Yuan Ming breathed a sigh of relief, feeling fortunate that he had been overly confident in his Soul Collision technique and the Stealing Heaven Cauldron, thinking he could break any illusion. He had underestimated Sha Hao’s capabilities.

If Sha Hao had cultivated his Dream Butterfly Illusion Technique to the Mirage Realm, even Soul Collision might not have been effective.

The Dream Butterfly Illusion Technique was incredibly powerful. Yuan Ming had resolved to learn it, but unfortunately, Sha Hao was dead. Otherwise, he could have used Black Incense to possess the body and comprehend the technique more efficiently, doubling the results with half the effort.

Yuan Ming packed everything up and began to explore Sha Hao’s cave dwelling, growing more pleased by the minute.

The cave was well-hidden, with a richer spiritual energy than Xiaohu City, and was protected by the formidable Five Elements Illusionary Formation. It was far superior to his modest abode in Xiaohu City.

Having lived in Xiaohu City for three years, Yuan Ming had made a fair amount of money from the Xuanhua Spiritual Incense Shop but had also attracted some trouble. Coupled with the looming threat from Changchun Temple, it was time for a change. This place, within the influence of Wulei Sect in Zhao Country, seemed like the perfect new location.

Yuan Ming immediately set to work arranging the cave dwelling. He cleared out the stone chamber where the Soul Extinguishing Sword had been kept, removed all the formations on the floor, and placed the casting furnace he had obtained from Master Heimu’s cave dwelling there.

The recent battle had made Yuan Ming acutely aware of the importance of artifacts in combat. He had learned the art of artifact refining in Bi Luo Cave, and with his powerful soul, he had a natural advantage in areas like drawing talismans and infusing spirit. If he could dedicate himself to artifact refining, he might have already achieved significant success by now.

Unfortunately, since leaving Bi Luo Cave, he had been too busy to properly delve into the art of artifact refining.

Now, with the Xuejing Pills and nearly a hundred thousand spirit stones he had obtained from Sha Hao, he wouldn’t have to worry about resources for cultivation for the next two or three years and could afford to take things easy.

The secret chamber next to Sha Hao’s was filled with spiritual materials, and his own storage ring was also packed with unused materials and demonic beast parts. In the days to come, he planned to improve his artifact refining skills alongside his cultivation.

Yuan Ming quickly got everything in order but didn’t start cultivating right away, as there were still some matters to take care of in Xiaohu City.

He sealed the cave dwelling and flew southward on his artifact.

…

Xiaohu City, Xuanhua Spiritual Incense Shop.

Business boomed even more each day after the Tianxiang Auction ended.

Qingxuan and Zixuan incenses, as the shop’s flagship products, had become regular purchases for many major sects.

The Seven Steps Down, auctioned off earlier, had become the stuff of legends. Rumors told of a rogue cultivator who, when ambushed by two cultivators of the same level, survived and even killed one of his attackers thanks to the Seven Steps Down.

The story was detailed, but few could actually clarify the identity and cultivation level of this rogue cultivator.

As for the truth, probably only Hu Tu, who always happened to be present when the story was told, knew it best.

“The boss hasn’t returned yet. In a few days, we’ll have no more incense to sell,” Hu Tu said to Muyang as he sent off the last customer and hung up the ‘closed’ sign as usual.

After locking the shop door, he turned around only to see Yuan Ming’s figure.

“Boss, you’re back! Are you here to check the accounts? I’ll go get the ledger for you,” Hu Tu exclaimed with joy.

Yuan Ming nodded and didn’t stop him. After quickly reviewing the ledger, a smile appeared on his face.

“Not bad, the revenue has increased by fifty percent recently.”

“It’s all thanks to the quality and effectiveness of our incense. We just did what we had to,” Hu Tu complimented timely.

Yuan Ming closed the ledger, “When I left, I asked you to keep an ear out for news in the city. Anything noteworthy?”

“In the past few days, there have been two major events. First, Huoque Gate has rallied the local alliances of Guangli, Qiyue, and Hongshang to form a team and head to the Northern Wastes. Second, it’s rumored that Changchun Temple has roughly located the soul cultivator Pu Zhengqing and has organized a significant number of people. Three Foundation Establishment elders from Changchun Temple, Shengye Sect, and Precious Spirit Sect set off yesterday to capture him in Zhao Country,” Hu Tu reported.

“Good work. However, for the next few days, you and Muyang pack up and sort out the remaining incense in the shop. I’ll take you both to Wangyue City in Zhao Country. I plan to open a new shop there,” Yuan Ming said with a nod.

“This… Boss, we’ve just started to build a reputation here. Isn’t it a pity to close now? How about letting Muyang manage this shop while I go with you to open a branch?” Hu Tu was reluctant to leave the thriving business.

