Chapter 85: The Heartless Academy

Refining a storage ring was not particularly difficult. Especially for Chu Tianfeng, who was a master of formations; in his previous life, he had crafted countless storage rings. Although his cultivation was currently low, his wealth of experience compensated for it. After spending a little over an hour, he finally succeeded in forging a storage ring of superior-grade magical artifact quality.

To avoid attracting attention, he set a diamond into the ring.

The space within the ring was not large—about forty or fifty cubic meters, roughly the size of an ordinary room.

Afterwards, he went on a shopping spree at the mall, buying tables, chairs, benches, firewood, rice, oil, salt, and even outdoor items like tents and hammocks. He packed all these into the ring, leaving only some clothes and the soul-nourishing wood in his bag.

Ever since absorbing Chen Yue’s soul that night, Siazi had been in a deep slumber, showing no sign of awakening.

Once everything was sorted, Chu Tianfeng returned to the small courtyard. Old Xu and his wife remained as leisurely as ever, while Tong Yu and Chen Zhili were still as busy as usual.

He stayed in the courtyard for just one day. Early the next morning, he bid farewell to Old Xu and the others, headed to Tianhai Airport, and flew to Lijiajie.

Lijiajie was a renowned scenic spot in China, famous both at home and abroad. However, the Wuxin Academy was not located within the Lijiajie scenic area, but rather on a mountain to the southwest, with an elevation of more than 1,500 meters.

The festival of Double Ninth was not until the next day, so Chu Tianfeng arrived early—both to admire the scenery of Lijiajie and to get familiar with the surroundings.

The landscape of Lijiajie was indeed stunning, with peculiar mountains that formed a magnificent spectacle.

Moreover, Chu Tianfeng noticed that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth here was much denser—even several times richer than at Qiandao Lake.

With this discovery, he immediately changed his plans, deciding to stay in Lijiajie for a longer period instead of returning to Tianhai early.

Since the spiritual energy was abundant, he surmised that there would be plenty of spiritual herbs and resolved to try his luck.

Given the inconvenience of his female identity, Chu Tianfeng resumed his uncle disguise. Additionally, to guard against further trouble from the Celestial Master Sect, he took out the soul-nourishing wood and buried it under a large tree.

He first went to the Wuxin Academy to confirm the auction time, then ventured into the nearby mountains, meditating atop a peak for an entire night.

The next day, with the sun high in the sky, Chu Tianfeng finished his cultivation, descended into a valley to catch a wild rabbit, and enjoyed a hearty meal. Afterwards, he strung up a hammock and indulged in a comfortable nap.

At noon, he awoke again, washed up, ate a little more, and leisurely began searching for spiritual herbs while making his way to the Wuxin Academy.

His estimation was correct; Lijiajie indeed had many spiritual herbs. He found five or six types needed for the Essence Cultivation Pill, totaling more than ten plants, and even discovered two plants used in the Foundation Establishment Pill.

The ages of these herbs were considerable—mostly twenty or thirty years old.

Delighted, Chu Tianfeng dedicated himself to gathering herbs, so much so that it took him four or five hours to walk just ten miles of mountain path.

“Brother Lin!”

Just as he reached the mountain gate inscribed with “Wuxin Zen Academy,” a joyful voice called out.

Chu Tianfeng looked toward the sound and saw three people standing upright beneath a large banyan tree by the courtyard wall.

There were two men and one woman.

One man was elderly, around fifty or sixty years old, with slightly graying hair, a long face, and a dignified, spirited bearing.

The younger man, in his twenties, also had a long face, with two sharp, sword-like eyebrows, appearing quite handsome—it was Long Fei, the eldest son of the Long family whom Chu Tianfeng had once rescued in the Salt Association’s Hangzhou Hall.

The woman had long, flowing hair, wore a coffee-colored dress, and her face was veiled with a gray scarf, revealing only her large, expressive eyes.

