Chapter 50: Surveillance and the Door Knock

Qinglin Marketplace.

Fang Xing prepared a meal and enjoyed it alone.

The cooks on Chick Hawk Star may have good skills, but their ingredients are vastly inferior to those here.

For the sake of his martial cultivation, he still tried his best to dine at Qinglin Marketplace.

He occasionally ordered takeout from Chick Hawk Star just for a treat.

Of course, to maintain appearances, he sometimes kept a few household supplies at his home on Chick Hawk Star, then brought them all here to destroy.

He was just scooping rice from a large bowl when a tinkling laugh reached his ears; a fragrant breeze passed, and Hua Feiyue arrived gracefully: “Young Master…”

She wore a well-tailored pink dress that revealed her impressive bust and peach-like hips, yet her expression was utterly serious, giving the impression of a virtuous woman.

But combined with her seductive, languid figure, she exuded a peculiar contradiction.

In short—she was an invitation to sin!

Nearby, his neighbor, the demon-hunting cultivator Yu Xia, who was just leaving, stared blankly at the scene.

“You’re here… There’s no food for you here. Did you bring the spirit stones?”

Fang Xing quickly finished his rice and asked.

“I brought them.”

Hua Feiyue giggled softly, stepped into the house, and casually shut the door behind her.

“Hss…”

Outside, Yu Xia tore his gaze away and drew a sharp breath: “Fang Brother is truly extraordinary—how can such a beauty be chasing after him?”

He thought of himself—he was tall, handsome, and imposing—why hadn’t any female cultivators taken an interest in him?

Truly, comparing oneself to others only breeds despair!

He exhaled deeply and prepared to head to Tingyu Pavilion to vent his frustration.

…

“Young Master, three She Lan fruits, one Golden Dragon Ginseng root, three Emerald Bone flowers… all sold, totaling thirteen spirit stones and eight spirit sands. Additionally, thirteen Zhu Long herbs remain unsold. The marketplace previously paid high prices for Zhu Long herbs, but the trend seems to have passed—should we lower the price?”

Hua Feiyue sat upright and began her accounting.

“The Zhu Long herbs dropped in price?”

Fang Xing was slightly surprised, but such matters were easy to verify—he had no reason to doubt Hua Feiyue.

“Perhaps some faction is testing a new pill formula, or discovered Zhu Long herbs have other uses—like feeding beasts—and tried large quantities, but failed?”

Hua Feiyue tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear; such things were quite common.

“Alright…”

Fang Xing pondered, then took one low-grade spirit stone and four spirit sands from the small pile Hua Feiyue had given him and returned them: “This is your due…”

Though he had to give Hua Feiyue a cut, having someone handle the errands and earn more than selling everything to shops made him willing to pay.

“Thank you, Young Master!”

Hua Feiyue played with the low-grade spirit stone—about the size of a common die—her eyes smiling into crescents.

For cultivators, earning spirit stones in the marketplace was already difficult, let alone for someone in her position.

To have such a livelihood—how many peak Qi Condensation experts would envy her!

The more she realized this, the less she minded letting Fang Xing gain a slight advantage, determined to hold onto this business tightly.

“Mm, I value fair trade. As long as you run this honestly, you needn’t worry about anything here…”

Fang Xing added another warning, then returned to his room and brought out a wooden box: “Here are this time’s herbs…”

Hua Feiyue’s eyes lit up; she opened the box and began carefully counting each item.

Fang Xing liked this woman precisely for this: she understood propriety and conducted business with integrity.

If she thought she could seduce him, offer favors, and become a pleasure companion—slacking off or even touching him improperly—she vastly underestimated him.

After a moment, Hua Feiyue completed her appraisal: “These herbs should sell for around sixteen low-grade spirit stones…”

She felt deeply puzzled—what channel did this Young Master control? Did he secretly have a team of herb collectors? Otherwise, how could he keep bringing in so many fine herbs so frequently?

Yet her joy gradually faded, replaced by a hint of gravity.

“What? Trouble?”

Fang Xing noticed immediately and asked.

Ten to fifteen low-grade spirit stones per day meant about a hundred per month—this profit was indeed substantial.

By normal standards, a Qi Condensation beginner with this income was in danger; a Qi Condensation mid-stage cultivator might manage briefly, but not for long.

Only a Qi Condensation late-stage expert could truly hold onto it.

This was even after he deliberately suppressed his herb output—yet trouble still arose.

“Just some surveillance. The Qingxuan Sect’s enforcement squad maintains order in the marketplace—no real issue. But your external supply channel needs caution, especially during handovers.”

Hua Feiyue warned.

“I understand…”

Fang Xing nodded silently, realizing he might have drawn the attention of some interested parties—he’d need to be extra careful when leaving the marketplace.

‘Those drawn by this little profit probably aren’t top-tier experts…’

In his mind, he sneered: ‘I don’t even need to disguise myself to leave the marketplace—let them try their blades!’

As for getting caught?

With his electric baton, protective suit, and laser gun, even a Qi Condensation peak cultivator couldn’t truly threaten him—he had nothing to fear.

In fact, Fang Xing had deliberately avoided using them, intentionally luring them in to gain practical combat experience!

