On the day of the Alchemy Conference, Ruan Se woke up earlier than usual.

She changed into a clean cyan dress, and at the end of the silver chain tied around her waist hung a small, extra Storage Bag.

Once everything was ready, she walked to Lai Li’an’s door. Just as she raised her hand to knock, the door was pushed open from the inside.

Lai Li’an stood in the doorway. The mask on his face covered the upper half above the bridge of his nose, revealing only his sharply defined jawline.

Seeing Ruan Se’s slightly surprised expression, the corners of his lips curled into a smile. “What, only you are allowed to go broaden your horizons, but this Venerable isn’t allowed to join the fun?”

Ruan Se fell silent for a moment before saying coldly, “Senior, various factions are gathering at Yunze Market today, and the Law Enforcement Hall has more than triple their usual manpower. Although your face is mostly covered, your figure, aura, and Cultivation Base are out in plain sight. If you are recognized…”

“It’s been so long,” Lai Li’an adjusted his mask, completely unbothered. “Other than the Law Enforcement Hall, who would still be fixated on a Rogue Cultivator like me? Besides, isn’t this Venerable wearing this on his face? If you don’t speak and I don’t speak, who will know who I am?”

“Still full of loopholes.” Ruan Se looked at him, a flash of helplessness in her eyes. She knew she couldn’t stop him, so she sighed softly in tacit approval.

Lai Li’an hadn’t told her about being invited to act as a judge. To be honest, what he really wanted to know was what kind of expression those usually aloof and composed eyes would reveal when Ruan Se saw him from the audience. Just thinking about it was amusing.

In the courtyard, the White Crane was already ready to go. Ruan Se leaped lightly onto the crane’s back, her cyan skirt drawing a beautiful arc in the air.

She turned her head to look at Lai Li’an, who was still standing under the corridor. As if suddenly remembering something, she tilted her head slightly, “Senior, when do you plan to head over?”

Lai Li’an’s expression stiffened slightly. He cleared his throat, “This Venerable sees that your crane is quite majestic, how about…”

“No.” Ruan Se almost immediately understood his intention. “Senior can go by yourself. My White Crane is wary of strangers and doesn’t carry others.”

Lai Li’an couldn’t exactly admit that he didn’t know how to fly. He gave a dry cough, put on a stern face, and waved his hand seriously, “Never mind, never mind. This Venerable will arrive shortly. You go first, there is no need to wait.”

Ruan Se looked at him for a moment, then gently patted the side of the White Crane’s neck.

The White Crane let out a clear cry and flapped its wings, taking to the air. In a short while, it carried her over the crown of the old locust tree and disappeared into the morning light.

Lai Li’an stood where he was, looking in the direction the person and crane had departed, the corner of his mouth twitching.

This girl was far worse than Su Wan’er.

If Su Wan’er were here, she definitely would have let him hitch a ride on her Flying Sword without a second word.

He dejectedly adjusted his mask and walked out of the courtyard gate.

On this day, every bluestone slab in Yunze Market seemed to be faintly trembling.

Starting from dawn, the streaks of flowing light on the horizon had never ceased. One after another, streams of light in various colors swept over the sky above the market, and the hum of swords rose and fell in succession.

The east city gate was opened wide, and hundreds of cultivators dressed in various Sect attires filed in. The shops on both sides of the main street had all taken down their usual signboards, replacing them with uniform vermilion banners embroidered with four large characters: “Cangwu Alchemy Conference”.

Every inn hung out a wooden sign indicating they were fully booked. The Rogue Cultivators who arrived late could only sit cross-legged in the plaza to meditate, waiting for the conference to begin.

This was the liveliest day Yunze Market had seen in a hundred years.

“Damn it, why is this place so far?”

Lai Li’an rested his hands on his knees, panting as he looked up. The seemingly endless staircase still wound through the clouds and mist, with no end in sight.

He had been climbing for nearly an hour, yet had only covered a little over half the distance. From time to time, cultivators would zoom past using Sword-Flight, or fly by leisurely on various flying spirit beasts, looking straight ahead and not even bothering to spare him a glance.

Lai Li’an secretly swore to himself that after the Alchemy Conference was over, he would definitely learn how to fly.

Fortunately, there were quite a few Rogue Cultivators trekking on foot just like him. While he was panting and shuffling upward, a monkey-faced cultivator quietly sidled up to him.

“Fellow Daoist, are you also here to attend the Alchemy Conference?”

Lai Li’an glanced at him sideways, gave a slight nod, and didn’t say much.

The cultivator instantly perked up. Looking left and right, he lowered his voice and fished a thin booklet out from his sleeve.