“Brother Long, you’re here as well?” Chu Tianfeng smiled faintly, stepping forward.

Meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land always lifted one’s spirits, all the more since Long Fei’s forthright character suited Chu Tianfeng well.

Long Fei and the others also left the shade of the banyan tree and approached Chu Tianfeng.

“Heh heh,” Long Fei said, hugging Chu Tianfeng, “I accidentally broke through to Internal Force, so I came out to see the world.”

Chu Tianfeng scanned Long Fei’s cultivation with his spiritual sense and confirmed he had indeed advanced to the early stage of Internal Force.

The elder’s cultivation was at the late stage of Innate, the woman’s was also impressive—late stage Internal Force.

After exchanging greetings, Long Fei introduced Chu Tianfeng to the elder and the woman: “Uncle Yuanhua, Sis, this is the Lin Feng I told you about.” He then turned to Chu Tianfeng, “Brother Lin, this is my uncle Long Yuanhua, and my elder sister Long Yue.”

Chu Tianfeng clasped his fists in salute: “Senior Long, Miss Long, greetings.”

Long Yuanhua nodded slightly, seeming disinterested.

Long Yue inclined her head to Chu Tianfeng: “Thank you for saving my life, Brother Lin.”

Chu Tianfeng waved his hand: “Miss Long, you’re too polite.”

“Hey!” Long Fei interjected, “You’re all being too formal. Come on, let’s go inside and talk.”

Chu Tianfeng had no reason to refuse; after all, he was going inside anyway.

At the mountain gate stood two middle-aged monks, both at late-stage Internal Force.

Chu Tianfeng produced the jade slip he had obtained at the Salt Association’s Hangzhou Hall and handed it to one of the monks for inspection.

Long Yuanhua also presented a jade slip; Chu Tianfeng glanced at it with his spiritual sense and saw the number ten inscribed.

The monk barely glanced at the jade slips before returning them.

“Brother Lin, have you heard about the massacre at the Salt Association’s headquarters?” Long Fei resumed the conversation as they passed through the gate.

“I’ve heard,” Chu Tianfeng responded simply, saying no more.

“Haha! What a relief!” Long Fei laughed, “That Vice Chairman Chen and the Four Vajra were wiped out in one fell swoop! I heard even Sima Lin was badly injured in the fight, retreated to recover, but still couldn’t escape—got finished off the night before last. Haha!”

Chu Tianfeng smiled, offering no comment.

“The funniest part is, after Sima Lin died, the Salt Association didn’t have time to clean up the scene. The police found their stash of firearms and drugs! The Special Operations Group will have plenty to do now.” Long Fei spoke animatedly.

Chu Tianfeng remained silent.

“Heh heh, the Special Operations Group is clearing out Salt Association branches across the country. Looks like the Salt Association is about to become history,” Long Fei continued, spittle flying.

As more martial artists gathered around, Long Yuanhua frowned and quietly rebuked, “Xiaofei, stop talking. Beware trouble from careless words.”

Long Fei stuck out his tongue but obeyed, falling silent.

Wuxin Academy was not large; soon, they had passed through the front courtyard and arrived at the main hall.

Chu Tianfeng checked the time—it was only a little past five, and the auction wouldn’t start until eight. He discussed with Long Fei and the others, and they went to the dining hall for a meal.

The number of diners was surprisingly large, with several long queues.

The dishes were modest—four vegetarian dishes and a soup—but the price was steep, fifty coins per person!

Chu Tianfeng was speechless.

For three grown men like Chu Tianfeng, Long Yuanhua, and Long Fei, no matter how bland the food, they still ate several big bowls, worth a few coins at least.

But Long Yue only took a small bowl of rice and a little of each dish, costing less than a coin. Chu Tianfeng even suspected she was a “meal prop” hired by the Academy!

During the meal, perhaps in protest of the fifty-coin price, the martial artists ignored the “No Loud Conversation in the Dining Hall” notice and talked freely, laughing aloud and shaking the hall when excited.

