Han Jihai was stunned upon hearing this, and muttered to himself:

"Am I being sidelined?"

The more Han Jihai thought about it, the more it seemed likely.

His eldest disciple and third disciple had been transferred from the Changchun Sect months ago, supposedly to purchase supplies in Wenda City.

Now even he and Lin Chen, along with his youngest disciple, were being sent away...

If this isn’t sidelining, what is it?

Han Jihai felt somewhat anxious and uneasy.

He had dedicated a lifetime to the Pill Peak... Uh, though perhaps it wasn’t much of a contribution.

But isn’t there merit at least in the toil even without achievement?

How can it not compare to those newcomers from the Celestial Pill Sect? They’ve only been here a few years!

The more Han Jihai thought about it, the angrier he became, and he expressed his dissatisfaction right in front of True Man Changchun:

"Ancestor, you’re being too biased!"

"I, Han, have labored for the sect my entire life. Even without merit, isn’t there toil?"

"I have been injured for the sect, I have bled for the sect!"

True Man Changchun: "..."

True Man Changchun glanced at Han Jihai, somewhat speechless, and then ignored him.

He simply looked towards Lin Chen, then handed a Storage Bag to Lin Chen.

"Lin Chen, you are a reliable cultivator... Well, at least much more reliable than your master."

"This time, Han the kid is merely the guide. The specific decisions along the way are to be made by you."

After a pause, he continued:

"This Storage Bag contains some Spirit Stones, as well as quite a few Pills and Magical Treasures."

"Traveling far from the sect incurs quite a bit of expense..."

"Oh, by the way, the osmanthus cake in Wenda City is very good. I’ve had it before. If convenient, bring some back this time?"

Lin Chen took the Storage Bag and scanned its contents with his Divine Sense.

His expression changed instantly, and he looked up at Ancestor Changchun.

At this moment, Lin Chen was extremely shocked in his heart.

This Storage Bag contained at least five hundred thousand Spirit Stones!

Yes, Middle Grade Spirit Stones!

Besides this, the quantity of Pills and Magical Treasures seemed a bit excessive as well.

Lin Chen vaguely had a suspicion.

After a moment of silence, Lin Chen asked:

"Ancestor, when will we return..."

Ancestor Changchun smiled and said:

"If fast, three to five years, if slow, seven to eight years will do!"

"The key is enough training for oneself. When it’s time to return, I’ll send someone to fetch you all..."

Lin Chen nodded upon hearing this, and solemnly said to Ancestor Changchun:

"Take care, Ancestor!"

...

The next morning, the four left the Changchun Sect.

Lin Chen, Li Zhenqian, Zhou Tieshan, and their master Han Jihai, four Golden Core Cultivators.

Although Han Jihai expressed reluctance, Lin Chen and Zhou Tieshan were not in the sect.

Without any of his disciples, he had no choice but to go as well.

Han Jihai summoned the Flying Ship, with the four of them taking turns controlling the artifact in flight.

In just two two-hour periods, they reached Yanlai City.

Li Zhenqian returned home to handle some family matters.

The Li Mansion now boasted two Golden Cores, making it one of the top powers within the Yanlai Realm.

Besides the Changchun Sect, the Li Mansion was the strongest.

Even the royal family of the Yanlai Realm was vaguely suppressed beneath the Li Mansion.

However, the departure of Lin Chen and the others from the Yanlai Realm was carried out discreetly.

They didn’t inform many people and left after a brief half-day stay, heading quickly towards Human Path City.

...

A few days later, at dusk.

Han Jihai looked up at the sky and said:

"If I remember correctly, there is a small town three hundred miles to the northwest, called Cyan Jade Town."

"It produces special Jade Marrow which can be used for refining Pills and is greatly beneficial to cultivation."

"Since it’s already late today, we should stay in the town for a day. We can also purchase some of its unique cultivation materials. Shall we depart tomorrow?"

The group naturally had no objections after hearing this.

So they headed in the direction of Cyan Jade Town.

