Chapter 149 – The Illusion Technique, Secret Manual Revealed, Purchasing a Map and Beast Pills

Those words were too dangerous to say out loud—speaking them would be making excuses… courting death!

Barleyming’s thoughts spun quickly before he suddenly dropped to his knees and lowered his voice:

“Senior… this junior admits his mistake! It was my selfishness and delusion! Fortunately, Senior was here to stop me. If not for your intervention, I would have committed a grave sin!”

Yu Xian’s brow twitched slightly as he looked at the kneeling Barleyming. For a moment, he didn’t quite know what to say.

Such a quick and clean admission of fault was not what Yu Xian had expected. Because of that honest bow and apology, much of his earlier anger began to subside.

Meanwhile, the three other cultivators exchanged glances. From the brief exchange between Yu Xian and Barleyming, they quickly pieced together the situation.

This mysterious senior and Barleyming were not master and disciple—and, more importantly, the senior was clearly very displeased that Barleyming had brought danger to this place!

With that realization, the three men immediately bowed deeply and said respectfully,

“We are itinerant cultivators from Jade Emerald Mountain—Du Yuan, Du Li, and Du He. Greetings, Senior!”

Yu Xian glanced at them coldly, remaining silent.

Barleyming, however, quickly cried out,

“Senior! I used the 30,000 spirit stones you gave me, along with my own savings, to purchase a cultivation method! But these three scoundrels ambushed me along the way! They’re nothing but bandits and villains! Senior mustn’t let them off lightly!”

The three frowned. Du Yuan quickly shouted,

“Senior! That cultivation technique was originally being bid on by us. This fellow suddenly outbid us and forcefully seized it. We only pursued him to discuss whether he would consider co-cultivating the method. We had no intent to kill!”

“Bullshit!” Barleyming bellowed. “You three wanted to kill me and take the manual! Senior, please uphold justice!”

“Senior, we beg you not to listen to his one-sided story!” the three men bowed again, their tone humble.

Yu Xian’s expression remained cold, though internally he felt a bit helpless.

He’d only come here to drive them all away so they wouldn’t drag trouble into the village. How did he suddenly become a judge presiding over a case?

“Hand me the technique manual,” Yu Xian finally said, raising his hand.

Barleyming’s eyes lit up. He quickly nodded and pulled out the “Moonshadow Divine Reflection Art” from his storage pouch, respectfully placing it in Yu Xian’s hand.

Yu Xian briefly skimmed it.

It was a technique that could be cultivated to the peak of Foundation Establishment and even offered a slim chance to form a Core. While not top-tier, it was far above ordinary starter manuals.

He turned his gaze to the three cultivators and said coldly:

“You lost the bid because your spirit stones were insufficient. That’s fair business. But pursuing someone for thousands of miles to steal what you failed to buy is wicked in intent!”

The trio’s faces changed dramatically.

“Senior! Please don’t listen to his slander!”

Yu Xian didn’t strike them immediately, instead turning to Barleyming with a steely gaze:

“You were being chased and tried to lure them to an innocent village, dragging others into your mess. That’s selfish. Despicable behavior!”

Barleyming’s expression froze, then he lowered his head in shame.

“Junior… admits his mistake…”

“So none of you deserve this technique,” Yu Xian said flatly.

Then he squeezed his fingers.

Boom!

The entire manual exploded into scattered dust!

“Ah!?” Du Yuan, Du Li, and Du He cried out.

Barleyming trembled as if struck by lightning. His face filled with grief and reluctance.

That was 46,000 spirit stones! A rare technique capable of reaching Foundation Establishment’s peak and even forming a Core—gone in an instant!

As the shredded fragments rained down, Yu Xian’s cold gaze swept over the group:

“Now go. If I see you near this place again, I will show no mercy.”

The three men flinched, quickly bowed, and turned to flee.

With the manual destroyed, there was no longer anything to gain here—and no reason to stay.

Barleyming remained rooted in place like a hollow husk, shoulders slumped.

The loss of the technique meant the loss of his future. Without a proper cultivation method, even reaching Foundation Establishment was a distant dream.

Still, after a moment, he drew in a deep breath, forced a smile, and looked toward Yu Xian.

“Senior did what was right… Junior… will take his leave now.”

He turned to walk away.

“Stop,” a calm voice suddenly called out.

Barleyming turned in surprise.

A manual floated down in front of him.

Yu Xian spoke plainly:

“Barleyming, a stranger has no obligation to help you. But I see some good in your heart. I’m helping you this once. Remember this—those who make others bear their burdens will eventually be burned by the fire they light.”