Of course, the main topic was the Salt Association’s upheaval, and Chu Tianfeng himself was often mentioned.

Meanwhile, many people came over to greet Long Yuanhua.

There were Duan Rui and Dong Qingfei of the Huangshan Sect, Ge Huawen and Ouyang Zhen of the Hengshan Sect, and others.

He also saw several people he’d met at Qiandao Lake, including the round-faced, chubby old man—now revealed to be Huang Zonghan from the Huashan Sect—and the hawk-nosed, sharp-eyed elder, Qian Sifang, an elder of the Qingcheng Sect.

Chu Tianfeng had interacted with these sects before, so he made note of their names. As for others like the Dian Cang Sect, Tianshan Sect, Kunlun Sect, he had little interest.

Later, Yu Xianze of the Celestial Master Sect also arrived with Tong Hanwen to greet Long Yuanhua and the others.

These two were old acquaintances of Chu Tianfeng. He had once disciplined Tong Hanwen and let Yu Xianze take away a fake pill furnace, thoroughly tricking him. Unexpectedly, the old fellow was still lively as ever.

Chu Tianfeng felt somewhat frustrated.

But since their cultivation was impressive, he dared not act rashly.

Afterwards, Long Yuanhua took Long Fei and Long Yue to pay respects to various sects. Chu Tianfeng, claiming a stomach upset, left the dining hall ahead of time.

He returned to the main hall and found a steward monk.

The monk, appearing in his thirties, was at late-stage Internal Force.

“Benefactor, how may I assist you?” The monk pressed his palms together, speaking in a refined manner.

“I have something to auction. Whom should I speak to? What procedures are required?” Chu Tianfeng returned the gesture.

He only had a few hundred thousand in assets; if he didn’t auction something, he would be nothing more than a spectator throughout the event.

The monk gave Chu Tianfeng a surprised look: “Auction consignments have ended, but if you truly have a rare treasure, I can introduce you to Mr. Chen, the auction representative.”

The implication was clear: unless it was something extraordinary, don’t bother.

Chu Tianfeng nodded: “I do have a treasure. I won’t claim it’s priceless, but it’s certainly not ordinary. Please introduce me.”

The monk’s eyes again swept over Chu Tianfeng’s face: “Please follow me.”

With that, the monk gestured for Chu Tianfeng to proceed and led him into the hall.

The main hall was spacious, with meditation cushions covering the floor—Chu Tianfeng estimated three or four hundred.

The monk did not pause, crossing the hall and heading toward the rear.

There were several side rooms in the rear hall. The monk stopped before one and announced, “Abbot, Mr. Chen, a benefactor wishes to consign a treasure for auction.”

“Come in!” replied a hoarse voice from within.

Chu Tianfeng followed the monk into the room.

At the center stood a square table, with two people seated before it.

One was an old monk in a soil-yellow robe, about sixty or seventy years old, with a lean face and nine prominent burn marks on his forehead—clearly an abbot, at late-stage Innate.

The other was an elderly martial artist with a square face and rosy complexion, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and casual pants, a golden watch on his left wrist, also at late-stage Innate.

“This is Abbot Yuneng of our temple, and this is Mr. Chen Jian, the auction representative,” the monk introduced.

Chu Tianfeng clasped his fists: “Junior Lin Feng, greetings to both seniors.”

Abbot Yuneng nodded: “Amitabha, please be seated.”

Chu Tianfeng sat as instructed, and the steward monk withdrew.

“You wish to auction something?” Mr. Chen Jian asked directly.

“Yes.” Chu Tianfeng pretended to rummage in his bag for a while, but in fact retrieved the luminous pearl from his ring.

Yuneng and Chen Jian, both keen-eyed, immediately recognized the extraordinary nature of the gem.

Their gazes met, each seeing delight in the other’s eyes.

“A luminous pearl. Please inspect it,” Chu Tianfeng placed the pearl on the table.