Chapter Twenty-Six: Qingyuan Pawnshop

On the way to the inn, the streets grew increasingly deserted. A fine drizzle continued to fall as Su Fan walked slowly along the muddy road, occasionally nodding in response to greetings from a few acquaintances. His face remained impassive, lost in his own thoughts—perhaps pondering the story Mr. Zhao had told earlier, or maybe thinking of Fan Ruoyu.

"Fan'er, come home for dinner," called a gentle voice from behind. Su Fan started and turned sharply, only to see a mother summoning her own child home for a meal. He paused, a wry smile flickering across his lips. "It's been quite some time since I last visited my mother," he murmured to himself.

Entering the inn quietly, Su Fan uttered only a brief word before retreating to his cave to meditate.

"He says he wants to go home?" Luo Xun spoke slowly.

Luo Tong and Luo Yong replied in unison, "You’ve said that three times already. You heard right—the innkeeper is going home."

Luo Xun frowned. "All this time, I only ever heard he had a father, and wasn't he missing? I never heard where his family was. Why suddenly go home now?"

Luo Tong briskly closed the inn door. "Didn't the innkeeper just say it himself? He has a mother at home. It's only natural to pay her a visit."

Luo Yong quickly chimed in, "I think you’re just worried that if he leaves, he won’t come back, and you’ll be stuck at your current cultivation level."

Luo Xun shot Luo Yong a glare but did not argue, clearly revealing his concerns.

Luo Tong went on, "The boss has been cultivating in the cave for dozens of days. I wonder if he’ll be able to break through."

A shadow passed over Luo Xun's face, and a trace of vulnerability appeared in his eyes. "The four of us are rather dull-witted. If not for the old innkeeper’s guidance, we might not have reached this point and could have perished along the path. Thanks to the innkeeper’s advice these past days, I feel I’m on the verge of breaking through to the fifth layer of Qi Refinement. My only fear is that when the time comes, if the innkeeper is gone, what will I do?"

The fifth layer of Qi Refinement is a bottleneck in the path of cultivation. Success promises the possibility of Foundation Establishment; failure means progress may never come in this lifetime. Su Fan had the aid of a jade pendant, so this hurdle was not as daunting for him.

"If the innkeeper is absent, I’ll guide you," a deep, resonant voice echoed from the courtyard, as sonorous as a bronze bell.

The three hurried toward the back yard, exclaiming, "Boss, you've broken through?"

The speaker was Luo Yuan, who now wore a look of joy. "Thanks to the innkeeper’s help, I managed a lucky breakthrough—otherwise, I would have lost my path today."

Luo Xun quickly asked, "Where is the innkeeper? Is he still in the cave?"

Luo Yuan smiled. "He asked me to tell you he’s only gone to visit his mother and will be back in a few days. He wants you all to cultivate diligently, to seek enlightenment, for heaven rewards the diligent with breakthroughs."

The three sighed in unison and returned to their rooms, uninterested in further conversation. Luo Yuan paused, chuckled softly, and also retired to his room.

Su Fan sat cross-legged in his cave, silently studying a scroll. This was the Soul-Lost Array diagram he had obtained from Chen Yi in the ancient tomb of the Nether King. It was an array that could trap enemies, not particularly difficult to set up, and after a short while, Su Fan had a basic grasp of its arrangement. However, the required materials were exceedingly rare; even forming a minor version of the array would be a tremendous expense—three high-grade spirit beast skulls and a drop of desolate beast blood.

The desolate beast blood alone was precious beyond compare, and even acquiring three spirit beast skulls would cost hundreds of low-grade spirit stones. Such blood was highly sought after by wealthy cultivators for artifact refinement.

Adding just a drop of such blood to an ordinary weapon could elevate it to rival superior mortal artifacts, sometimes even imbuing it with the spirit of the desolate beast itself.

But the array’s effects were equally alluring. Even in its lesser form, if controlled by someone skilled, it could entrap an opponent at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Su Fan intended to set this Soul-Lost Array at his mother’s home. Since he was often away, he worried for her safety. He had just inquired of Luo Yuan where to obtain these materials, and was told that the Qingyuan Pawnshop in the north of the city frequently traded in rare items.

As for spirit stones, Su Fan felt helpless. The elder had left him only a small sum—perhaps enough to buy the three skulls, but Su Fan was reluctant to spend all his spirit stones at once. After all, spirit stones were essential for moving about in the cultivation world and could not be squandered.

A sudden smile appeared on Su Fan’s lips. He patted his storage pouch, producing a green dagger—Chen Yi’s weapon. He had previously tried to erase the spiritual imprint Chen Yi left on it, but his cultivation was too low. Su Fan focused his consciousness and entered the space within the jade pendant.

"Senior, could you help me erase this spiritual imprint?" Su Fan called out.

A cold snort answered him. "You only come to me when you need something. Don’t you usually ignore my advice?"

Su Fan touched his nose with a sheepish smile. "Senior, if you help me, I can exchange this weapon for spirit stones. Perhaps I can even purchase something beneficial to your recovery."

