178: Chapter 178 The Old Man Has Arrived

"No need for thanks." Su Cheng put down the empty tea bowl. "Your value to the Revered Master is greater than you think. Spirit Medicine channels, the Lin Family's connections, and the Lin Family's storefronts in the Prefecture City—these are all tangible resources. The Revered Master's investment in you is not an act of charity."

These words were blunt and cold, but they actually put Lin Feng at ease.

"Understood. I will make the arrangements as soon as I return."

"Good. Also, is there any progress on the Strange Fire and the precious artifact pill furnace I asked you to look into last time?"

A flash of regret crossed Lin Feng's Face.

"There are no leads on the precious artifact pill furnace for now, but I do have one lead regarding the Strange Fire."

Su Cheng's attention sharpened.

"Three months ago, a Loose Cultivator medicine merchant who travels all over came to Hundred Herbs Hall to restock. During our chat, he mentioned a place called Xuanhuo Ridge, about a hundred miles southwest of Tianlan Province, where earth fire erupts year-round.

When that merchant passed by, he saw from a distance that the color of the earth fire was off. Ordinary earth fire is reddish-orange, but the cluster of flames he saw had a layer of dark purple outer flame.

He suspected there was a natural Strange Fire seed buried underneath, but that place is near Ten Thousand Snakes Valley, where venomous snakes and Yao Beasts roam, so he didn't dare to go deep."

Xuanhuo Ridge, dark purple outer flame, Ten Thousand Snakes Valley.

Su Cheng mentally noted these three keywords.

The name Xuanhuo Ridge had not appeared in Treasure Gathering Tower's records on Strange Fires, nor was it mentioned in the Strange Fire ancient texts in the Dharma Transmission Pavilion.

It was just hearsay from a Loose Cultivator medicine merchant, and in another prefecture at that, so its credibility wasn't high, but it was better than nothing.

"Will that medicine merchant come again?"

"He said he returns about once every six months. The next time should be in about three months."

"When the time comes, keep him here. I want to ask him a few questions in person."

Lin Feng made a note of it.

After finishing his instructions, Su Cheng saw Lin Feng out.

Before leaving, the two Foundation Establishment brothers at the door stepped forward. They hadn't entered the room the whole time, but their posture while waiting outside was very disciplined.

Seeing Su Cheng come out, they immediately cupped their hands in salute with a very respectful attitude. They had likely inquired about the weight of "Young Master Su" from the shop assistants while waiting outside.

After Lin Feng left, Su Cheng returned to the secret room and wrote a letter.

Recipient: Su Chengyuan.

The content was very brief, asking his father to come to the Prefecture City for a Face-to-Face talk.

This letter served three purposes.

First, he needed to personally explain some matters to his father. The Su Family's operations in Qinghe County were already on the right track, but the county's scale was too small. To deal with powers at the level of the Prefecture City in the future, they needed to make some layout adjustments in advance.

Second, there was the issue of his father Su Chengyuan's memory. When they killed the demonic cultivator last time, his father had witnessed the phantom of the qiankun creation furnace. Although his father had proactively suggested erasing his memory, Su Cheng hadn't had a suitable Spell at the time.

Now that he had obtained the Wangchuan Formula, he only needed a Divine Sense strength of the Late Foundation Establishment Stage or higher to cast it, and Su Cheng was still a bit short.

Once his Divine Sense improved further, this hidden danger could be resolved. He would first give his father a heads-up in person.

Third, he also wanted to hear about the recent situation at home. He heard the Clan Chief's cultivation had reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, the Old Ancestor had also made a Breakthrough, and the cultivation of the clan's Disciples had generally improved. He had only read these updates in letters before, and it wasn't the same as chatting Face-to-Face.

After the secret letter was written and sent out, Su Cheng sat cross-legged in the chamber of commerce's guest room and cultivated for two hours.

Seven days passed.

Su Chengyuan was still on the way. Flying on a sword from Qinghe Prefecture to Tianlan Province City would take at least ten days.

However, news from Zhou Changgeng arrived first.

On the morning of the seventh day, a servant delivered a letter to Su Cheng's hand.

It was only five words.

"The old man has arrived."

