Mu Fan smiled faintly. He wasn't anxious about his cultivation; instead, he felt he was cultivating too fast!
If it weren't for obtaining the Qi Concealment Technique after a full year of being AFK, which allowed him to suppress and hide his aura, Mu Fan wouldn't have dared to see anyone.
Extreme Yin Island was a Demonic Path power; if one appeared too much of a prodigy, they would die quickly!
Those with ordinary Aptitude were refined into Puppets and couldn't continue to improve, but Disciples with superior Aptitude could be refined into External Incarnations and still continue to cultivate and improve!
"I've reached the Peak of Qi Refining in just one year. This Aptitude should be enough to tempt a Core Formation Stage Cultivator, right?"
"Fortunately, I was assigned to Black Fiend Island and not the Extreme Yin Main Island, so it's hard to encounter a Core Formation Stage Cultivator."
"Using the Qi Concealment Technique to deceive a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator shouldn't be too much of a problem."
"Next, I should devote some energy to the Artifact Refining Technique. I can earn money while forging Magical Artifacts to protect myself. My stats are high enough now, but combat is still influenced by Magical Artifacts, Medicinal Pills, Formations, cultivation techniques, and so on."
Mu Fan put on a black robe and a hood, hiding his entire self. He used the Qi Concealment Technique to hide his aura, maintaining it at the Qi Refining Seventh Stage.
After a year of secluded meditation and with the help of Qi Nurturing Pills, the Qi Refining Seventh Stage was appropriate.
He left the courtyard and headed to the market.
After verifying his Disciple Token at the market entrance, he entered smoothly.
Upon entering, the place was bustling with noise and activity.
If it weren't for the fact that the pedestrians and stall owners all possessed more or less killing intent and demonic qi, Mu Fan would have almost thought this was a normal market in the cultivation world.
Slowing his pace, Mu Fan wandered through the stall area. Unfortunately, he wasn't a protagonist with profound luck and didn't manage to find any hidden gems.
Curling his lip, Mu Fan complained in his heart, "As soon as Old Devil Han came into contact with the cultivation world, he could find fragments of Magic Treasures. I see nothing here, just overpriced items…Sigh~"
Demonic Path powers were still too authoritative
What is the Demonic Path? Benefiting oneself at the expense of others. Even harming others without benefiting oneself
If there's something they don't recognize or aren't sure about, they'd rather let it gather dust than sell it.
Walking to the shop area, Mu Fan compared prices at three different stores, asking about the prices of the lowest-tier Artifact Refining-related items. Finally, he chose the largest one, the
"Exotic Treasure Pavilion."
The largest shareholder behind it was his cheap Master, Jiang Yi. The Exotic Treasure Pavilion had the most complete range of goods and the lowest prices in the market.
And that was because no other shop was allowed to have lower prices than the Exotic Treasure Pavilion.
Entering the Exotic Treasure Pavilion, a girl with a modest and pretty appearance approached him. When Mu Fan showed his token, the girl seemed a bit excited, her eyes shining, and she became even more respectful.
"You recognize me?"
The girl leaned in closer, hooking her arms around Mu Fan's arm and breathing warmly into his ear, "You are Ancestral Master Jiang's Disciple; Lian'er naturally recognizes you."
Jiang Yi was only a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, yet he was called Ancestral Master by this girl at the second Stage of Qi Refining.
If he had to guess he'd say that this girl's status was lower than a formal Disciple, perhaps even inferior to a preparatory Disciple.
Mu Fan didn't understand Black Fiend Island well enough to know the reason, and he didn't dwell on it.
Lian'er led Mu Fan to the VIP area to sit down, served hot tea, and asked what he needed, saying she could go and bring everything together for him to choose from.
"I want to try Artifact Refining. I need three Magical Artifact blueprints and the related materials."
Lian'er withdrew, and Mu Fan sipped his tea.
Pfft!
A young man sitting at the neighboring table laughed and said to his female companion opposite him, "Another one full of wishful thinking. How could Artifact Refining be easy? It seems in a few years, there'll be another Puppet!"
"No, I'm afraid he won't even be qualified to be a Puppet; maybe he'll be a Strength Slave!"
The female companion smiled gracefully and asked curiously, "Why can he only be a Strength Slave?"
The man shook his head, "If time is wasted on other things instead of cultivating properly, naturally one can only become a Strength Slave~"
The female companion stole a glance at Mu Fan, seemingly embarrassed, but she didn't hesitate to cover her mouth and laugh.
Mu Fan looked over. The woman's appearance wasn't bad, and she had a good figure, but unfortunately, her temperament wasn't great; she had a very obvious green tea vibe.
As for the young man, his back was to Mu Fan, so his specific appearance couldn't be seen.