He flipped open a corner of the booklet, brought it close to Lai Li’an’s eyes, and said mysteriously, “Fellow Daoist, for you and me to meet on the exact same step, it must be fate. I have an Ancient Treasure here, obtained from the cave dwelling of a fallen Rogue Cultivator Expert. Any single pill formula recorded inside, if successfully refined, would be enough to astound everyone at this conference. Seeing as we are fated today, fellow Daoist, I won’t ask for thousands or tens of thousands; for just 300 Spirit Stones, this Peerless Pill Formula is yours! 300 Spirit Stones won’t bring you a loss or a scam, but it can buy you a chance to make a name for yourself!”

An Ancient Treasure, for 300 Spirit Stones.

Lai Li’an sneered inwardly. He might be a half-wit in other areas, but on the Alchemy Dao, the Scripture of the Eternal Alchemy God in his mind was a genuine Heaven-Grade Alchemy Book. He could tell whether a pill formula was real or fake at a single glance.

His gaze swept over the page of the pill formula the man had opened, and he instantly knew what was going on, letting out a cold smile.

If some foolish hothead actually tried to practice alchemy according to this formula, a cauldron explosion and ruined materials would be getting off lightly; worse, their meridians would be damaged, leaving them bedridden for a good ten days to half a month.

This guy really had the audacity to make this up, and the audacity to sell it.

Lai Li’an shifted his gaze away from the booklet and politely waved his hand. “No need, I believe in my own abilities.” After speaking, he turned around and quickened his pace up the stairs.

The cultivator froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting him to refuse so decisively. He chased after him for a couple of steps, wanting to say something more, but Lai Li’an’s pace grew even faster, and within a few steps, he blended into a group of rogue cultivators ahead.

After he had walked far away, that cultivator predictably found a new target. Spit flying from his mouth, the cultivator’s words grew more and more exaggerated, already beginning to boast that “the pill refined from this formula can allow someone to directly break through from Foundation Establishment to the Golden Core.”

The young rogue cultivator who had been targeted widened his eyes, his hand already reaching for the spirit stone pouch at his waist.

Lai Li’an glanced over from afar but did not linger. Cutting off someone’s source of wealth was akin to killing their parents; this person was clearly a seasoned swindler who had been prowling through various major markets for a long time, and he likely had accomplices backing him up.

If by any chance he was publicly exposed and flew into a rage out of humiliation, calling over a few people to surround him, Lai Li’an wouldn’t be afraid. However, stirring up trouble right before the opening of the Alchemy Conference would unnecessarily complicate matters.

He turned around and was just about to step onto the next stair when a loud, stern shout suddenly rang out from behind him.

“Stop right there!”

Lai Li’an turned his head and saw a young man in his twenties pushing through the crowd, firmly grabbing the wrist of the cultivator who was in the middle of collecting the money.

The young man was dressed in faded cloth garments with frayed cuffs; he didn’t look like a disciple of any major Sect.

In front of the circle of spectating cultivators, he began to expose the flaws in that pill formula one by one. Every point was well-founded and clearly articulated. The onlookers grew increasingly alarmed as they listened, and some were already clamoring to call the Law Enforcement Hall.

The composure on the scammer cultivator’s face finally crumbled layer by layer. He tried to retort, but every detail the young man pointed out was so precise that it left him with no room to argue.

He fiercely shook off the young man’s hand, didn’t even dare to pick up the booklet that had dropped to the ground, turned around to squeeze out of the crowd, and scurried away down the mountain stairs in disgrace.

Cheers erupted all around. Lai Li’an, standing a few steps higher, casually glanced at his System Panel.

He raised an eyebrow slightly. An acquaintance, huh. However, the Misty Moon Sect was said to be a small and obscure sect; it was truly a miracle that they could cultivate an Alchemist of this caliber.

A Mid-Grade Fire Spiritual Root inherently did not have an advantage in the Alchemy Dao. Heat control relied heavily on the quality of one’s Spiritual Root. Being able to reach a level where even Ruan Se was wary under such innate conditions was definitely not a matter of luck.

What was even more rare was that this person could have easily minded his own business, yet he chose to stand up for a complete stranger, a rogue cultivator. Moreover, his exposure of the truth was well-founded and logical, clearly showing that he had done ample homework and was not just acting recklessly out of hot-bloodedness.

Given time, if he had better opportunities, this young man’s future would be limitless.

It was a pity, though, that he was Ruan Se’s opponent.

Lai Li’an gently shook his head, withdrew his gaze, and turned to leave.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that someone had appeared behind Shao Jiao at some point.

That person was completely wrapped in a cloak. He was tall in stature, and the hood was pulled extremely low, completely hiding his face in the shadows.

He reached out a hand, grabbed Shao Jiao’s arm, and dragged Shao Jiao in another direction.

Lai Li’an’s footsteps halted. He subconsciously glanced at the System Panel again.

Wait? Who?