About half an hour later, Li Yan, who had been sipping tea in deep thought, suddenly stirred. He immediately raised his eyes and looked towards the entrance of the Cave Residence.
A moment later, a low voice sounded from outside the cave. "I've come to visit unannounced. I wonder if the young master has already retired for the night."
Upon hearing this, Li Yan did not get up, nor did he show any surprise. As he took another sip of tea, he waved his other sleeve forward.
A shimmer of light flashed across the entrance of the Cave Residence, and the stone door opened silently. A figure flickered and appeared inside Li Yan's cave.
"This one greets the young master!" The visitor saw Li Yan looking at him with a smile and immediately bowed respectfully.
The visitor was a stout, burly man dressed in fine clothes, his small eyes gleaming with a sharp light. He was the same man who had been the first to push open the Qian Nine side hall door of the "Heavy Peak Battalion" during the day.
"Seeing you today was quite a surprise. Why are you here as well? Could it really be such a coincidence?" Li Yan looked at the visitor, put down his teacup, and asked in a gentle voice.
The visitor was none other than Sun Guoshu. He seemed to have expected Li Yan's question and gave a wry smile.
"With the Four Great Sects conscripting like this, how many of us rogue cultivators can escape? After I received the conscription order, because I had the Voice Transmission Talisman that Miss Bai gave me before—which was for me to notify her as soon as I found the items you needed, young master—
I thought I'd try to see if I could use Miss Bai's connections to escape the conscription order. But the result was far more serious than I had imagined.
Miss Bai replied that even she had to go out on missions. Trying to escape would only result in being hunted down by the Malevolent Spirit Sect .
But later, Miss Bai still managed to find a way to have me transferred from another place to Windy Cool Mountain and join her Ninth Squad. This is much better than taking orders from someone else."
Sun Guoshu briefly explained his past. After listening, Li Yan nodded. "That was indeed the best solution. Even the disciples of the Malevolent Spirit Sect themselves cannot avoid it, let alone outsiders. Hmm, you didn't come here this time just for this, did you?"
Li Yan appreciated that Sun Guoshu hadn't immediately revealed their acquaintance during the day to show off his connections. This made him feel that Sun Guoshu was a seasoned individual, befitting his background as a rogue cultivator who had long navigated the martial world.
If such a person was used well, he could be trusted to handle certain matters.
"Of course. Regarding the matter you entrusted to me back then, young master, after two years of constant visits and inquiries, I finally obtained another item last year. It's just that this item was given to Miss Bai at the time, and the Spirit Stones were also paid for by her."
"Oh? You obtained another item? What is it?"
Li Yan was stunned for a moment, then his heart filled with joy. It seemed his judgment of Sun Guoshu had been correct. People like him feared power, could assess situations, and would work diligently when properly incentivized.
In the past, Li Yan had of course thought of using more than just incentives, but with his cultivation at the time, he couldn't even speak of threats.
"Reporting to the young master, it is a second-rank Ice Cloud Feather. This material is extremely rare and precious. At that time, even if I had exhausted my entire fortune, I couldn't have hoped to purchase it. In the end, it was Miss Bai who spent the sky-high price of twenty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones to obtain it..."
Before Sun Guoshu could finish, Li Yan had already interrupted him. "You said an Ice Cloud Feather?"
Hearing Li Yan's question, Sun Guoshu's initial excitement sank. With his experience, he had already sensed something from Li Yan's tone. Could it be that Li Yan no longer needed the item he had worked so hard to find?
He looked up at Li Yan, only to find that his face was still calm, showing no signs of dissatisfaction, but also no excitement. For a moment, he didn't know what Li Yan meant.
He thought to himself, 'If you say you don't want it later, even though Miss Bai paid for it, it's such a large sum. If Miss Bai blames me for it later, wouldn't I be wronged for nothing?'
But he quickly replied, "Yes, young master. Someone was selling the Ice Cloud Feather secretly, intending to put it up for auction at the market. I found out about it in advance and went to their door that very night.
If it had really gone to the market, it's hard to say what the final price would have been. I estimate twenty thousand Spirit Stones would not have been nearly enough.
After learning that the other party was in urgent need of a sum of Spirit Stones, I exhausted all my persuasive powers and finally convinced them. They only agreed to give me half a day to gather twenty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones. Otherwise, it would be sent to the market for auction..."
Li Yan couldn't help but feel disappointed. It seemed that luck truly didn't all gather on one person. He had just obtained two Ice Cloud Feathers from his master, and both were from third-rank demonic beasts.
However, he now looked down on such a small amount of Spirit Stones. Since the other party had diligently carried out the task he had given, how could he discourage him? Moreover, Sun Guoshu had described in such detail how hard he had worked. How could Li Yan not understand?
Li Yan waved his hand, stopping Sun Guoshu's words. He patted his waist with his right hand, and a Storage Pouch flew out. He now had several storage pouches hanging from his waist, something he did deliberately now, as most cultivators above Foundation Establishment did.
He then said to Sun Guoshu, "Here are three thousand Spirit Stones. Consider it payment for your hard work. As for Senior Sister Bai, I will pay her another twenty thousand Spirit Stones separately.
You did well. If you have the chance, keep an eye out for a Jade-Horned Serpent for me. It needs to be at least second-rank."
