Chapter 186: Keep Your Hands Clean, Leave No Loose Ends

Ye Fan, when heading out you must put your own safety first; the cultivation world is a place where the weak are prey to the strong, so you must be wary everywhere, and never easily trust anyone.

If someone bullies you, fight back if you can; if you can't win, run—there's nothing shameful about that. Of course, if you're forced to act against someone, your moves must be clean and decisive; never leave any loose ends.

If you're a lone cultivator it might be okay, but if you offend a clan, they'll follow the vine to find you, and that's big trouble.

Lin Meng pondered, then ended up nagging a few more sentences.

That's how it's always portrayed in novels and TV shows.

Cut the grass without removing the roots, and the trouble will be endless.

Those villain characters often say 'do it cleanly,' which is the same principle.

Although the words are a bit ruthless and overbearing, there's no choice—when it's a matter of life and death, ruthlessness cannot be softened by mercy.

Ye Fan never expected the Immortal Sister to say these things to him.

Immortal Sister, what have you figured out?

But she didn't blame herself; instead, she kept reminding him not to leave any evidence.

After thinking, Ye Fan nodded and said:

"Immortal Sister, rest assured, I am very careful and cautious when I go out."

"By the way, the senior brothers and sisters said they'll be staying in Dark Phoenix City for a few days; tomorrow the Artificers' Guild will hold a trade fair at the City Lord's Mansion, and I want to go see if there's any suitable magical device."

Ye Fan reported his recent itinerary, having promised the Immortal Sister to earn points as quickly as possible and return to the sect.

He had already earned the points, but he really didn't want to miss this Artificers' trade fair.

Lin Meng thought, then stored a dozen small bottles of cola in her space.

"I don't have anything else to support you right now; take this dozen bottles of cola spirit water. The small bottles are easier to store—try to prevent the gas from dissipating so the spiritual aura concentration in the spirit water isn't weakened. Take it first."

"I see there's still half a bag of spirit rice left, so I won't replenish it for now; you can take it to trade if you wish."

Lin Meng sighed inwardly; the support she could give Ye Fan was indeed too little.

It would be great if there were a few more extraordinary modern items like organic cola and rice.

Ye Fan saw the cola appear in the space and waved his hands repeatedly.

"Immortal Sister, I don't need that much; I still have over half a bottle of cola."

"Just take it and keep it; if you really encounter a suitable magical device, try to buy it. The more magical treasures you have, the more secure you'll be, and the better you can accomplish my task, right?"

Lin Meng said as such; Ye Fan couldn't refuse further, only keeping her kindness in his heart.

Lin Meng quickly exited the space; Ye Fan thought, then stepped into the night and returned to the place where he had just fought several lone cultivators.

The ground still bore black scorch marks, the traces were obvious, and residual spiritual power fluctuations lingered in the air.

Ye Fan didn't hesitate, quickly covering all battle traces, then tried various ways to lure some unintelligent low-level demon beasts to disturb the spiritual power fluctuations here.

After doing that, he finally dared to leave with peace of mind.

What the Immortal Sister said is right; regardless of whether the other side has backing, he cannot let his guard down—even against lone cultivators, he must act cleanly.

After returning to that cave, Ye Fan took out a formation plate again, set up a simple defensive formation, then brought out the bloodstained clothes and four storage bags from his space.

The clothes were one of the few new garments he hadn't mended; after washing, they could still be worn.

After thinking, Ye Fan simply marked the least conspicuous storage bag with a recognition seal and stored the bloody clothes inside.

From now on, he must conceal the fact that he possesses a spirit treasury space; outwardly he'll use this storage bag, which is a common spatial magical device among cultivators and won't look out of place.

Ye Fan dumped the contents of several storage bags onto the ground, searching through them to see if there were any decent magical devices he could offer to the Immortal Sister.

Don't be fooled by the loot scattered on the ground; they were merely petty lone cultivators hiding among the common folk, their combined cultivation not exceeding Ye Fan's, so naturally their resources were meager and insignificant.

Ye Fan gathered some broken spirit stones; better than nothing, he put them away.

The basic cultivation manuals were all low-quality copies; practicing them would actually harm one's foundation, so Ye Fan planned to sell them at a black market for whatever he could get, at least exchanging them for a few spirit stones.

The remaining trash was something even Ye Fan looked down on, let alone the Immortal Sister.

But just then, Ye Fan's gaze fell on a piece of purple jade in the corner; it looked like a mundane object, yet the light patterns on it exuded an odd aura.

Ye Fan reached out and picked it up; the instant his finger touched the purple jade, a stream of light suddenly shot out and swiftly entered his spiritual platform.

He jumped in shock, instinctively reaching for his forehead, but there was no danger.

But soon, some information appeared in Ye Fan's mind, and he couldn't help but be greatly startled.

This was actually a jade tablet that could grant entry to a certain secret realm; the stream of light that had just entered his spiritual platform was a kind of mental imprint.

The information revealed that once that mysterious secret realm opens, no matter where he is, this mental imprint will be able to transport him into the realm.

After digesting this information, Ye Fan couldn't help but become excited.

Who would have thought that such a fine treasure would be hidden on a petty lone cultivator!

But soon, a sense of urgency arose in Ye Fan's heart.

The information contained no details at all about that secret realm, not even when it would open.

If the opening time were imminent, with his cultivation still below Foundation Establishment, entering would likely be suicidal.

No, he must obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill as soon as possible.

Only by becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator could his survival chances in the secret realm improve somewhat.

The next day, Lin Meng woke up naturally as usual.

Last night she again received a dream from her grandfather.

Grandfather still wore that patched-up garment, but his mood was exceptionally good.

As long as a person has money, their complexion improves—same for ghosts……

Grandfather was quite satisfied with Lin Meng's execution ability; upon seeing her, he praised her without cease.

"Little Meng, Grandfather's obedient granddaughter, you actually burned so much paper money for me—I'm overjoyed; Grandfather has finally become a rich man, hahaha!"

He patted his tattered clothes, thinking there were still new clothes to wear later, grinning so hard his eyes disappeared.

Lin Meng gave her grandfather an annoyed look.

Grandpa, this time I burned a whole truckload of silver ingots—do you know how awful that smoke is? This time I'll have to endure it longer, right?

Necessary!

The old man gave Lin Meng a guarantee in the dream, saying he would be frugal this time.

At that final moment, the old man seemed to mention something about souls and spirits; Lin Meng sat on the bed, patted her head, and realized that the last part of the conversation had been lost.

She has now figured out the pattern: anything she is not yet allowed to know, or anything involving great secrets, will be completely forgotten upon waking.

If forgotten, then forgotten; Grandpa sometimes acts mysterious—who knows what business he's up to in the underworld?

Lin Meng only hopes that this truckload of silver ingots will last a bit longer!