…

After Hua Feiyue left, Fang Xing activated his surveillance system and smiled faintly: “Indeed, there are tails…”

His residence was naturally a high-density surveillance zone, more tightly secured than even the temporary camps outside.

Numerous seemingly harmless creatures—birds, beetles, even earthworms—formed a dense network.

As long as no Foundation Establishment cultivator used spiritual sense to tail him, they’d inevitably reveal themselves.

Now, on the screen, there were three groups!

“A hundred spirit stones a month—why attract so many?”

Fang Xing glanced and fell into deep suspicion, then issued orders.

…

A thin, ordinary-looking cultivator, indistinguishable in a crowd, watched Hua Feiyue return to her home and nodded: “Only dealings with these people?”

He turned to leave, unaware that a mosquito-sized drone drifted with the wind, following him…

On the roof of the shack, a sharp-eyed spirit bird stared at Hua Feiyue’s dwelling, then glanced curiously to the side.

On the eaves, a yellow finch had appeared without notice.

For some reason, when the spirit bird met the finch’s lifeless eyes, it shuddered violently and flapped its wings upward in flight.

The yellow finch tilted its head, then took off after the spirit bird.

…

“Three groups… one is low-tech—probably just some gang from the shantytown…”

Gangs ran rampant in the shantytown; each dreamed of becoming a behemoth like Hei Hu Bang, but most were wiped out within months.

Then more gangs, like cockroaches, sprang up again—impossible to eradicate.

“For such a small gang, having a Qi Condensation late-stage boss is already impressive…”

“These are the ones most likely to eye my business.”

Fang Xing rubbed his chin and turned to the second group: “Hei Hu Bang? One of Qinglin Marketplace’s three major powers—interested in my tiny operation? No… Hei Hu Bang is large, with several Qi Condensation peak cultivators. Maybe just one of their executives or elders running a side job? Or… is this about Hua Feiyue?”

Honestly, Fang Xing originally thought Chen Yi’s trouble was only with Fu Qing—but now he wasn’t sure.

Fu Qing, a mere Qi Condensation late-stage cultivator, couldn’t mobilize so many Hei Hu Bang members!

‘There’s definitely a hidden motive! Too bad my surveillance mostly only captured distant views—I couldn’t record every word or subtle movement… or I’d have found something.’

He felt a pang of regret, then saw the yellow finch slowly land on a shack opposite the spirit bird.

Soon after, the shack’s door opened and a middle-aged cultivator stepped out.

The spirit bird perched on his shoulder, chirping excitedly.

The middle-aged cultivator pulled out several pills from his sleeve and fed them to his spirit pet, his expression turning thoughtful.

Then, he headed toward Dingzi District.

Shack No. 57.

“Here he comes.”

Fang Xing left the underground surveillance room and walked thoughtfully into the living room.

Almost as soon as he arrived, a knock came at the door.

Knock. Knock.

The knock was calm and unhurried—showing the visitor’s great confidence.

“Who is it?”

Fang Xing asked deliberately.

“An old acquaintance has come—please, friend, grant me an audience!”

The middle-aged cultivator spoke; his voice was surprisingly aged, yet strangely familiar.

Fang Xing opened the door, and the middle-aged cultivator instantly slipped inside.

“Who are you?”

Fang Xing’s face showed a hint of confusion, but he wasn’t worried.

He never believed in market regulations, so whenever he was here, he always wore his nanosuit.

Besides, when a cultivator faces a martial artist at close range, the one who should be worried is never the latter.

The middle-aged cultivator smiled faintly and swept his hand across his face.

A flash of green light passed.

In an instant, his face twisted and settled into the features of an aged man.

“It’s you, Chen Yi?!”

Fang Xing looked astonished: “I’ve only met you once, Master Chen. Why are you seeking me out?”

“Sigh… Back in the Five Scorpion Valley, I made a foolish choice and drifted apart from my sworn brothers… Now I think of it, I deeply regret it.”

Chen Yi’s face was bitter: “But I have secrets I cannot speak of. I heard you helped my fifth sister and her orphaned family, then took in my second sister. I came specially to thank you…”

‘Thank me? Or are you here to kill me and silence me?’

Fang Xing mentally scoffed.

Yet he sharply sensed that Chen Yi seemed more dangerous than before.

He wasn’t a cultivator—he had no spiritual eyes to clearly perceive the other’s cultivation level, only a martial artist’s instinct!

But he trusted his instinct!

‘Chen Yi was a Qi Refinement mid-stage cultivator, right? Even if he reached Qi Refinement sixth layer, he shouldn’t give me this sense of danger… Unless—he recently broke through to Qi Refinement late stage?’

Fang Xing’s mind stirred slightly. This was an incredible thing.

After all, most cultivators in the market had poor elemental affinities, some trapped at a bottleneck their entire lives.

Chen Yi had been stuck for half his life, forced to associate with primordial martial artists, calling them brothers—proving not only his talent was weak, but his fortunes were poor too; he might have died still at Qi Refinement mid-stage.

A true cultivation genius would never willingly associate with martial artists.

But nothing in the world is absolute!

At his age, breaking through from Qi Refinement mid-stage to late stage meant he’d encountered a ‘great fortune’!