“I have my plans for this matter. Besides, our materials and production are limited and can’t support two shops,” Yuan Ming shook his head.

Hearing this, Hu Tu sighed regretfully, bowed, and then went off with Muyang to pack up.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming also stood up and left the spiritual incense shop, heading to the Scattered Cultivators Association.

Perhaps due to Huoque Gate and Changchun Temple drawing away many people for their missions, the association was sparsely populated. The attendants stood idly behind the counter, some so bored they even sneakily read a book on the side.

Yuan Ming glanced at the book in the attendant’s hand, which was the “Travels to the South” he had written, and chuckled to himself as he approached the attendant.

Hearing someone enter, the attendant hastily hid the book and looked up to see it wasn’t his supervisor, he sighed in relief and adopted a respectful demeanor.

“Senior, are you here to take on a mission?”

Yuan Ming shook his head and threw Sha Hao’s body out, uttering just two words: “Claim reward.”

The attendant, startled by the sudden appearance of a corpse, was petrified. After regaining his composure, he scrutinized Sha Hao’s face and exclaimed in surprise, “Pu Zhengqing?”

At those words, the entire Scattered Cultivators Association fell silent. Curious cultivators looked over to see a corpse lying in front of Yuan Ming, causing a stir.

Yuan Ming looked around, making no attempt to hide, and announced loudly, “Fellow cultivators, I am Ha Gong. The soul cultivator Pu Zhengqing has been tracked and thoroughly slain by me. Here lies his body as proof. From now on, this scourge shall no longer plague the world. I ask you all to bear witness.”

Hearing his words, the cultivators in the association were dumbstruck with amazement, while the attendants stood frozen, some of the more astute ones hurriedly turned to summon the association’s manager.

Soon, a Foundation Establishment stage manager hurried over and bowed to Yuan Ming, “According to our rules, I need to verify the body to ensure there’s no disguise. Please forgive the inconvenience, Brother Ha-Gong.”

Yuan Ming nodded and stepped aside.

The manager intended to have the attendants take the body to a verification room, but seeing the crowd of curious cultivators, he decided to bring the tools out and conduct the examination right there in the hall.

As he began, a transparent gem-like artifact was taken out, with fresh blood suspended in its center. As the manager activated the artifact, it floated above the body, emitting an orange glow that swept across the corpse before returning to the artifact, causing the suspended blood to change.

Soon, an image of Sha Hao formed from the blood appeared in the center of the artifact.

Seeing this, the manager swallowed hard and looked up at Yuan Ming with undisguised admiration.

“This is indeed Pu Zhengqing’s body, untouched.”

The Scattered Cultivators Association erupted into noise, but Yuan Ming simply nodded, “Now that the identity is verified, I should be able to collect the bounty, right?”

“Of course, I will have someone fetch it. However, since you’ve brought back his body, the reward is only fifty thousand spirit stones. Please understand, Brother Ha-Gong,” the manager said.

“No matter,” Yuan Ming waved his hand.

Soon, Yuan Ming received a storage bag containing fifty thousand spirit stones from the manager and left without lingering.

Though he departed, the discussion about him in the association didn’t cease.

“Hey, this Ha Gong, I wonder which sect he’s from. He’s really impressive, killing someone that even Changchun Temple’s Foundation Establishment cultivators had to deal with,” someone marveled.

“Not just that, think about it. Changchun Temple went to great lengths to locate Pu Zhengqing. They had just set out, and Ha Gong already delivered the body. It shows that his cultivation is not the only impressive thing about him. It seems many sects will want to recruit him,” another yellow-robed cultivator said.

“Alas, fame brings trouble, fortune and misfortune go hand in hand. What do you think, if Changchun Temple finds out about this, will they reward Ha Gong or feel disgraced and seek to trouble him?” a long-robed cultivator suddenly asked.

“Changchun Temple is arrogant but not foolish. How could they trouble a cultivator like Ha Gong, who clearly has a promising future, over such a trivial matter? I think they’re more likely to try to recruit him,” the yellow-robed cultivator shook his head.

“Last time at the Tianxiang Auction, Elder Zuo Qinghui from Changchun Temple wanted to recruit Ha Gong but was rejected. Maybe they’ll try again this time,” an informed cultivator analyzed.

“Hmph, Changchun Temple dominates Great Jin! That’s for sure. They’ll use both carrot and stick on any well-known rogue cultivator,” someone couldn’t help but curse.

However, this remark seemed to touch a taboo, silencing everyone around. They dispersed, no longer discussing these topics publicly.

But the discussions about Ha Gong didn’t end there, and the news of Pu Zhengqing’s death by his hand spread like wildfire throughout every corner of Xiaohu City.