Chapter 24

Leaving Ling Yao's quarters, Lu Fan's expression immediately dimmed, as he began to worry about his own cultivation problems.

"The Tendon Refining Realm is within reach, but this body has been too severely ravaged in the past. Without Soul-Returning Grass, it is absolutely impossible to break through now!"

He muttered in deep thought, having already made up his mind. With wind at his heels, he hurried toward Secret Spirit Street.

Manager Qiu of the Caizhi Studio had been absent-minded for the past two days, looking outside from time to time. When he saw customers entering, he would first pile on a smile, but upon seeing who they were, his face would turn cold again.

The shop assistants often discussed in private that the old man was getting on in years, suffering from senility and failing eyesight.

In short, he was no longer useful, which made several senior assistants covet the manager's position, their hearts burning with desire.

As soon as Lu Fan stepped into Caizhi Studio, Manager Qiu walked over immediately, his face full of smiles, the excitement in his eyes uncontrollable. "Good lad, you've finally come!"

Lu Fan smiled slightly and said indifferently, "Manager Qiu and I had a one-month agreement, and it's just about that time now. I have come specifically to deliver the decoction method for this body-tempering prescription to you."

Once he finished speaking, he casually took out a slip of paper and handed it over, asking nonchalantly, "Manager Qiu, do you have any Soul-Returning Grass here?"

As soon as the words fell, Manager Qiu's face turned pale with terror. With a tremble, the paper in his hand nearly dropped.

Those secretly observing the scene couldn't help but shake their heads, thinking: This Manager Qiu is truly old and frail, no longer of any use; he really should look for another way out.

"Soul-Returning Grass? Why are you asking about such a forbidden drug?" Manager Qiu took a sharp breath and immediately lowered his body, fearing that others might hear.

Lu Fan frowned and speculated, "A forbidden drug? Could it be because of the Sacred Martial Hall..."

The Sacred Martial Hall was a powerful force in the Heaven Origin World; it would be no exaggeration to call it the orthodox authority.

Lu Fan, however, was clear that this force was established by his great enemy Yuwen Pojun, and could be considered the foundation of Yuwen Pojun's power.

"That's right! It is the thousand-year ban of the Sacred Martial Hall. Soul-Returning Grass is an item of extreme yin and filth. Why are you, at such a young age, asking about these things?"

Manager Qiu was slightly surprised, then urged, "Young Master Lu! I see you have good talent; don't think about these things in the future, otherwise, a great disaster will befall you, and you might not even know it yourself."

Lu Fan smiled faintly, not taking Manager Qiu's advice to heart at all. He waved his hand and left Caizhi Studio directly.

Since the Sacred Martial Hall had issued a thousand-year ban, it was likely impossible to obtain such things through regular channels. Lu Fan did not wander around; he left Tianyuan Academy directly and walked into Yuyang City.

Yuyang City was the capital of the Mingyue Empire, with a population of tens of millions, divided into East, South, West, and North cities. Lu Fan went to the nearby Rune Master Guild in the East City.

This East City Rune Master Guild was naturally incomparable to the one in Shanjin Town; it occupied half a city block, and the lobby alone was incredibly grand.

Lu Fan stepped inside, and a receptionist girl approached him. Dressed in eye-catching attire, she was dignified yet graceful. She bowed to Lu Fan with a beaming smile and said, "Sir, welcome to the Rune Master Guild. My name is Xing Yu, and I am very happy to be at your service!"

Lu Fan nodded. This place was indeed much higher-class than the one in Shanjin Town, and the girl was quite pleasing to the eye. He said indifferently, "Call your president over; I have business with him!"

Xing Yu was startled. Never before had anyone come in and demanded to see the president, especially not a half-grown boy like this. He wasn't very old, but his tone was certainly arrogant.

"Sir, the President is not in the guild. If you have business, you must make an appointment in advance!"

Xing Yu smiled slightly; there was no type of person she hadn't dealt with, and she had ways to handle even more unreasonable requests than this.

Lu Fan frowned; he naturally understood the meaning behind Xing Yu's words—she was clearly fobbing him off.

