Starting Cultivation During a Trip

”Then I really owe you one.” Zhang Fan patted Sui Chunsheng on the shoulder, turned to glance at the tightly closed Scripture Treasure Hall, and immediately squeezed his way out of the crowd.

He had hardly taken two steps when a figure flickered out, blocking Zhang Fan’s way.

”Yun Jianyue!?” Zhang Fan frowned deeply.

”Such lack of manners. You can call me Aunt Yun.” Yun Jianyue chuckled softly and walked right up to Zhang Fan.

”You’ve been thinking it over all night. Well, what do you think?”

”I want to call the cops!” Zhang Fan shot her a look and replied coolly.

”...”

”Silly child, what kind of joke is that? Aunt Yun wouldn’t harm you.”

Yun Jianyue’s laughter was gentle and full, her slender jade hand gently reaching up as if about to stroke Zhang Fan’s cheek.

Zhang Fan immediately became alert, instinctively stepping back.

”Look at you. When you get down to it, I’m your elder. How could I hurt you?” Yun Jianyue kept her playful smile and didn’t seem to mind.

”Come with me, I’ll show you something.”

Without waiting for Zhang Fan’s reaction, Yun Jianyue headed straight out of the Observatory of Profound Mystery.

Zhang Fan hesitated for a moment, but ended up following her.

Yun Jianyue usually cultivated in the Observatory of Profound Mystery, but she also had business interests in the secular world. In Gusu City, she was even quite a renowned entrepreneur.

She drove Zhang Fan straight to Shantang Street, leading him to a serene and elegant little courtyard.

”There’s a courtyard like this in such a run-down alley?” Zhang Fan stood outside the door, unable to stop himself from commenting.

From outside, this alley looked so shabby one would think only left-behind old folks lived here, but the inside was a whole different world.

”Property in this area isn’t cheap...” Yun Jianyue said with a soft laugh.

Gusu City’s urban development was unlike other cities; it hadn’t bulldozed the old city and rebuilt. Instead, it preserved the old layout, and the water-town charm of Jiangnan was truly unique.

Because of this, any courtyard here was worth a fortune.

”How much?” Zhang Fan couldn’t help but ask.

”By today’s market, this courtyard still fetches eight figures easily.” Yun Jianyue opened the door with a smile. ”Business hasn’t been good the last couple of years—otherwise...”

”Alright, enough.” Zhang Fan shook his head.

Eight figures—already an astronomical sum for him.

”What exactly do you want to show me?” Zhang Fan finally asked.

”Come on in.”

Yun Jianyue beckoned and led the way.

In the front courtyard, under a patio umbrella, a man and a woman were sitting there, having breakfast.

The breakfast was quite plain—besides rice porridge and pickles, there were also fried insects.

”Hmm!?”

Zhang Fan stopped in his tracks, looking at the man and woman, and froze in surprise.

”It’s you!?”

Three voices rang out all at once.

Shi Shougong’s eyes went wide and he shot to his feet. Never in his dreams did he imagine he’d meet Zhang Fan here again—and that defeat still gnawed at him.

Su Shiyu’s pretty eyes sparkled. She hadn’t expected that after their fleeting farewell on the bullet train, she’d see Zhang Fan again in this situation.

As for Zhang Fan, he was even more baffled—who would have thought he’d run into two people he knew here!?

”How dare you show your face here!?”

Shi Shougong shouted, his eyes turning beastly, pupils vertical and savage light gleaming.

Whoom—

A sudden gust blasted out, flipping the little table over. He stepped forward as though merging into the wind, appearing before Zhang Fan in a split second. A foul-smelling wind slammed into Zhang Fan, making his head spin.

At the same time, Shi Shougong’s hand changed—turning claw-like, with scales erupting along the skin, nails growing long and sharp as knives, clawing straight for Zhang Fan’s throat.

”Shi Shougong! What are you doing!?”

Su Shiyu’s voice was sharp and cold. An awful power erupted from her delicate frame—the ground beneath her feet cracked open with a thunderous boom, fissures spider-webbing outward, shards of stone flying like blades.

She instantly blocked in front of Zhang Fan, her arm stretching and twisting, like a boneless rope, wrapping Shi Shougong’s outstretched arm tight.

”She’s a demon too!?”

Zhang Fan’s gaze narrowed, eyes locked on Su Shiyu blocking his path.

In that instant, Su Shiyu’s outburst revealed a power surpassing even Shi Shougong’s.

”What do you think you’re doing? That man is the one who injured me that night!” Shi Shougong growled, but there was real wariness in his eyes.

”Nothing to do with me. As long as I’m here, you can’t touch him.” Su Shiyu’s expression was cold and clear as ice.

