Reborn Medicine King

"You dare ruin my plans!"    

Jiang Fann merely chuckled, brushing off the spot where he'd been hit, completely unfazed. His opponent was strong, but Jiang Fann had used the Great Arts of Five Elements, reinforcing himself with the power of earth. Most of the force was absorbed into the ground, keeping him steady. Besides, his opponent hadn't taken him seriously and wasn't going all out.    

"Who are you? Get someone from your family who can actually negotiate with me," the cultivator said, clearly full of himself and not wanting to engage further with Jiang Fann. He feared that if Jiang Fann provoked him, he might end up hurting him and gaining a reputation for bullying the younger generation.    

Jiang Fann, uninterested in the conversation, turned to leave. Seeing this, the cultivator stepped forward, reaching for Jiang Fann's shoulder, clearly not wanting to let him go so easily. But Jiang Fann deftly sidestepped, leaving the cultivator grasping at air. By the time he tried to block him again, Jiang Fann was already several feet away.    

This unexpected agility caught the cultivator off guard, but he wasn't one to take it lightly. He released his spiritual sense, unleashing his full aura, pressing the peak of his Mortal Separating Stage power onto Jiang Fann, clearly angered.    

Although no one around witnessed the incident, Jiang Fann couldn't accept the attitude he was facing. Just then, a voice suddenly echoed from afar. It was an older man, and the voice sounded somewhat familiar.    

"Why so angry, my friend? It's just a young fellow. How about giving me some face and letting him go?"    

Jiang Fann was surprised that someone would step in to help him out of the blue. The middle-aged man furrowed his brows upon hearing the voice, clearly recognizing who it was.    

Jiang Fann turned toward the direction of the voice, surprised by the man's identity. The old man held a jug of wine, taking a few sips as he descended.    

No wonder Jiang Fann found the voice familiar. It was none other than the drunkard who set up a stall in the city, the same person who sold him the crystal.    

The man looked at him with a smile, seemingly unfazed by the situation.    

The middle-aged man spoke up, "Why aren't you at your stall in the city trading for wine? What brings you here?"    

"None of your business. This kid is my customer, and you can't lay a hand on him. Aren't you the one who never bullies the younger generation? Why are you giving him a hard time?"    

"You drunken fool, what do you know? I spotted a rare spiritual practitioner just now and was about to catch him when this kid interfered. It's already merciful of me not to have taken him out."    

"An innate spiritual practitioner? How could something like that appear here? You're not trying to stir up trouble, are you?"    

After speaking, he glanced over at Jiang Fann and added, "Don't worry, I won't let him give you a hard time."    

But Jiang Fann couldn't be bothered. He turned and walked away. This old man had a knack for showing up at the most inconvenient times, and Jiang Fann didn't want to get tangled up with him.    

The old man was taken aback, clearly not expecting Jiang Fann to leave without a word of thanks.    

The middle-aged practitioner chuckled, "Ha... he doesn't appreciate your help. Stop trying to cozy up to him. Today, he owes me an explanation."    

With that, he started after Jiang Fann. The drunkard took another swig from his bottle, not bothering to intervene. He seemed to be waiting for Jiang Fann to ask for help, intending to teach him a lesson.    

Just as the practitioner was about to catch up, Jiang Fann's figure suddenly became hazy and then slowly vanished into thin air.    

Both men were shocked to find they couldn't sense Jiang Fann's presence anymore, as if he had disappeared into thin air. Considering their high level of cultivation and keen senses, they were surprised Jiang Fann had slipped away right under their noses.    

The middle-aged practitioner turned to the drunkard, suspecting him of foul play.    

"Where did he go? Did you use some illusion to help him escape? Are you messing with me?"    

The old man quickly shook his head, "How could it possibly be me? That kid must have used some special means. Looks like we underestimated him. Did you really see an innate spiritual practitioner just now?"    

"Absolutely."    

"Maybe that spiritual practitioner is connected to him. Otherwise, there's no reason for a Dao Understanding Stage practitioner to provoke you."    

The practitioner frowned and said, "You might be onto something."    

At this moment, Jiang Fann had already appeared behind a tree several yards away. Using the Chapter of Body Arts, he maneuvered through the dense forest, making it difficult for the others to pinpoint his location or even know how he left.    

Jiang Fann quickly regrouped with Fang Xiang, then retrieved all the other sacred spirits and spiritual herbs, allowing them to continue their training and rest.    

Fang Xiang glanced at Jiang Fann and said directly, "The fire spirit returned on its own. What happened on your end that took you so long?"    

"Two experts at the peak of the Mortal Separating Stage, one of whom is the drunkard from the market in the capital."    

Fang Xiang's expression changed upon hearing this, "Why is he here? And at this time?"    