He didn't mind and said lightly, "Oh? I don't think so! President Zu Qing Tan of Shanjin Town told me that your president has been here these past few days, right?"

Before he had even finished speaking, Xing Yu was already greatly startled. Zu Qing Tan was a good friend of their president. Since this youth could mention him so casually, he likely had a significant background. If she were to neglect him, she would surely be scolded to death by the president.

"Th-this... why don't I go report..."

She stammered, clearly flustered. Before she could finish, Lu Fan had already set off, heading straight into the guild.

The people in the Rune Master Guild were all madmen, spending years holed up in rune rooms studying rune seals and experimenting with various incantations.

The president of the guild was an even greater madman, wishing he could eat, drink, and sleep in the rune room.

Lu Fan knew these people very well; how could Xing Yu's little schemes hide from him!

"Hey! Wait, you can't just barge into the Rune Master Guild!"

Xing Yu was panting, unable to keep up with Lu Fan's pace. After passing through a few halls and rooms, Lu Fan had already reached the depths of the guild.

There were rows of secret rooms with strict array restrictions, inside which various movements were occurring—booming, trembling, and clattering sounds.

Lu Fan glanced around casually and immediately found the secret room with the strictest restrictions. With a wave of his hand, he cast an incantation, and the restriction shattered with a boom.

"Boom, boom!" "Cough, cough!"

Explosive sounds burst from within, accompanied by foul smoke, causing Lu Fan to frown. He sniffed slightly and his expression changed immediately.

"Fourth-tier refined potion? This method is too sloppy; one slip and the array will be destroyed and the person killed!"

He took a sudden step and entered immediately.

As the smoke dissipated, a hunched old man was seen dancing and gesturing tremblingly in front of an array.

He was adding potion materials to a tripod furnace from time to time, never noticing that his secret room had been opened by someone.

"Old man, move aside!" Lu Fan shouted, and without a second thought, he lunged forward.

The old man was clearly deep in focus and had no time to react; he was bumped aside by Lu Fan and stumbled out.

Pausing his movement, Lu Fan raised one hand, and Blazing Flame True Qi surged out. Ignoring the scorching furnace in front of him as if it were nothing, he grabbed it and swung it through the air.

The tripod furnace, which had been vibrating and booming on the array just a moment ago, was seized in the void, and with a flick of his hand, it hovered on its own.

The old man hit the wall and only then managed to let out a cry of alarm. Looking confused, he turned around and saw Lu Fan, his face filled with terror: "Where did this brat come from? Don't touch my medicine tripod!"

Just at this moment, Xing Yu brought the guild's Great Martial Master, Commander Wang, inside, both of them looking horrified.

Commander Wang was the first to react; he had failed to guard in time, allowing a child to break into the president's secret room. If he didn't capture him immediately, his position as commander would likely be unstable.

"Hey! Where did this brat come from? Surrender immediately!"

That was what he said, but he had already attacked, leaping forward. His Great Martial Master cultivation was revealed, True Qi dispersing, almost condensing into essence?

"Peak Great Martial Master!"

Frowning slightly, Lu Fan saw the intruder's cultivation at a glance. He paid no attention, however, and with a sweep of his hand, he began to cast incantations, sending them into the medicine tripod.

The Blazing Flame True Qi was stimulated to the extreme, and a sense of dryness and heat poured out, even more intense than the talisman fire on the array in the secret room.

"This is..." The old man's expression froze, his face showing disbelief. "True Fire Alchemy? Isn't this a realm that only a Qi Refining Realm Rune Venerable is qualified to touch? How could this boy..."

When he was young, he had followed his mentor and once seen this miraculous technique. He never expected to see it again in a youth, which was truly incredible.

This youth was certainly no ordinary person; there must be a peerless expert hiding behind him, otherwise, how could he teach such a formidable young man?

The opportunity for the Rune Dao was right before his eyes; he had to seize this youth!

The old man's bloodshot eyes were suddenly filled with radiance, and in an instant, he seemed to have grown ten years younger.

At this moment, Commander Wang had reached within three zhang of Lu Fan, looking as if he were about to use thunderous means to suppress him.