One could only say, as expected of arrogant and overbearing Demonic Path cultivators, someone would always come to provoke for no reason.
Mu Fan set down his teacup and was about to speak when his expression changed slightly. A person walked down from the second floor, covered in blood qi, with a long diagonal scar running across his entire face.
"Liu Tian?!"
Liu Tian walked down the stairs, met Mu Fan's eyes, and recognized him.
"Brother Mu, it's been a while~"
Mu Fan cupped his hands, "Brother Liu."
"Has Brother Mu been in secluded meditation for the past year?"
"Yes, I was very eager to improve my cultivation, fearing I would fall too far behind you, Brother Liu."
"Brother Mu, you're joking. You certainly have patience. That's good; it gives you a better chance."
Mu Fan didn't take the bait and instead asked, "Has Brother Liu started taking on missions?"
Liu Tian nodded, "I've been killing for over half a year. My Magical Artifact was damaged, so I came to get a new one. She is already at the Eleventh Stage of Qi Refining!"
Mu Fan didn't respond, but Liu Tian insisted on disclosing it!
The one at the Eleventh Stage of Qi Refining was naturally Liu Yuer
Mu Fan remained silent.
This cultivation progress wasn't surprising. Liu Yuer had a dual-attribute Spiritual Root and good Aptitude, plus she had clung to Young Master Zhou's leg; she likely had access to Qi Refining Stage Medicinal Pills.
"Where are you two going?" Liu Tian turned his head, his tone unfriendly.
It was the man and woman who had mocked Mu Fan. Seeing Liu Tian and Mu Fan were acquainted, they felt something was wrong. The woman's face turned pale, and the man quietly pulled her, trying to slip away.
Liu Tian, this newly risen God of Slaughter, was quite famous among the middle and lower-tier Qi Refining Disciples!
Slap! Slap!
The young man was decisive. He backhanded his female companion and then slapped himself, saying, "Two Senior Brothers, I was blind and have offended you!"
As he spoke, he took out a Storage Pouch, looking very pained.
"This is my apology. Please, Senior Brothers, you must accept it!"
Liu Tian looked at Mu Fan.
Mu Fan accepted the Storage Pouch.
The young man lowered his head, "Thank you, Senior Brother!"
Then he quickly left with his companion.
Mu Fan weighed the Storage Pouch and shook his head, "Looking for trouble, why bother?"
Provoking someone, only to find finding out that someone is not easy to mess with, then actively apologizing, and finally having to thank Mu Fan for accepting his storage pouch.
Mu Fan was talking about the young man just now, but Liu Tian felt he was referring to Liu Yuer.
Liu Tian's eyes dimmed slightly, and he said stubbornly, "I don't regret it."
Mu Fan didn't correct him and said indifferently, "I don't regret it either, even if I had the choice 100 times, I still wouldn't save her~"
Liu Tian showed a smile; this was good news.
Since becoming a formal Disciple, he had only been in secluded meditation for half a year. Later, he investigated Liu Yuer and found out that the heroic young man was named Zhou Kai, who came from a cultivation family and had joined Extreme Yin Island voluntarily.
Zhou Kai didn't lack resources, and Liu Yuer had great Aptitude and was being nurtured, growing rapidly. Liu Tian's pressure increased day by day, so he started doing missions to earn Spirit Stones, wanting to improve his cultivation as quickly as possible.
Now, having Mu Fan to share the pressure was a good thing.
It was just that Zhou Kai was still in secluded meditation, focused entirely on his cultivation. Once he had free time, Liu Tian would know who was sharing whose pressure.
Liu Tian briefly spoke about Liu Yuer and Zhou Kai. Seeing Lian'er approaching with the items, he took his leave.
This was his sense of propriety; he wouldn't interfere with Mu Fan's cultivation plans. He quietly checked and confirmed that Mu Fan was at the Qi Refining Seventh Stage, just like him, which was enough.
Mu Fan looked at Lian'er. Three Magical Artifact blueprints, sword, shield, and bead, all were the lowest-grade Magical Artifacts. With ten sets of materials for each artifact and the discount for being Jiang Yi's Named Disciple, it totaled forty Spirit Stones.
After completing the transaction, Mu Fan returned to his private courtyard.
Back at his residence, Mu Fan counted his remaining Spirit Stones, over four hundred.
There were one hundred Spirit Stones in the Storage Pouch the provocative Disciple had given as an apology.
In the past year, he had only spent a little on food and clothing.
"Among the AFK rewards, Artifact Refining experience occasionally pops up. I remember obtaining it about a hundred times. Theoretically, my initial progress in Artifact Refining shouldn't be too slow"
"These Spirit Stones should be enough to last until I reach a Minor Achievement in Artifact Refining and enter a positive cycle by selling Magical Artifacts, right?"