator in front of him shouted with dissatisfaction, "Why do you need to check my storage bag? Your Sword Pavilion's way of doing things is too domineering! My storage bag isn't something you can just search as you please!"

After the Foundation Establishment cultivator finished speaking, Gu Chen's face darkened, and he said, "This is how my Sword Pavilion always does things. Fellow Daoist, you'd better cooperate."

"At worst, I won't leave the city!" The Foundation Establishment cultivator said unhappily, turning to leave.

Before the Foundation Establishment cultivator could even turn around, Gu Chen flashed over, drew his longsword, and held it to the cultivator's neck. He then shouted, "Anyone queuing here who dares to leave midway or refuse to have their storage bag checked will face my wrath! Obey the inspection honestly, and if you are not suspected, you will be allowed to pass."

These words silenced all the cultivators who had their secrets. Lu Fan was in an even worse situation, as he never expected that Gu Chen would risk offending countless rogue cultivators in Thousand Peaks City by forcibly checking his storage bag.

Doing this would severely damage their public image; who would dare join the Sword Pavilion in the future?

Even the most powerful Daoist sect at its peak wouldn't necessarily dare to do such a thing.

Gu Chen did just that, it seems he was really in a hurry. After all, those two top-grade magic weapons were the legacy of the Sword Pavilion. If he couldn't find them, he wouldn't be able to explain himself to the Supreme Elder.

really.

After Gu Chen forcefully intimidated them, all the cultivators who wanted to leave the city became obedient and opened their storage bags to accept the inspection.

Lu Fan's face was gloomy. It was almost his turn. If he opened the storage bag, wouldn't he be completely exposed?

Lu Fan, no longer caring about being discovered, simply activated his divine sense to scan his surroundings. After confirming that there was no stronger aura, he began to plan how to escape.

There were five Foundation Establishment cultivators present: Gu Chen was at the Pseudo-Core Formation stage, and there were two late-Foundation Establishment cultivators and two mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators.

This setup is incredibly powerful, but there's no other way; you can't dodge it, so you have to resort to brute force!

While Lu Fan was pondering, it was already his turn to queue.

"Fellow Daoist, stop dawdling and open the storage bag," Gu Chen said in a deep voice, looking at the old man Lu Fan had disguised as.

Lu Fan suddenly had a flash of inspiration and seemed to have thought of a way to escape. He smiled, took out his storage bag, opened a hole, and let Gu Chen explore it.

Seeing that Lu Fan was cooperating, Gu Chen was not polite at all and was about to release his divine sense to search him.

But just as Gu Chen got closer, he suddenly saw a fist emerge from the storage bag.

boom!

It hit Gu Chen squarely in the face. Zi Yuan's blow severely injured Gu Chen, knocking out three of his front teeth on the spot. His body spun several times in mid-air before crashing heavily to the ground.

This sudden turn of events stunned the four Foundation Establishment deacons around them.

"Li Niu! It's that bastard Li Niu! Kill him! Kill him!!" Gu Chen, ignoring his gaping teeth, roared incoherently with bloodshot eyes.

The four Foundation Establishment deacons only then realized what was happening and immediately summoned their magical swords, rushing straight towards Lu Fan to attack.

Lu Fan also released Zi Yuan without any hesitation. Zi Yuan held a giant sword with dragon patterns and swept it around fiercely.

boom!

Zi Yuan's powerful strike swept outwards, the violent sword energy mixed with the fierce power of a Core Formation stage cultivator, directly erupting into a sonic boom!

In an instant, the four Foundation Establishment deacons who had just approached were knocked down by this attack and could not get close at all.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, your dragon-patterned giant sword is truly domineering. Thank you for the gift," Lu Fan grinned, then put away the Purple Iris and immediately leaped up, riding his flying sword away into the distance.

At this moment, Gu Chen was so angry that his eyes were bloodshot, his fists clenched tightly, and he roared, "What are you all standing there for! Notify your Core Formation Uncle, and chase after him! We'll find him to the ends of the earth and grind him to dust!"

After Gu Chen gave the order, one of the Foundation Establishment cultivators immediately threw out a transmission talisman. Then, led by Gu Chen, the four of them instantly transformed into a long rainbow and followed behind Lu Fan.

This scene stunned the dozen or so cultivators who were about to leave the city. After all, this person's methods were quite remarkable, as he had managed to make the Sword Pavilion suffer a setback.

After Lu Fan flew out, he headed straight for the misty forest. Only by entering the misty forest could he conceal his figure and avoid being tracked. He absolutely could not fly in open areas, otherwise, if he were spotted by the Core Formation elders of the Sword Pavilion, he would be doomed.

Seeing Lu Fan rush towards the misty forest without looking back, Gu Chen became anxious and immediately shouted, "Attack together and take him down!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the five of them raised their longswords and swung them fiercely in the direction Lu Fan was flying.

Lu Fan, unhurried and composed, summoned the Eight Treasures Mirror, which hovered around him.

Bang bang bang...

The sword lights struck Lu Fan, but almost all of them were blocked by the Eight Treasures Mirror.

"This thief used the Eight Treasures Mirror; our sword light cannot harm him," a Sword Pavilion steward said, his face ashen.

After all, they were well aware of the defensive capabilities of this top-grade defensive magic artifact, the Eight Treasures Mirror.

"That's mine! Mine!" Gu Chen roared from behind, breaking his guard.