Lan Yifeng’s figure slowly appeared before Su Fan, holding a violet orb of energy—the wisp of ghostly soul he had been studying, hoping to help Su Fan absorb it. He frowned and said coldly, "Let me see this so-called treasure."

With a smile, Su Fan handed him the green dagger. Lan Yifeng looked at it with a hint of disdain. "This? An imitation superior mortal artifact. It’s not as good as your fan. You want me to waste my energy erasing its imprint? It would be easier to destroy it outright."

Su Fan only gazed at him, unfazed.

Lan Yifeng grumbled, "Fine, fine. I’ll help you—just my luck to be threatened by a junior. Stand back."

Su Fan smiled and stepped away. Lan Yifeng exhaled a breath of purple energy, enveloping the dagger, while his hands formed rapid seals. The green dagger spun ever faster in midair. After a moment, Lan Yifeng inhaled sharply, drawing the purple energy back in, and the dagger’s glow dimmed.

With a wave, Lan Yifeng sent the dagger flying back to Su Fan, who caught it and stowed it in his pouch.

Lan Yifeng’s expression turned curious. "That dagger must have belonged to a cultivator at least at the Core Formation stage. How did you get it?"

Su Fan answered with a smile, "A senior bestowed it upon me after slaying someone in the Nether King’s tomb."

Lan Yifeng’s expression grew somber. "How strange—when I erased the imprint, I sensed that the owner was not dead."

Su Fan’s heart skipped a beat, but he replied calmly, "Perhaps it was someone else’s imprint, and the dagger was merely given to that person."

Lan Yifeng chuckled. "Perhaps. Still, although it cost me some energy, the spiritual imprint was quite refined—I absorbed it all. It wasn’t much, but still useful."

Su Fan clasped his hands in thanks. "Thank you, senior. I’ll take my leave."

Lan Yifeng did not reply, but stepped lightly back, leaving only a fading mirage—the man himself had vanished.

Su Fan surveyed the endless crystal space within the jade pendant—boundless, its limits unseen. He smiled, shifted his consciousness, and returned to his cave.

He remained perplexed by the jade pendant. It seemed ordinary, merely a space of its own, yet it had been coveted by someone as powerful as Lan Yifeng and could absorb the soul of a Ghost King.

Su Fan had never told anyone about the jade pendant—not even his mother. He understood all too well the danger of possessing such a treasure. If even Lan Yifeng could not seize it, he certainly lacked the power to protect it.

He didn’t dwell on the matter further, knowing such thoughts were futile. Instead, he continued his meditation, preparing to pawn the green dagger the next day in exchange for the materials he needed.

The night passed without incident.

At dawn, Su Fan withdrew a mid-grade spirit stone left by the elder from his storage tube and set out alone for Qingyuan Pawnshop in the north of the city.

As he walked, the number of cultivators gradually increased, while ordinary folk became fewer. Some shops bore obvious spiritual marks, barring entry to mortals. Here, cultivators and mortals coexisted harmoniously—a structure that had clearly endured for many years.

Su Fan avoided the shops catering to cultivators, as they only sold items useful to those at the Qi Refinement stage, which were of little value to him.

Gradually, a lavish pavilion appeared ahead—its opulence striking, glazed tiles shimmering, spiritual energy thick in the air, giving the place an almost ethereal quality. From his study of arrays, Su Fan recognized a spirit-gathering formation, concentrating the energy from countless spirit stones and circulating it with advanced techniques.

For such a formation, Qingyuan Pawnshop must have used thousands of low-grade spirit stones. Few people lingered nearby.

Su Fan marveled at such extravagance before stepping inside.

The attendant gave Su Fan an appraising glance, then greeted him with a warm smile. Su Fan noted that the man was at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement—a testament to the pawnshop’s wealth, employing even such cultivators as clerks.

In the world of cultivation, strength was paramount. Seeing that Su Fan’s cultivation surpassed his own, the attendant was extremely courteous.

When he learned Su Fan wished to pawn an item, his manner grew even more respectful. "May I ask, friend, what you wish to pawn—a weapon, a pill, or some rare treasure?"

"A weapon," Su Fan replied.

"Then please present the item," the attendant said.

Su Fan tapped his storage pouch and produced the green dagger. Upon seeing it, the clerk's eyes lit with astonishment. "A superior mortal artifact!" Such items were rare, even here.

Su Fan remained calm. "Is it acceptable as collateral?"

The clerk replied obsequiously, "Certainly. However, I am not authorized to handle such items. Please proceed to the second floor."

Su Fan thanked him and made his way upstairs.

Outside the pawnshop, two figures lay in wait. One whispered, "He’s gone up to the second floor—he must have something valuable."

The other’s eyes gleamed with greed. "Today’s another windfall for us. With his mere Qi Refinement cultivation, he won’t stand a chance."

Ascending the staircase, Su Fan passed by displays of jade tubes, each describing an ordinary defensive array. He paid them little heed and continued directly to the second floor.