After Gu Changhuan returned to his rented cave abode, he opened the Storage Bags of the fat and thin duo, and was genuinely startled by their abundant wealth.

The stronger of the two had only been at the eighth layer of Qi Condensation, yet they had over three thousand Spirit Stones between them. They must have robbed and murdered plenty of people.

In particular, the fat cultivator's Storage Bag held several combat puppets, likely seized from various rogue cultivators. Now, they all belonged to Gu Changhuan.

However, Gu Changhuan found only a single Haoran Sect identity token, which he tossed into his Storage Ring. It appeared the thinner cultivator was not a Haoran Sect disciple after all.

Unlike the Storage Bags of Zhao Pin'er and her companions, which contained a cluttered assortment of items, these two were quickly inventoried.

In total, there were three thousand two hundred and fifteen low-grade spirit stones, three middle-grade spirit stones, four combat puppets, three first-tier high-grade magical artifacts, seven first-tier middle-grade magical artifacts, two bottles of first-tier high-grade spirit-feeding pills, and various auxiliary cultivation pills that Gu Changhuan had no use for.

There were no cultivation technique jade slips to be found. This highlighted a key difference between sect disciples and rogue cultivators. Fearing that disciples might perish outside and cause technique inheritances to leak, sects strictly prohibited their disciples from carrying cultivation technique jade slips on their persons. It was one of the ways sects protected their legacies.

Gu Changhuan took out a spirit-feeding pill and called Mo Lin out.

Mo Lin gulped down the pill, coiled its tail around several bottles—including the spirit-feeding pills—and looked at Gu Changhuan. When he did not scold it, it darted back into the spirit beast pouch.

Gu Changhuan felt a touch of melancholy. Ever since Mo Lin had hatched, the pills it consumed would have been enough to support two cultivators all the way to late Qi Condensation. Yet after eating so many pills, Mo Lin was still only at the sixth layer of Qi Condensation. It was far too difficult to raise.

Fortunately, he still had some reserves; otherwise, he could never afford to feed such a glutton.

Having finished inventorying the spoils, Gu Changhuan retrieved the booklet given to him by the fat manager and carefully perused it.

Roughly an incense stick's burning time later, he took out the five puppets, opened the compartments in their heads, and put Spirit Stones into each.

He called the tilling and sowing models Type One, the watering models Type Two, and the harvesting model Type Three.

He opened the compartment on the back of a Type One puppet and poured in the seeds he had bought.

With the Spirit Stones in place, he cast the activation spell on the two Type One puppets and entered the first floor of the Xuantian Tower.

The weeds on the first floor were gone. After collecting the seeds he wanted, Gu Changhuan had burned the rest away.

He had recovered only a few seeds, but all were from herbs of the fourth tier or higher. He had stored them carefully, ready to plant once the Spiritual Qi inside the tower reached the fourth tier. Too little Qi would severely hinder their growth.

The two Type One puppets began work at once. Before long, they had tilled several mu of spiritual fields and started sowing.

Gu Changhuan felt reassured. The puppets could indeed look after the fields for him.

He activated the two Type Two puppets and ordered them to tend the fields and water them when needed, then left the tower.

Zhenlingzi's inheritance included methods for making puppets, but Gu Changhuan knew nothing of artifact refining, let alone puppet making. Learning would take time, and he needed help now. Buying a few would have to do.

Now that he had broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, it was time to learn artifact refining and talisman drawing.

Just then, the cave abode's formation was suddenly triggered.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, it is Daoist Baixing. I have come to visit," called an elderly voice.

Gu Changhuan smiled slightly. Daoist Baixing was certainly prompt, arriving so quickly.

He was hardly surprised by how Daoist Baixing had tracked him down. Linyao Market was, after all, their territory; investigating someone was effortless.

Gu Changhuan opened the formation and welcomed Daoist Baixing into the reception hall.

Once tea was served and they were seated, Daoist Baixing stated the purpose of his visit.

"I have publicly beheaded Captain Qian, the man who stopped you at the gate. I came to tell you how the matter was settled, and to thank you. Without you, we might not have discovered the rot in our market in time to remove it."

"There's no need to thank me, Fellow Daoist Bai. It was only chance," Gu Changhuan said mildly.

Daoist Baixing's expression remained unchanged at this measured response.

"May I ask where you come from, Fellow Daoist Wang? Is there particular business that brings you here?"

Gu Changhuan chuckled inwardly, knowing this question was bound to come.

"I would rather not disclose where I come from. Having made some progress in cultivation, I was sent out to travel by my elders. On the road, I heard others describe this unusual market and grew curious enough to visit."

Daoist Baixing relaxed. It seemed this was no powerful outsider who had come to extort a share of their wealth.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Daoist Baixing prepared to take his leave. Before departing, he added that should Fellow Daoist Wang encounter any thorny matters within Linyao Market, he was welcome to seek him out on the first floor.

Gu Changhuan gladly accepted the offer and thanked him with a smile.

When Daoist Baixing returned to the first floor, the other two Foundation Establishment managers of the market were already waiting outside his cave abode.

Seeing him return, the two hurried forward and asked anxiously,

"Elder Brother, did you find out that youth's background and purpose?"

Daoist Baixing nodded. "Don't worry, brothers. He is only traveling. As for his background, anyone who reaches Foundation Establishment that young must have powerful support. We must take care not to offend him."

One of them sighed. "We understand, brother. Still, what a waste of Brother Zhao's disciple. He reached the seventh layer of Qi Condensation, only to do something so foolish."

"Say no more, Brother Wen," said the cultivator surnamed Zhao. "My disciple recklessly raised the entry fee without permission. If we hadn't found out in time, he could have ruined the market's reputation! All three of us know how much we owe this market for our cultivation. Anyone who breaks its rules will get no mercy from me—not a disciple, not even my own son!"

Daoist Zhao's tone was ruthless, making it clear he was genuinely enraged.

This was precisely why Gu Changhuan considered Captain Qian a fool. By raising the entry fees, he had directly infringed upon his own master's interests.

To put it bluntly, he had compromised the cultivation paths of the three Foundation Establishment managers who ran Linyao Market.

In the cultivation world, blocking someone's path to advancement was no different from murdering their parents. Therefore, Gu Changhuan had been entirely certain that Captain Qian would meet a grim end.