Some people banding together to rob the shopkeeper is something that has happened many times in the past. Many people try to rob him because they think he is weak and can be bullied.
The cultivation technique that he uses is so profound that it has many layers of stealth. On the first layer, he appears to be an ordinary person. Those who can't pierce the first layer of the illusion will believe that he is just an ordinary mortal.
An ordinary mortal selling cultivation techniques for the third mortal coil of cultivation is a prime target for robbing.
Even the people that can see past the first layer of the illusion and see him as a cultivator as of the first mortal coil or second mortal coil still feel that he is a suitable target for robbing.
The same goes for the people that can see the true cultivation of this body. Once they see that he only has the cultivation of the third mortal coil, they will try to rob him. This was why he first thought that Arthur was trying to rob him by saying sweet words.
But all of these people that tried to take advantage of him have always failed. They disappeared mysteriously. The same thing would have happened to Arthur if he had tried to rob the man.
So the shopkeeper didn't become afraid when he sensed the people with bad intentions prowling his shop. He even smiled and said, "At least there is some good coming out of my meeting with that nosy young man. Some more folks have taken the bait. I can catch them and turn them into puppets before I leave."
He finished packing everything, including the cultivation technique. He took it so that he would be able to sell it.
It is not that he doesn't have rank 4 cultivation techniques. He has many of them and even stronger cultivation techniques, but he can't sell them in this weak part of the world, or he will draw too much attention to himself.
But if he moved upstream and got closer to the Ethera Tree, he would be able to openly sell a rank 4 cultivation technique without drawing any attention to himself. So despite being trashy, this cultivation technique can still help him get a lot of money.
He also took out the talisman and examined it with disdain on his face. He shook his head and said, "So cheap. So weak. I guess it is just right for me to use it to eliminate the trouble that that nosy boy causes for me."
This talisman is one of the things the thieves want to rob from him. He doesn't care for the talisman and doesn't think it is valuable. But instead of giving the talisman away, he decided to use it to kill the thieves.
This kind of thing gave him a sense of excitement. As a shopkeeper, most of his day is boring. It is moments like this that he experiences some spice in his otherwise monotonous life.
He chuckled and said, "Let's end this and move on. It is not a total loss. I will gain more puppets and open more shops in other regions. That will earn me more money faster than before."
As he spoke about earning money, his eyes lit up in anticipation. He truly hadn't lied to Arthur when he said that being a shopkeeper was his hobby.
He liked running businesses and earning money so much that he used his power to create many shops in many parts of the world. He really loves earning money and would do anything to earn money.
If left alone, all he will do is earn money. But if someone tries to interfere in his process of earning money, he will lash out violently.
This moment is exactly one of those moments when someone has tried to interfere with his money-making endeavor. So his eyes glinted like a sharp blade as he stepped out of his shop.
What Arthur did caused a lot of people to cry out in pain before they died. Meanwhile, Arthur himself had left in a good mood.
The moment the shopkeeper used the talisman, he felt a resonance in his fate. This signified to Arthur that his plan had worked, and it put him in a good mood.
He smiled and said, "Good work. Very good work. Once he reaches the fourth mortal coil, I will be able to earn more feedback from him."
He felt happy as he went to the airport to set up the flying ship. He even hummed a pleasant tune as he levitated above the flying ship, took out his notebooks, and began doing more research about formations.
He scribbled on the notebook and did some calculations while the formation breaker watched attentively from beside him.
When the formation breaker doesn't understand something, it will point it out to him. Like a good teacher, he would explain it, and like a model student, the formation breaker will soak up all of the wisdom that he has to offer.
While he was learning and also teaching the formation breaker, the people that will leave the sect for the exchange program began to arrive one after the other.
The first to arrive were the elders at the peak of the third mortal coil. There were four of them.
Technically, the cultivators at the third mortal coil are still disciples of the sect. They are sometimes called inner disciples or true disciples. But because they manage most of the affairs of the sect, they are also called elders.
But just because they are called elders doesn't mean that they are equal in status to him. They are more like stewards of the sect, so at most, they should be called junior elders.
This is why when they arrived, they bowed deeply to him and greeted him respectfully. He nodded to them to acknowledge their greeting but didn't spare them any attention other than that.