A quarter of an hour later, Lin Chen frowned slightly and stopped to say:

"Master, wait a moment... Something seems off about Cyan Jade Town..."

Lin Chen, at the Nascent Soul Stage, although not always releasing his Divine Sense.

But after extending it for just a few dozen miles, he sensed something unusual in Cyan Jade Town.

Han Jihai and the others also extended their Divine Sense upon hearing this.

After a moment, Han Jihai said with a serious expression:

"The people in the town... seem to have Ghost Qi?"

"This is the aura of Demon Cultivators!"

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances, understanding the situation in Cyan Jade Town.

Lin Chen was also quite shocked.

"How long has it been... for Demon Cultivators to reach Cyan Jade Town?"

It seemed that Changchun Sect hadn’t received any intelligence on this matter.

The speed of the Demon Cultivators’ expansion was far faster than Lin Chen had imagined!

"Senior Brother, what should we do now... Should we leave here?" Zhou Tieshan curiously asked.

It was his first time traveling far, about to head to Wenda Sect, with too little experience in the Cultivation Realm.

Han Jihai glanced at the sky, frowning slightly.

The group hadn’t rested for three days and three nights.

Even as Golden Core Cultivators, their Essence, Qi, and Spirit were significantly affected.

A resting place was urgently needed to adjust their condition.

"Lin Chen, should we dare to travel another day? Once outside the sphere of influence of the Demon Sect... we can make plans?"

Lin Chen didn’t speak but instead released his Divine Sense, thoroughly inspecting every corner of Cyan Jade Town.

"Only two Golden Core Demon Cultivators and just over a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators... It seems the main force of the Demon Sect has already left here..."

Lin Chen murmured.

Thinking of this, Lin Chen shook his head and said:

"No, let’s go to Cyan Jade Town!"

"Go to Cyan Jade Town?!" Han Jihai’s eyes widened. "Are you planning to start a war with the Demon Sect?"

Lin Chen smiled and said:

"Master, Cyan Jade Town is a place rich in Jade Marrow. As they say, an ounce of jade is worth a thousand ounces of gold..."

"Now that the main force of the Demon Sect has withdrawn, only a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators and two Golden Core cultivators are left to guard it."

"If we can take all the jade stones... this would be a huge fortune!"

Hearing this, Han Jihai’s heart skipped a beat.

Yes, the entire marketplace in Cyan Jade Town, how many Spirit Stones would all that Jade Marrow be worth?

Millions? Maybe even tens of millions!

Not to mention the other resources in the marketplace.

Now that Cyan Jade Town has been breached and the demon army has retreated, only a few weaker cultivators are left in the city to transport resources.

Isn’t this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

If we miss this chance, it would be incredibly difficult to get such resources all at once again next time.

The key point is...

Robbing Demon Cultivators, can that even be called a robbery?

This is called upholding justice!

Lin Chen is a righteous cultivator and has never engaged in the practices of demon cultivators!

Li Zhenqian, upon hearing this, was also quite tempted. As the Young Master of the Li Mansion and its number one cultivator, 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

the Li Mansion now has businesses spread across the Yanlai Realm, even reaching outside Yanlai Country.

The annual income is in the hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones, which is quite substantial.

But Spirit Stones are always in short supply; there are too many disciples and clan members within the family to cultivate.

Even though Li Zhenqian is the Li Mansion’s top cultivator, he also wants to share the burden for the family.

"Lin Chen, are you confident? How do we split this loot?" Li Zhenqian’s voice trembled with excitement.

Lin Chen thought for a moment and said:

"I am confident in killing those two Golden Core cultivators. As for the others... I can kill fifty Foundation Establishment cultivators."

Lin Chen said this quite conservatively.

After hearing this, Li Zhenqian nodded and said:

"Alright, then I’ll handle the array formation! Give me a two-hour time... I will seal off the entire Cyan Jade Town, ensuring that no message can get out from within the town!"

"As for the distribution..."