Su Cheng put the letter away and stood up to straighten his robes.

He took out the three jars of spirit spring brew he had bought previously, then retrieved the wanbao mirror from the depths of his Storage Pouch and studied it in his palm for a moment.

Five Elements spiritual light flowed endlessly across the mirror's surface, and the Array Inscriptionss optimized by Zhou Changgeng glowed softly under the nourishment of Spiritual Qi.

The future fate of this mirror would depend on the person he was about to meet.

Su Cheng put away the wanbao mirror and pushed the door open to leave.

"President Fang, I'm heading out for a bit."

"Young Master Su, do you want me to arrange for someone..."

"No need."

Su Cheng left through the back door of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce alone and walked toward the east of the city.

The streets and alleys in the early morning were not yet fully bustling. Occasionally, a few early-rising Loose Cultivators would set up stalls by the roadside, and the aroma of spirit rice porridge wafted through the air.

Qingfeng Alley.

He could smell the burnt scent from Zhou Changgeng's shop from far away.

But today, the burnt smell was mixed with something else—the aroma of wine, strong and spicy, which rushed into his nostrils from twenty yards away.

Su Cheng came to a halt at the shop's entrance.

The door panels were wide open, and the dust on the display cases had been wiped clean. This was likely the first time in Zhou Changgeng's life that he had wiped the display cases, probably to give his Revered Master some Face.

Two people were sitting in the shop.

One was Zhou Changgeng, standing behind the counter with his hands behind his back, his spine straighter than Su Cheng had ever seen it.

The other was sitting in that charred reclining chair in the very center.

It was an old man with pure white hair tied behind his head and secured with a black wood hairpin. He wore an old blue-gray robe and had his feet propped up on the counter while holding a gourd that was currently emitting the scent of wine.

Seeing the other's appearance, Su Cheng subconsciously probed with his Divine Sense, but he ended up hitting an impenetrable wall.

No, it wasn't just an impenetrable wall.

The moment his Divine Sense touched the edge of that aura, a powerful rebound force bounced back along the original path, accurately piercing into Su Cheng's Sea of Consciousness. It caused his brow to twitch and his head to buzz.

The old man looked up at Su Cheng. "Junior, is this how your Danding Sect teaches manners—probing someone's cultivation with Divine Sense?"

The buzzing in Su Cheng's head hadn't fully dissipated. He gritted his molars and, after clearing his head, honestly cupped his hands. At the same time, he felt some regret; curiosity truly killed the cat.

"Senior, please forgive me. This Junior was impolite. It is our first meeting, and I was momentarily anxious, but I meant no offense."

The old man snorted and glanced at Zhou Changgeng behind him. Likely giving Face to his own Disciple, he had no intention of pursuing the matter further.

Su Cheng took this gap to reflect on that rebound force just now. It had taught him a lesson without truly harming his Divine Soul.

This level of control in itself spoke volumes.

Furthermore, during that brief touch just now, he had still captured some details.

Every inch of this man, from his skin to his robes to that battered gourd in his hand, seemed to be engraved with Array Inscriptionss.

These weren't Array Inscriptionss found on Magical Artifacts, but artisan inscriptions naturally formed by an Artifact Refiner's spiritual power seeping into their bones and Meridians after years of working with Materials, fire, and carving knives.

The mark of a Third-Rank Top-Tier Artifact Refining Master.

The old man looked at Su Cheng again. This time, his gaze was a tiny bit softer, likely because he felt the kid's attitude in admitting his mistake was sincere enough.

"You're the kid who made the Five Elements Fusion Magical Artifact?" the old man's voice asked, thick with the scent of wine.

Su Cheng cupped his hands. "Junior Su Cheng greets the Senior."

Then, he placed the three jars of spirit spring brew he was carrying on the ground by the door and gently pushed them over.

The old man looked down at the three jars of wine, his nostrils twitching.

Then, a expression that could be called kind appeared on his Face.

"The wine is good. Where's the thing?"

Su Cheng took the wanbao mirror out of his Storage Pouch and held it in his palm.

The old man's gaze fell upon the mirror's surface.

At that moment, Su Cheng clearly felt something awaken within that wrinkled old Face.