Seeing a Storage Pouch fly towards him and hearing Li Yan's words, Sun Guoshu was overjoyed. 'Three thousand Spirit Stones, and a high-grade looking Storage Pouch on top of that.' He had made a small fortune this time. At the same time, he felt he was truly lucky to have followed the right person.
So, Sun Guoshu quickly reached out and took it, then thanked him profusely.
How could he know that Li Yan wouldn't even bat an eye at handing him thirty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones now? But Li Yan would not do that.
A few hundred Spirit Stones could make a rogue cultivator ecstatic. This was already a generous amount, given in consideration of Sun Guoshu's diligent work. All in all, the sum seemed reasonable.
"A second-rank Jade-Horned Serpent... I once heard of one appearing at the Peiyang Market . But by the time I found it, it had long been bought. I never managed to track down the person who bought it in the end.
Although I am no longer at the market, the Jade-Horned Serpent is actually easier to find compared to the other materials you gave, young master. The chances are much higher.
It's just that the cultivation world has been in turmoil for the past two years, so fewer cultivators are going out on adventures. They also deliberately hoard some raw materials, which has caused materials like the second-rank Jade-Horned Serpent to appear very rarely.
However, I have been at Windy Cool Mountain for some time now and have started to get to know some cultivators. I will definitely inquire seriously about this raw material for you, young master."
Having received a good number of Spirit Stones, Sun Guoshu's confidence grew. Jade-Horned Serpents could be found in the Malevolent Spirit Sect's Hundred Thousand Great Mountains . It was just that he had been focused on rarer raw materials before and had carelessly missed an opportunity.
However, Sun Guoshu felt that with his social skills, he might be able to find news of the Jade-Horned Serpent among the cultivators at Windy Cool Mountain.
Li Yan nodded, then he pointed to a stone chair beside him. "Have a seat. I have another question for you."
With that, he pushed another cup of tea to the side of the stone table.
Seeing that Li Yan had more questions, Sun Guoshu's spirits lifted. If he handled this well, he might get another reward.
At the same time, he thought, 'This is Senior Wei's personal disciple. His words carry far more weight here at Windy Cool Mountain than Miss Bai's. This is the best way to protect my life right now.'
So he walked a few steps forward and sat down on one side, looking at Li Yan.
But being so close to Li Yan, Sun Guoshu felt an inexplicable shudder. He himself didn't know why a chill suddenly ran through him.
He had carefully inquired about Li Yan's cultivation back then. The first time he met this kid, he had been tricked. The other party should have been a true Qi Condensation stage cultivator at that time, but he probably had some treasure on him that made him suffer a loss.
He had always been convinced of this guess. As the personal disciple of a Peak Master of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, he must have countless treasures.
It wasn't until later, when he couldn't find Li Yan, that he learned from Bai Rou that the other had successfully established his foundation. Counting the time, it had only been a short two years. And upon seeing him today, he had reached Mid-stage Foundation Establishment , the same as himself.
He had exhausted all his assets to barely break through to Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and he had been stuck at the peak of Initial-stage Foundation Establishment for a full thirty years.
Thinking of the few decades of life he had left, Sun Guoshu had no hope of forming a core. Even Late-stage Foundation Establishment might be an insurmountable chasm for him forever.
'Is this the foundation of the Four Great Sects? With their superior cultivation methods, how can the unranked methods I practice compare?
If I could obtain a mid-level cultivation method, perhaps my cultivation could also advance by leaps and bounds.'
In an instant, many thoughts arose in Sun Guoshu's mind. He had always thought his aptitude was decent, just that his immortal fortune was too thin.
When he first saw Li Yan today, he was shocked by his cultivation. How had a mere Qi Condensation cultivator suddenly become his equal? This made a strong sense of jealousy rise in Sun Guoshu's heart.
But now, being so close to Li Yan, a very weak pressure suddenly emanated from him. It was this wisp of pressure that made Sun Guoshu feel as if he were sitting on pins and needles, like lying next to a ferocious beast.
In fact, this was something Li Yan did intentionally. In the past, his ability and cultivation were limited, so he couldn't threaten Sun Guoshu. Now that he had confirmed Sun Guoshu's ability to get things done, how could he let him go?
If he could make this person serve him loyally, he could save more time for cultivation. That was why he had Sun Guoshu come closer and deliberately released some pressure to intimidate him.
Of course, with Li Yan's true strength now, he didn't need to deliberately call Sun Guoshu over to make him tremble. But Li Yan was definitely not the type to easily reveal his true strength to others.
It was enough to intimidate him. And he had no intention of subduing him in one go. A person like Sun Guoshu, though he looked rough, was as cunning as a fox.
Before Li Yan completely unleashed his strength and displayed the ability to absolutely crush him, he could only make Sun Guoshu suspicious.
However, achieving this goal for now was enough. A suspicious person who also wanted to rely on him for protection would think more and more afterward.
The more he thought, the greater his doubts would become. At some point, if he could shatter his last psychological defense with a single strike at a critical moment, he might be able to completely subdue this person.
Just as Sun Guoshu shifted his posture unnaturally, the heart-trembling feeling suddenly vanished, as if everything just now had been his own illusion.