Upon hearing the plain-looking young cultivator beside him offer such congratulations, Kang Zongdan first nodded.
His head was a little dazed.
Because Kang Zongdan felt that something seemed off somehow.
But he didn't think much of it.
Up until now, his perspective hadn't really improved much compared to when he was still the patriarch of a martial arts family in Jiangdu Prefecture.
After all, only a few months had passed in total.
"Chu Fan thanks the Senior for the auspicious words."
Kang Zongdan said.
The plain-looking young cultivator in front of him appeared to be around twenty years old, indeed older than Chu Fan.
The way he spoke also felt more like an elder addressing a junior.
Moreover, it seemed that the direction the plain-looking young cultivator was heading was exactly the same as his own - toward the teahouse in the center of town.
After all, at the Hour of the Snake today, Elder Huangfu of Mirage Palace was going to summon all the sect leaders and cultivators above the Qi Sea Realm from around Moxu Mountain to the teahouse.
That meant the plain-looking young cultivator beside him was almost certainly at a higher cultivation level than his own.
Therefore, Kang Zongdan felt that calling the other party "Senior" was well worth it.
But still...
Something still felt strange.
It was just hard to pinpoint, hard to explain.
...
Hour of the Snake, inside the teahouse.
In the main hall, all the cultivators above the Qi Sea Realm from around Moxu Mountain had gathered.
Han Qianshan, the sect leader of Jiugong Sect, seemed to have a rather grim expression.
Or rather, for the past few days, Han Qianshan's mood had been far from good.
He was even somewhat anxious and oppressed.
Because the one who had found the seven-thousand-year-old Rain-Lin Pearl Vine was none other than that Chu Fan who had parted ways with Jiugong Sect on such bad terms a year ago.
Three years ago, when Chu Fan first joined Jiugong Sect, the sect had treated him very well. After all, he was visibly a promising talent; if properly nurtured, reaching the Martial Spring Realm was practically a sure thing.
Even the Qi Sea Realm was within the realm of possibility.
Thus, as the sect leader of Jiugong Sect, Han Qianshan not only personally received Chu Fan but also instructed the elders and instructors to appropriately allocate more resources to the child.
But who would have thought that Chu Fan would look down on Jiugong Sect so much that he caused a big scene a year ago and expelled himself from the sect.
This infuriated Han Qianshan, and when Ma Huwei of the Han Crow Sect found out, he even publicly mocked Han Qianshan in secret.
It was precisely because of Ma Huwei's mockery that Han Qianshan couldn't send anyone to deal with Chu Fan.
Because it would leave room for criticism.
And now, Chu Fan had actually found that seven-thousand-year-old Rain-Lin Pearl Vine.
Han Qianshan had heard that Chu Fan dreamed of joining Mirage Palace. If Elder Huangfu actually agreed to Chu Fan's request, then...
If Chu Fan held a grudge, then Jiugong Sect's days ahead might not be so pleasant.
In stark contrast to Han Qianshan, Ma Huwei on the other side was sitting cross-legged with his legs propped up, eyes lightly closed, looking incredibly pleased.
"Fellow Daoists!"
The middle-aged man in deep green daoist robes stood on the platform in the main hall of the teahouse. With a light brush of his sleeve, a few wisps of almost imperceptible innate true energy drifted from his cuffs.
This was a symbol of a Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator.
This man was Huangfu Han, the Offering Elder of Ten Directions Tower under Mirage Palace.
"I'm sure you all already know why I've called everyone here today."
Huangfu Han announced loudly from the platform, waving his hand toward the side of the stage.
Another Mirage Palace cultivator stepped onto the platform. This was the man with the unpleasant-looking squinty eyes from that day.
He held an exquisite wooden box in his hands. Once the squinty-eyed Mirage Palace disciple stood still on the platform, he slowly lifted the lid of the box. Inside was a bright blue vine about seven inches long, covered with pale blue liquid beads, as if it had just been rained on.
The Rain-Lin Pearl Vine!
A seven-thousand-year-old Rain-Lin Pearl Vine, if sold on the black market, would conservatively be valued at over ten thousand high-grade spirit stones.
Given the quality of this vine, its price might exceed thirty thousand high-grade spirit stones.
But for the vast majority of cultivators in this world, that price was nothing more than a distant, intangible number.
Anyone who could pull out tens of thousands of high-grade spirit stones in one go was either a wealthy, well-known cultivation sect with deep pockets, or an exceptionally powerful, respected great power from the Upper Three Realms.
In other words, immortal herbs and spiritual medicines of this quality were often priceless and marketless.
Only top-tier cultivation sects at the level of the Five Great Sects could acquire as many of these precious herbs as they wanted, without limit.
Chen Yan knew very well that a few tens of thousands of high-grade spirit stones meant absolutely nothing to the Five Great Sects.
Back then, Qiguan Jin, just a capable dock supervisor at Mingxiao Peak of the Kongshan Sect, could secretly siphon off hundreds of thousands of high-grade spirit stones in annual profits from the Mingxiao Peak ferry without anyone knowing.
But these cultivators from Moxu Mountain had no idea.
Even Ma Huwei and Han Qianshan, both fully capable Spirit Connection Realm cultivators in their own right, had absolutely no concept of just how wealthy the Five Great Sects really were.
So much so that they thought trading a fragment of the Heavenly Summit Mountain scripture for the seven-thousand-year-old Rain-Lin Pearl Vine was a fair, break-even deal.
Little did they know that a genuine fragment of the Heavenly Summit Mountain scripture would never be worth less than ten million high-grade spirit stones.
More likely, it would become a priceless treasure.
"I'm sure you've all heard about the Fellow Daoist who found this seven-thousand-year-old Rain-Lin Pearl Vine."
As Huangfu Han spoke, his gaze swept across the audience:
"Little Friend Chu, come on up."
All eyes in the teahouse's main hall fell on the young man who had yet to turn twenty this year.
The handsome young man stepped steadily across the path between the seated great powers of the Qi Sea Realm and stood on the platform.
"Chu Fan pays respects to Elder Huangfu!"
Chu Fan announced loudly from the platform, making a cupped-fist bow toward Huangfu Han.
Huangfu Han nodded slightly, signaling Chu Fan to stand up straight.
Once Chu Fan had straightened himself, the squinty-eyed man standing to the side smiled at him:
"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Chu."
Chen Yan, sitting below the stage, observed the squinty-eyed man's reaction to Chu Fan.
He remembered that just a few days ago, this squinty-eyed Mirage Palace disciple had toyed with and humiliated Chu Fan.
And now, judging from his reaction...
It seemed he knew the truth that Chu Fan had already been possessed.