With that, he took a step forward and vanished westward upon the clouds.

Barleyming stared in disbelief at the manual before him. He reached out.

Wasn’t this the Moonshadow Divine Reflection Art!?

It hadn’t been destroyed at all. That senior had simply used an illusion technique!

He looked up quickly, but in the distant sky, Yu Xian was already just a dot on the horizon.

“Senior!!” Barleyming dropped to his knees, shouting,

“Junior will never forget your teaching!!”

His voice was faint but still reached Yu Xian’s ears.

Yet Yu Xian didn’t pause or look back.

Barleyming was not his friend, brother, or disciple—just a stranger he’d felt a slight favor toward.

The 30,000 spirit stones had already repaid Barleyming’s year and a half of kindness toward the village.

Trying to bring disaster to that village had been a grievous misstep—and not crippling him was already a show of mercy.

Still, seeing that Barleyming had sincerely repented, Yu Xian had chosen to resolve the situation with finesse—using an illusion to deceive the three pursuers and secretly return the manual.

It was a relatively elegant resolution.

Of course, the “cleanest” resolution would have been killing all four. No loose ends.

But Yu Xian never killed without cause. These people had done nothing to him personally.

With a clear conscience, Yu Xian continued westward into the setting sun.

The sun had risen behind him and now, without him realizing, it was already setting ahead.

The Western lands of Dongzhou were vast, and Yu Xian needed a proper plan.

Wandering aimlessly was as useless as a headless fly.

He decided to first acquire a map, then plan a route.

His master was a Core Formation expert, which meant he’d only stay in regions with rich spiritual energy.

No Core cultivator would remain in a sparse area where even Foundation Establishment was difficult.

This fact alone allowed Yu Xian to rule out many regions.

As for maps of Dongzhou, small markets wouldn’t have them—he’d need to go to a major trading hub.

Yu Xian recalled passing such a hub when he first returned home.

That market had dense spiritual energy, and even if no Core experts resided there, there were definitely peak Foundation Establishment powerhouses.

A place like that should have what he needed.

Plus, he also wanted to buy some beast pills for his cloud heron. If he couldn’t find ready-made pills, he could buy the ingredients and make them himself.

As for the other spirit beasts, they had either already been made into pills to treat the villagers’ illnesses, or killed and cooked to nourish the villagers.

In the beast pouch, only the cloud heron and the little phoenix cat remained.

By midnight, the lights of a massive city appeared on the horizon—a shimmering glow from a formation barrier.

This trading city had long grown into a small fortress.

The Grand Kun Market.

As Yu Xian approached within several miles, he felt the no-fly formation activate.

While he could ignore it, he wasn’t here to cause trouble. As a guest, he would follow the rules.

He descended from the clouds, dispelled his cloud-stepping technique, and calmly walked toward the city gates.

In a market city like this, night and day meant nothing. Business never slept. Laughter and commerce filled the streets.

Yu Xian passed through the gates. On both sides of the road were stalls selling materials, pills, low-tier artifacts—of no interest to him now.

He strode forward confidently, exuding Foundation Establishment aura. The nearby Qi Condensation cultivators quickly parted to make way.

Soon, he arrived before the market’s largest, most prestigious establishment—Kunpeng Pavilion.

A man inside ran out with a bright smile and respectful salute.

“Welcome, Senior, to our Kunpeng Pavilion! Please, come in!”

Yu Xian nodded and stepped in, getting straight to the point.

“This humble one is traveling far and wide and requires a map of Dongzhou. Do you sell them?”

“Yes, yes, of course!” the man beamed. “I’ll have someone get a copy made immediately. Senior, please wait a moment!”

He turned and shouted, “Xiao Liu! Go fetch Senior Jiang to print a map of Dongzhou—quickly!”

A young cultivator acknowledged the order and rushed off.

Yu Xian nodded and added,

“Also, I need beast essence grass, blood-warding grass, boar trap fruit…”

He listed a dozen spiritual herbs needed to refine beast pills.

The man’s eyes lit up, grinning.

“Senior raising a spiritual pet, I see? But why go through the trouble of refining pills yourself? We at Kunpeng Pavilion sell finished beast pills too!”

“Oh?” Yu Xian gave him a side glance and smiled. “You have high-grade beast pills? I’m looking to help my pet advance quickly and purify its bloodline.”

“We do!” the man replied proudly.

“Our Pavilion Master is a professional beast tamer and alchemist. We have not only high-grade pills, but also top-grade, bloodline-enhancing, ancestral return, and blood-purification pills for sale!”