She didn’t know who Zhang Fan was, but that day on the bullet train, thanks to him, she’d dodged the Lao Mountain Daoists’ search and narrowly escaped disaster.

”Enough, don’t worry. He can’t hurt me anyway.”

At that moment, Zhang Fan spoke, gently patting Su Shiyu on the shoulder.

Immediately, Su Shiyu’s arm withdrew, returning to normal. Even Shi Shougong’s abnormalities faded—his nails shrank back, the scales on his skin vanished without a trace.

This scene made Yun Jianyue’s pupils contract sharply; she instinctively gave Zhang Fan a long, hard look.

”Taming Demons... the powers of a Human Xiao... He really is a freak,” Yun Jianyue thought to herself.

In this moment, the weight of Zhang Fan in her mind grew heavier. She could tell this young man harbored tremendous potential, completely unawakened to it himself.

”Alright, no more fighting.”

Yun Jianyue raised her hand, stopping the confrontation.

”Aunt Yun, what’s going on?” Shi Shougong asked Yun Jianyue, confused.

”From this day on, you two will listen to his orders.”

The words stunned not only Shi Shougong and Su Shiyu, but even Zhang Fan. His face changed, totally thrown off.

”What? Aunt Yun, you must be joking!” Shi Shougong blurted out.

”I never joke.”

Yun Jianyue remained unbothered, her tone light: ”From now on, he is your one and only master.”

”What do you mean by this?” Zhang Fan frowned. ”You want to drag me into the mess?”

”I know you still have a lot of doubts, but one thing is certain...” Yun Jianyue seemed to see straight through Zhang Fan’s thoughts.

”You wouldn’t just stand by and watch them refine what’s inside the Dharma Jar, would you?”

At this, Yun Jianyue’s lips lifted, revealing the ghost of a smile.

”They can help you. I can help you too.”

As she spoke, Yun Jianyue moved to Zhang Fan’s side, patting him on the shoulder. ”Young man, what’s real and what’s false, only you can see it clearly for yourself.”

Her tone was soft and lingering. Shi Shougong and Su Shiyu exchanged a glance, then both saluted Zhang Fan respectfully.

...

Yujing City, Jiangnan Province Daoist Alliance.

It was late at night, and a light still burned in an office inside a three-story building.

Lou Hechuan, president of the Jiangnan Province Daoist Alliance, stood at a desk, brush in hand, writing ink on paper, with the Supreme Purity Scripture beside him.

”The Sealing Ceremony at the Observatory of Profound Mystery is almost complete.”

Just then, a middle-aged Daoist beside him spoke up.

”So far, everything’s gone according to plan,” Lou Hechuan replied without looking up.

”There’s one thing I can’t figure out.”

”Speak.”

”Why did you have to drag those two kids from Night is not bright into something so important?” The middle-aged Daoist frowned. ”They’re not part of the organization—not to be trusted.”

”By rights, you shouldn’t...”

He cut himself off.

The Human-shaped Primordial Spirit—what a huge deal. Yet this matter was leaking everywhere, with two unrelated youngsters tangled up. It didn’t make sense at all.

”That young man named Zhang Fan...” Lou Hechuan’s brush paused mid-air.

”Recently, there’s been a lot of chaos in Yujing City, and that young man’s shadow is in all of it.”

The Jiangnan Province Daoist Alliance controlled all Daoist matters in the province; they couldn’t possibly miss the string of major events in Yujing City.

”Probably a coincidence. Even if it isn’t, it’s not like...” muttered the middle-aged Daoist.

”Even if it’s a coincidence, it’s nothing. Youngsters stirring up trouble is normal enough. But the thing is...”

”His surname is Zhang!!” Lou Hechuan straightened, a chilling gleam flashing in his old, muddy eyes.

”You mean... Can’t be, can it? The Dragon Tiger Zhang Family’s incense line has been cut for eighty years—how could someone just appear out of nowhere...” The middle-aged Daoist’s face darkened, grave.

”Not every Zhang is the same as every Zhang... I don’t think it’s likely myself... But that one on Zhenwu Mountain—why would he, out of the blue, take a new disciple?” Lou Hechuan spoke heavily.

With Chu Chaoran’s status and cultivation, not even the best of the young generation would be worth opening his gates for, passing down the incense.

Once suspicion takes root, it grows and flourishes. That’s what Lou Hechuan cared about most.

”Whether his Zhang is the Zhang from Dragon Tiger Mountain... we’ll find out in a few days.”

”You mean...”

”If his Zhang turns out to be Dragon Tiger Mountain’s Zhang... that Dharma Seal will give us the answer.”

Lou Hechuan’s gaze grew somber, his old voice echoing through the cold, clear office.