"Hmph! You scoundrel, how dare you run wild in my place!" The old man let out a cold snort, his Great Rune Master aura suddenly erupting, his spiritual power condensing into substance and turning into a whirlwind shield, suddenly blocking Lu Fan's front.

"Bang!"

Commander Wang felt as if he had crashed into an iron plate; he was dizzy, his blood and Qi surged, and he was knocked back seven or eight zhang.

He hadn't yet figured out what happened when he heard the old man's extremely angry reprimand in his ear: "Wang Zhan, you have a lot of nerve. You dare to break into my secret room? Do you not want to work here anymore?"

Xing Yu was stunned, feeling confused. She had heard the president's angry voice just now, so why was he scolding Commander Wang now?

Just at this moment, Lu Fan's movements were nearing their end. With a loud "clanging" sound, the medicine tripod crashed to the ground, and the entire secret room shook unsteadily.

"Slap!"

Lu Fan slammed his hand on the furnace lid, and the tripod opened. With a wave of his hand, a small stream of blood-colored liquid emerged, looking like a spirit snake.

"Old man! Do you have a Spirit-Sealing Bottle? In three breaths, this refined potion will lose its effectiveness!"

The old man was dumbfounded. Only then did he react, hurriedly taking out a jade bottle glowing with cyan light and handing it to Lu Fan.

"Collect!"

With a point of his finger, the blood-colored liquid immediately drilled into the jade bottle, and then with a "Seal" character, the bottle was tightly closed.

After doing all this, he looked at Commander Wang, his gaze turning cold as he glared at him: "You wanted to attack me just now?"

"Slap!" Before Commander Wang could react, the old man slapped him across the air, instantly beating him into a pig's head.

"Wang Zhan, I took pity on you and kept you for so many years. You only cause trouble for me, nearly harming this master. Do you want to die?"

The old man was worthy of being a Great Rune Master; his voice was like a booming bell, shaking the entire Rune Master Guild three times, and many people came over to watch the excitement.

Commander Wang was on the verge of tears; he had originally come to protect and serve, so how did things develop like this? Wasn't this brat here to cause trouble? When did he become a master?

Xing Yu was also dumbfounded, her eyes full of fear. If that youth were to hold her accountable, then she...

Lu Fan's gaze swept over, and Xing Yu's face turned as white as paper, her mind going blank. He only glanced at her for a moment, then said to the old man:

"This is your fourth-tier refined potion. You are the president here, right?"

The old man was slightly stunned, then took the refined potion with wild joy and nodded, "That's right, I am Zhao... of the East City Rune Master Guild."

Before he could finish, Lu Fan's expression turned cold, and he reprimanded him without any politeness: "With your amateur Rune Dao, you can be a president? You are at least a fourth-tier Great Rune Master, yet you almost failed while refining a fourth-tier refined potion?"

"If I hadn't come, this secret room of yours would have long since been blown to ashes."

Lu Fan was clearly angry to the extreme, leaving no room for face.

Initially, being scolded like this in front of everyone by a teenager, Zhao Zhenchuan naturally felt he had lost face, and a trace of anger appeared.

But afterward, the youth cut straight to the point, stating all his mistakes, from material selection to technique, revealing everything.

Zhao Zhenchuan was shocked. In just a few words, the Rune Dao insight revealed was far beyond his own. Having lived for more than half his life, he turned out to be just a frog in a well; the Rune Dao cultivation he had been proud of in the past was not worth mentioning.

His expression dimmed completely, his head lowered, clearly showing his willingness to submit. He was like a child who had made a mistake, feeling ashamed after being scolded by a teacher.

Xing Yu was stunned, Commander Wang was foolish, and the guild members who came to watch were even more shocked, one by one petrified on the spot.

President Zhao, who had the most explosive temper, was actually willing to be scolded by someone, and a half-grown boy at that; this was simply too incredible.

Everyone thought they were seeing things, rubbing their eyes repeatedly, but the result did not change in the slightest.

Just at this moment, a short, fat old man pushed through the crowd. Before he even entered, he said with a laugh: "Old Ghost Zhao, did you fail agai... Young Master Lu, why are you here?"