"Now you understand I wasn't just boasting, right?" Seeing Chen An's shocked expression, Li Muchen had a knowing smile on his face.
Chen An gradually came back to his senses and murmured, "This is the first time I've realized that I possess a real treasure trove."
After conversing with Li Muchen, Chen An became more excited about his future, eager to return to his residence and immediately begin drawing the next batch of talismans.
But before that, he wanted to browse the market to see if there was anything useful for him.
Li Muchen wasn't surprised by this and, after introducing Chen An to some well-known stalls and the shops run by the sect, left on his own.
Chen An stayed behind, visiting several stalls. However, most of the disciples' booths didn't offer anything that interested him. Eventually, he turned his attention to the shops operated by the sect.
After some thought, Chen An realized that his biggest weakness right now was a lack of self-defense techniques. After all, in the world of cultivators, survival comes first.
As a result, he spent a long time in an armor shop, eventually taking a liking to a heart-protecting mirror.
This heart-shielding mirror was only the size of a palm and could be worn close to the body. When the wearer was attacked, the mirror would automatically activate, forming a protective shield to defend against the attack. However, it could only be used once, and after that, the mirror would shatter.
According to the shopkeeper, this mirror could block a full-power strike from a cultivator at the peak of the Qi Condensation stage. For someone at Chen An's level, it was an excellent life-saving tool, even if it could only be used once.
Of course, "excellent" also meant expensive. The small heart-shielding mirror cost a staggering 35 spirit stones, much to Chen An's surprise.
But thinking about how valuable this life-saving item was, Chen An gritted his teeth and decided to buy it. To him, no amount of spirit stones was worth more than his life.
"I'll take this heart-shielding mirror."
Having made up his mind, Chen An wasted no time, pulling 35 spirit stones from his storage pouch and handing them to the shopkeeper.
He was so focused that he didn't notice the expressions of the people around him. Upon seeing Chen An pull out 35 spirit stones in one go, the other patrons in the shop looked at him with curious and assessing gazes.
But Chen An's mind was entirely on the heart-shielding mirror, and he didn't notice a thing.
After exchanging the spirit stones for the life-saving mirror, Chen An turned to leave. However, as soon as he walked out, a man and a woman, both inner sect disciples, exchanged a glance and followed him quietly.
...
On his way back from the inner sect to the outer sect, Chen An had to pass through a rarely traveled path. This path, lined with thick vegetation, was the only route through the area. As dusk approached, the surroundings became eerily quiet, with only the sound of Chen An's footsteps and the rustling of the leaves in the wind.
It was in this quiet atmosphere that Chen An noticed something was off.
He seemed to hear two other sets of footsteps behind him.
Frowning, he realized that he had been too excited earlier and had forgotten the cardinal rule of not flaunting wealth. Clearly, someone had set their sights on him.
"Damn it, how could I have forgotten something so simple?"
Blaming himself for his carelessness, Chen An vowed to never make such a basic mistake again.
Without a sound, he tapped his storage pouch, holding the remaining Flame Talismans in his hand. His body tensed, fully prepared for a confrontation.
"Since you two have followed me this far, why not show yourselves?" Chen An suddenly spoke and turned around, catching the two followers—a man and a woman—by surprise.
Upon seeing the two, Chen An's pupils contracted. Especially the man, whose aura gave off an extremely dangerous feeling, even more threatening than Wei Ming before.
It was clear that this man had reached the middle stage of Qi Condensation, which, though not particularly high among inner sect disciples, still placed him at the lower-middle level.
Chen An wasn't confident about winning in a direct fight, let alone when facing both of them. While he could rely on the power of his Flame Talismans to potentially kill one, it would be difficult to handle both at once.
Though the heart-shielding mirror was powerful, it could only be used once. Using such a precious life-saving tool against two regular inner sect disciples didn't seem worth it.
After a brief hesitation, Chen An decided to take a risk. He put the Flame Talismans back into his storage pouch in full view of the pair.
"I am Chen An. Might I ask who you two are?" he inquired calmly.
"Lu Yi," the male cultivator said, his eyes narrowing as he clasped his hands in a mock greeting while sizing up Chen An.
"Han Juan," the female cultivator added with a sinister smile, clearly harboring ill intentions.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Lu and Senior Sister Han," Chen An replied with a respectful bow, keeping up the pretense. "I wonder why you've been following me?"
"We noticed that you seem to be quite well-off, so we'd like to ask for a favor and borrow a few spirit stones," Han Juan answered, exchanging a glance with Lu Yi as they slowly closed in on Chen An from both sides.
This area was desolate, and if they killed Chen An here, no one would likely notice. Chen An could already feel the murderous intent radiating from both of them.
Realizing that he had no choice but to take a gamble, Chen An opted for a bold move.
"Oh, you just need some spirit stones? That's easy," he said nonchalantly, pulling out the last five spirit stones from his storage pouch and tossing them to Han Juan. "I don't care much for spirit stones anyway. If you need them, take them."
"Too bad I just bought some things at the market, otherwise I could have lent you more," he added with a casual shrug.
Chen An's reaction left Lu Yi and Han Juan dumbfounded. They exchanged puzzled glances, momentarily unsure if Chen An was just naïve or playing dumb. Spirit stones were a precious commodity—how could he just give them away so easily?
Still, Chen An's calculated sacrifice managed to reduce some of the killing intent on their faces.
After a moment of thought, Lu Yi stepped forward, pressing Chen An, "You're just an outer sect disciple. How could you possibly have so many spirit stones?"
Chen An's face changed, pretending to be flustered. Stammering, he replied, "I… I've been saving them... Yeah, saving them."
His anxious demeanor was almost too convincing, but Lu Yi wasn't fooled. He believed he had hit the mark and took another step forward, releasing the pressure of his mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivation.
"Speak! What are you hiding?" Lu Yi demanded, his aura pressing down heavily on Chen An.
Chen An struggled to withstand the pressure, sweat pouring down his face. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath.
"I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!"