Jiang replied, "That's what I'm wondering too. That guy should be at the market in the capital. His appearance here can't be a good sign."    

Fang Xiang looked at the nearby boulder, then at the ground, and continued, "Do you think this could be a trap? Did he scatter these spiritual stones here to lure practitioners?"    

Jiang Fann shook his head. "I just sensed the energy from these spiritual stones here. They seem to have originated in this place. If he's coming this way, it might not be because of us. Maybe his people discovered something. Let's hide for now and see what they do first."    

"Hide? There's not much cover in these mountains, and you've already shown yourself. He'll be on alert. He knows who I am and won't underestimate us."    

Jiang Fann pointed to the ground and then pulled Fang Xiang behind a tree, out of sight from the two groups of practitioners in the distance.    

Suddenly, Fang Xiang felt Jiang Fann's spiritual strength envelop him. The ground beneath them seemed to turn into a swamp, and he sank in up to his knees.    

"You can do this too?"    

In the next moment, they vanished. Jiang Fann used the power of the earth to let them merge into the ground. With the earth's energy masking them, even those skilled practitioners wouldn't be able to detect their presence.    

Experiencing this underground travel for the first time, Fang Xiang curiously observed the surroundings. He quickly noticed the occasional appearance of those special spiritual stones, just as Jiang Fann had mentioned. It was clear that such widespread distribution couldn't be man-made.    

Fang Xiang was about to speak, but Jiang Fann interrupted him, placing a hand over his mouth and signaling him to stay silent.    

The two of them suddenly heard voices from the ground below. It was that drunkard, and he had brought another cultivator with him, as if he had known exactly where to find Jiang Fann.    

"Don't worry. If that kid really has any spiritual power, it'll be yours in the end."    

"Old drunkard, this is the last time I trust you. Every time you lead me astray. You said there was a vein of minerals here, so I sent dozens of my sect's disciples to search the mountains for three years, and all we found were a few spiritual stones. My junior brothers are already complaining."    

"You have to invest to gain. Why do you think I hang around the capital spreading rumors? It's to lure these young folks here to help us figure things out, and then we swoop in and take the prize."    

The middle-aged cultivator asked, "Why did you suddenly come here? Was it really because of that kid?"    

The drunkard nodded seriously, "He's just one of the two. The other one is with the manager from the Nine Heavens Pavilion. They're resourceful and knowledgeable, so they might have a way to locate that mineral vein. My people have already infiltrated their group. When I found out they were coming, I rushed over. I didn't expect you to clash with them and mess up my plans."    

"The manager from the Nine Heavens Pavilion? They're not easy to deal with. Are you sure there won't be any issues?"    

"Don't worry, we're not going to make things difficult for them. If I hadn't been concerned about you getting hurt, I wouldn't have shown up. You could've really messed up our plans."    

"How was I supposed to know who that kid was? But he's a bit odd. I've run into him twice and couldn't do anything about it. He doesn't seem afraid of me at all, and I can't figure out where he gets that confidence."    

As the footsteps faded, Fang Xiang communicated with Jiang Fann.    

"Who would've thought that the drunkard's people were mixed in with those teams, and they've been eyeing us for a while now."    

"But they're interested in your identity, convinced there's a vein of minerals here."    

"So, what do we do now? We can't just waste time here with them, can we?"    

"Let's not worry about them for now. Let them search for us on the surface. We'll head underground to check things out. If there really is a mineral vein, it won't be floating in the sky. Let's keep going down."    

With that, Jiang Fann used his spiritual strength to slowly lower them. The descent wasn't fast, as Jiang Fann needed to use his spiritual sense to gauge the surroundings, avoiding any reckless moves.    

Fang Xiang felt the changes around him, the pressure mounting, and held a glowing spiritual stone in his hand.    

"Elder Brother Jiang, if your spiritual strength fades now, wouldn't I be trapped here?"    

"We're only about thirty feet deep. With your skills, you'd reach the surface quickly. But a few more feet down, and it could get dangerous."    

As Jiang Fann spoke, he suddenly reached into the soil beside them. Empowered by his spiritual strength, his hand moved through the earth effortlessly. Soon, he pulled out a purple crystal the size of a fist, similar to what they had found before, but of much higher quality.    

"This quality is already comparable to that of a high-grade spiritual stone. It would fetch a good price outside," Jiang Fann remarked as he held the crystal in his hand, observing it closely. He could see arcs of electricity flickering within, a unique spiritual energy that made it easy for lightning spirits to locate these stones quickly.    

"If we can gather a few dozen of these crystals, this trip will definitely be worth it," Fang Xiang said, though he remained calm. "But that's not my goal," Jiang Fann replied, leading Fang Xiang further down. However, after several minutes, they still hadn't come across another crystal like the first one.    

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