"Twenty-seven million spirit crystals are not a small sum. Please wait, guest, I need to prepare something," said the short old man, and then he went out through the back door of the shop, leaving Zhang Fan alone inside.
The shop owner seemed to trust Zhang Fan completely, not worrying about anything in the shop being stolen.
Of course, in this black market, that was almost impossible.
There was only one possibility: the pile of items displayed openly in his shop were all fakes, worthless, and so he didn't care.
A full half hour passed before the short old man returned, carrying a cloth bag in his hand.
"Guest, the spirit crystals are ready. What about the formation disk?" the short old man asked, holding the cloth bag and looking at Zhang Fan.
Zhang Fan casually threw the three sets of heavenly-grade formation disks he was holding towards the short man. After receiving the formation disks, the latter did not immediately hand the cloth bag in his hand to Zhang Fan.
Zhang Fan was not in a hurry, staring at the short man with a smile, wanting to see his next move.
After a second of difficult struggle in his heart, the short man finally made the most rational decision. He tossed the cloth bag out, and said with a smile, "Twenty-seven million spirit crystals. Please count them, guest."
Zhang Fan sent his divine sense into the cloth bag. It was a storage artifact, and inside its space were spirit crystals, exactly twenty-seven million.
"You're quite clever. You didn't do anything foolish!"
Zhang Fan said with a smile, glanced at the small wooden door behind the short man, and then turned to leave.
Less than a minute after Zhang Fan left, two burly middle-aged men emerged from behind the door.
"Boss, why didn't you let us act just now? That's over twenty million spirit crystals!" one of them asked with a hint of confusion and unwillingness in his eyes.
Youngsters like Zhang Fan, who looked young and inexperienced, and carried precious treasures, were their favorite targets.
It was just that the two of them didn't understand why their boss hadn't signaled them to act this time.
The short man shook his head and said, "In our line of work, if you want to live long, judging people is very important."
"We need to be clear about whose goods we can seize and whom we cannot provoke."
"If we had acted just now, it's very likely that all three of us would already be dead."
...
After dealing with the spirit crystals, Zhang Fan's suspended heart finally relaxed. Walking on the main street of Wuning City, the street was bustling with traffic. Zhang Fan realized that he hadn't taken the time to appreciate the prosperity of the human world for a long time.
Suddenly, a rich aroma of wine wafted into Zhang Fan's nostrils. Zhang Fan followed the direction of the wine aroma and saw a grand octagonal pavilion, named Drunken Immortal Tower.
"It's been a while since I properly sat down and enjoyed good food and wine. Let's relax today," Zhang Fan muttered to himself with a smile, and then walked towards the Drunken Immortal Tower.
Although powerful cultivators did not need to eat and could absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth to sustain themselves, restaurants and taverns were still everywhere.
This was because the delicacies made from some high-grade ingredients were not simply to satisfy the diners' appetite.
As Zhang Fan was about to reach the entrance of the Drunken Immortal Tower, a commotion suddenly erupted on the street.
"Get out of my way, all of you! If you disturb my mood for drinking, this young master won't let you off."
Accompanied by the sound of urgent horse hooves, a furious shout filled with arrogance rang out on the street.
Zhang Fan glanced to the side and saw three fiery horses, engulfed in flames, pulling a golden carriage, galloping wantonly on the wide street in the distance.
On the carriage stood a young man in golden brocade robes, who was wantonly swinging his horsewhip, constantly urging on the fire steeds.
Although the speed was not particularly fast, the three fiery horses exuded powerful auras, clearly being beasts at the Golden Core stage. Wherever they passed, there was chaos, and pedestrians hastily avoided them.
"It's the second young master of the Wang family! Quickly get away, or you'll die in vain if you're hit!"
The three fiery horses had an imposing presence, and even ordinary cultivators at the Golden Core stage would quickly retreat, not daring to hesitate.
"Is this Wang family very powerful? They're just three beasts. I can chop them down with one sword! What's there to be afraid of," said a peak Golden Core cultivator from outside, who didn't understand.
"Brother, if you still want to stay in Wuning City, I advise you not to provoke the Wang family." A cultivator kindly reminded him.
"Because the head of the Wang family is a peak expert at the Three Tribulations Nascent Soul stage."
The cultivator who had been eager to stop the three fiery horses stiffened and remained silent.
Zhang Fan listened to the idle chatter of the cultivators and couldn't help but shake his head. A disciple from a Three Tribulations Nascent Soul family dared to be so arrogant, letting his beasts run wild in the city.
"Little brother, why are there flames on those horses?" a crisp voice suddenly sounded beside Zhang Fan.
Zhang Fan looked down and saw a little girl, as exquisite as a doll, looking up at him, her eyes incredibly pure and full of innocence.
Zhang Fan did not answer her. Seeing that she was standing alone by the roadside, he asked, "Little friend, why are you here alone? Where are your parents?"
The little girl stretched out her tender and plump little hand and pointed to the other side of the street, saying, "Father went to buy me a rattle drum. He told me to wait for him here. He said he's taking me to buy toys, and the price should be sold higher, it's not worth it."
Zhang Fan followed the direction of the little girl's finger and saw a middle-aged man in coarse cloth buying a rattle drum made of animal skin at a stall on the opposite side of the street.
After paying, the middle-aged man turned and walked towards the little girl. As if thinking of his child happily playing with the rattle drum, he unconsciously showed a kind smile, momentarily lost in thought.
"Boom!"
A wave of scorching heat rushed towards him. The middle-aged man only then realized that three fiery horses, engulfed in flames, were galloping down the street. He wanted to retreat to the side of the street, but... it was too late.
The speed of the fiery horses was not very fast, but it was not something a cultivator who hadn't even reached the Core Condensation stage could dodge.
Under the swing of the whip, the fiery horses didn't slow down at all and directly crashed into the middle-aged man.
With immense force, the middle-aged man was instantly sent flying dozens of meters away, crashing heavily onto the stone slabs of the street.
Instantly, scarlet blood splattered into the sky, and the crisp sound of bones cracking was heard. When he fell to the ground, he was already lifeless. Blood flowed onto the street, staining the rattle drum in his hand, making it look so dazzling.
"Daddy!"
The little girl's tender, chubby face, which moments before had been beaming with innocent smiles, froze as she saw her father instantly die before her eyes. Then, she rushed towards her father without regard for anything else.
...