"My master is the reliable one after all—not on the wanted posters," Meng Jingzhou, Man Gu, and Li Haoran boasted smugly.
The wanted posters only featured Lu Yang's master and Tao Yaoye's master.
Lu Yang said nothing. He quietly walked around to the back of the notice board, where wanted posters for the Third Elder, Fourth Elder, and Fifth Elder were pasted respectively, their bounties slightly lower than those on the front.
"...Our sect was completely wiped out," Meng Jingzhou clicked his tongue.
Lu Yang frowned and scolded Meng Jingzhou for such improper words: "What do you mean, 'our sect'? The wanted posters are all for the Dao Seeking Sect. What does that have to do with us in the Five Elements Sect?"
Li Haoran nodded repeatedly; Lu Yang had a point.
"Besides, it wasn't a total wipeout. Old Ba isn't on a wanted poster."
Old Ba hadn't lied; he truly was the sole survivor among the Dao Seeking Sect's upper echelon.
Seeing how dangerous the East Sea was, the five reviewed their story once more to make sure they were in sync: they were definitely disciples of the Five Elements Sect, and even if they ran into Qiu Jin'an, they would first greet him publicly as 'Sect Master' before discussing anything else.
Lu Yang figured that given the life-and-death bond between him and Qiu Jin'an in Hanshui City, Sect Master Qiu wouldn't mind such a trivial matter.
Lu Yang and the others stepped away from the notice board. Before leaving, they heard passersby talking about another topic.
"The Immortal Appraisal Assembly will be starting soon."
"What Immortal Appraisal Assembly? It's just a grand stage for disciples from the Three Islands to make names for themselves."
"What else can be done? Whether in cultivation talent or their living conditions, the Three Islands' disciples are far superior to us. In the same realm, who could possibly beat them?"
"Even so, they shouldn't build their fame by stepping on the heads of ordinary cultivators like us."
"Just accept your fate."
...
"Is Penglai Island so packed because of that Immortal Appraisal Assembly?"
"Must be."
"Oh, this treasure looks pretty interesting." At a smithy, Li Haoran spotted an intricately crafted dharma treasure. It was an iron lotus that, judging by its structure, appeared to be a concealed weapon. Its forging concept was completely different from Great Xia's, making it a great purchase to study.
"How much is this dharma treasure?"
"I'll take this dharma treasure." A voice rang out from behind. The group turned around and saw an impeccably dressed cultivator with three wave patterns embroidered on his cuffs.
The cultivator was handsome and possessed cultivation at the Nascent Soul stage. Behind him stood several attendants whose cultivation was not weak either; all were at the Nascent Soul stage, and one was even at the Soul Formation stage. Among the attendants Lu Yang had ever encountered, these were considered exceptionally high in cultivation.
"Who are you?" Li Haoran frowned, finding the man utterly impolite.
"Ah, Fellow Daoist Fan Chong! What an honor to have you grace my shop—forgive my lack of welcome!" The shop owner came out with an ingratiating smile.
"Cut the nonsense. I'll take this iron lotus; it'll come in handy for the assembly later. How much?" The cultivator named Fan Chong didn't spare Li Haoran a glance, ignoring him completely.
"If someone else were buying, it would be two hundred and eighty thousand spirit stones. But since it's you, I'll let you have it at cost price: one hundred thousand spirit stones."
Fan Chong gave a look, and an attendant pulled out ten thousand spirit stones to buy the treasure. Even so, the shop owner still saw him off with a smile.
After Fan Chong left, the shop owner let out a sigh of relief. Looking at Li Haoran with lingering fear, he said, "You're lucky you didn't fight him over this treasure. If you provoked him, I'm afraid you wouldn't even be able to leave Penglai Island."
"Who is he? Is he very famous?"
Chapter 812