Li Zhenqian pondered for a moment and said:

"Senior Brother Li, you did the most work, how about you take fifty percent? Then I’ll take twenty percent, and Martial Uncle Han takes twenty percent... Junior Brother Zhou takes ten percent?"

Li Zhenqian’s distribution was fairly equitable, and no one had any objections.

Lin Chen would deal with the two Golden Core cultivators and half of the Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The remaining Foundation Establishment cultivators posed almost no threat to them.

This money was as good as free for the taking!

Thus, the four of them agreed without a hitch, and a mission to uphold justice (xijie) in Cyan Jade Town officially commenced.

First, Li Zhenqian set up an array to isolate the town.

Then, Lin Chen summoned his Flying Sword and, with little effort, killed the two Golden Core cultivators.

At the same time, Master Han Jihai and Junior Brother Zhou Tieshan also acted, causing a near one-sided massacre against the Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Massive vines extended dozens of shoots, crushing these Foundation Establishment Demon cultivators into pieces.

Though it was Zhou Tieshan’s first time facing an enemy and he was quite nervous,

the overwhelming difference in cultivation meant that his True Essence practically ensured death or serious injury when hitting Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The whole operation took only two hours and fifteen minutes from start to finish.

Among which, Li Zhenqian spent two hours setting up the array, and the total extermination of the town’s demon cultivators took only fifteen minutes.

After killing over a hundred demon cultivators, and confirming there were no survivors, Lin Chen guided the three others to gather the resources.

This was the wealth of the entire Cyan Jade Town!

Though the marketplace in Cyan Jade Town wasn’t as large as the one in Changchun Mountain, it was close to Guangyuan Town.

Though most of the resources were probably taken by the demon army,

the remaining parts had the four of them grinning ear-to-ear.

"We’ve struck it rich, truly rich!"

Han Jihai was flushed, his beard quivering slightly.

"This... this must be worth how many Spirit Stones? Perhaps nearly ten million!"

"After the cut, we each have two million Spirit Stones to ourselves!"

Although Han Jihai had a high status, he had become a Golden Core cultivator for less than twenty years.

All his wealth accumulated over these two hundred or so years probably didn’t amount to two million Spirit Stones.

With this heist, as soon as they sell these resources, their wealth would double!

"No wonder those Tribulation Cultivators love heisting so much... it earns money so quickly!" Han Jihai murmured.

Li Zhenqian was even more excited than Han Jihai.

When he looked at the pile of Jade Marrow and various cultivation resources in his Storage Bag, his smile was crooked.

This single heist could elevate the foundation of the Li Mansion by several ranks!

Li Zhenqian had never earned money so quickly.

As for Junior Brother Zhou Tieshan, having only recently started cultivating and always practicing within the Changchun Sect,

he had little concept of Spirit Stones as his cultivation resources were always provided by Pill Peak and the Sect.

He trembled all over, even vomiting from the shock of his first kill.

Lin Chen was evidently the calmest of them all.

He took a look at the excited Han Jihai and others, thought for a moment, and said:

"Master, I think now is not the time for us to be excited..."

"Although the cultivators of Cyan Jade Town have been killed, we still need to tidy up a bit."

"Moreover, these resources need to be selected. Storage Bags and the like can easily be set with restrictions and traced to our location..."

After a pause, Lin Chen took out some Storage Bags and said:

"I’ve prepared some Storage Treasures here. Let’s first store all the resources in them. Destroy any treasures that might leave marks one by one."

"Although Junior Brother Li laid down an array... being discovered is only a matter of time!"

"We must leave quickly, but... before we do, I think we can set fire to the whole of Cyan Jade Town!"

Lin Chen took a deep breath, looking at the vast Cyan Jade Town marketplace.

The place was littered with foul-smelling corpses, and all the resisting cultivators had been slaughtered by the Demon Sect...

Setting a fire to obliterate any trace couldn’t be more fitting.

Han Jihai was dumbfounded as he listened, muttering several moments later:

"Chen’Er, why do I feel like you’re a bit too familiar with these steps?"