Cultivation is just so scientific!

This investment seemed to be quite profitable. Li Shiming's future would be higher than he had imagined because he knew Yin Fairy and their relationship appeared to be complex.

Qiu Tan's eyes were sharp enough to sense the sourness of love from a distance.

Li Shiming had won the favor of Yin Fairy, which meant he was set for swift ascension.

He carried this proud feeling all the way back to Changming Island and back to the shop.

"Mr. Qiu, what's making you so happy?" a Qi Refinement Realm shop assistant asked with a smile.

Including Qiu Tan, there were three Qi Refining cultivators in the shop, with Qiu Tan at the Qi Refining Fifth Level and the other two shop assistants at the Qi Refining First and Second Levels.

Such Qi Refining First and Second Level cultivators were numerous within the sect's territories, all being individuals who had undergone the Sky Sea Sect's spirit root test and discovered to have extremely poor spirit roots.

Most of these people chose to join the Sky Sea Sect, becoming servant disciples in hopes of that slim possibility.

Others sought to live their own lives by joining establishments like shops or workshops, where they were given a chance to become cultivators and earn greater profits.

On their own, the chance that they would advance to even the Qi Refining First Level was incredibly low, yet it wasn't impossible; through methods that damaged their core essence, they could break through to the Qi Refining First or Second Levels.

Within Qiu Tan's shop, he was on very friendly terms with the two Qi Refinement Realm assistants, almost like family.

"Remember the highly promising Spirit Plant we discussed?" Qiu Tan asked, raising an eyebrow with a smile.

"The best-selling Spirit Rice in the shop lately is cultivated by that Spirit Plant Husbandry fellow Li Shiming, how could we not know!" one of the Qi Refinement Realm assistants replied, nodding.

Recently, any cultivator who had bought Spirit Rice cultivated by Li Shiming always specifically requested it when making a repeat purchase.

They had checked themselves, and the quality of this batch of Spirit Rice was surprisingly good.

"That's him. On my recent delivery trip, guess what I saw on Eagle Beak Island?" Qiu Tan asked, feigning mystery.

"Mr. Qiu, don't keep us in suspense, tell us!" the two Qi Refinition Realm assistants said, pretending to be annoyed as they urged him on.

At that moment, they did not notice a figure, a cultivator dressed in brocaded robes, passing by the front of the shop.

"I saw Yin Fairy!" Qiu Tan whispered.

"Which Yin Fairy?" one Qi Refinement Realm assistant asked, clueless.

"Which other Yin Fairy of our Sky Sea Sect!" Before Qiu Tan could reply, the other Qi Refinement Realm assistant answered for him.

"Right, I had not noticed it, but Mr. Li has advanced to the Qi Refining Fourth Level!" Qiu Tan suddenly slapped his head as it dawned on him.

He had previously focused all his attention on the juicy gossip between Yin Fairy and Li Shiming and had not thought about Li Shiming's advancement in cultivation.

"It's not been long, and Mr. Li has already advanced; having support is really beneficial!" Qiu Tan was about to continue, but a cultivator walked in, prompting him to quickly end the conversation and put on a customary smile to greet the newcomer.

Discussing rumors among themselves was harmless, as it was all inside the shop.

The life of a cultivator was extremely monotonous, and such topics were merely a spice of life.

After meeting Yin Shilan in the Holy Ice Sect, Baili Jin Yan was captivated, feeling that he and Yin Shilan had similar backgrounds, matching in age, strength, and even potential.

However, Yin Shilan was very cold towards him, hardly speaking unless necessary.

Yet, the more she behaved like this, the more Baili Jin Yan found himself unable to forget her.

He had traveled thousands of miles to Sky Sea Sect just to find Yin Shilan, hoping to win her heart.

Coming to Changming Island Market, he had only planned to try buying some special products from Sky Sea Sect to take back, as he had several close female cultivator friends within the Holy Ice Sect.

But he had never expected that while wandering around Changming Island Market, he would hear news about Yin Shilan.

Although Qiu Tan had not specified what exactly the relationship between Yin Shilan and that Eagle Beak Island cultivator Li Shiming was, from Qiu Tan's tone, one could discern a hidden envy.

No need to ask further, this envy clearly indicated that the relationship between Yin Shilan and Li Shiming was anything but simple.

Baili Jin Yan suppressed the rage in his heart; this wasn't the Holy Ice Sect, but the Sky Sea Sect, which was as prominent a sect. He could not cause trouble here, as it might ignite a conflict between the two sects.

Given his status, he was certainly capable of representing the Holy Ice Sect to a certain extent.

As he wanted to hear more news, he walked into the shop, but the conversation inside had already ended.

Baili Jin Yan calmed himself down. Ever since he had set his sights on Yin Shilan, he believed in his heart that she was destined to be his and his alone.

With the names "Li Shiming" and the address of Eagle Beak Island, that was enough.

As for the few who spoke ill of Yin Shilan inside the shop, he planned to deal with them one by one after handling Li Shiming.

As long as he left no traces behind, it was unlikely that the Sky Sea Sect would make a big fuss over a few Mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

"Give me a hundred catties of Spirit Rice," Baili Jin Yan pretended to shop, speaking directly to the approaching Qiu Tan.

"Alright, fellow cultivator, you're in luck! Our store just received a batch of top-quality Spirit Rice, only two Spirit Stones per catty!" Qiu Tan greeted him with a smile.

Ever since discovering that the Spirit Rice delivered by Li Shiming was of excellent quality, his merchant instincts kicked in, and he doubled the price to two Spirit Stones.

This action did not affect the sale of other Spirit Rice, but instead, it had a driving effect.

Cultivators who would haggle over the price of Spirit Rice would not buy the double-priced rice, and those concerned with the quality of Spirit Rice would not mind the increase to two Spirit Stones.

"Good!" Baili Jin Yan nodded in agreement.

As Qiu Tan turned around, Baili Jin Yan lightly tapped his finger, and a faint light landed on Qiu Tan's clothes.

With this mark, as long as the distance between them was within a thousand li for the next ten days, he could sense Qiu Tan's location.

Qiu Tan was unaware of the great trouble his gossip had brought him; he was still directing two Qi Refining cultivators in preparing the Spirit Rice.

Baili Jin Yan did not intend to spare even the two Qi Refining assistants; he continuously tapped his finger, placing two more marks on the assistants.

Within a short time, Baili Jin Yan left the market with the Spirit Rice. Find more to read at My Virtual Library Empire

He took out his Flying Boat, sat inside, and opened a Jade Scroll, which contained a map.

This was no ordinary map. In the Sky Sea Sect, it was not that maps were unavailable for purchase.

However, the maps one could buy generally covered only the territories of the Sky Sea Sect and the Xuanming Sect; areas beyond those were not documented.

A normal cultivator would not venture beyond these two sects' territories.

You should know that the territory of the Sky Sea Sect encompasses numerous land nations and vast ocean areas. Without a Flying Boat capable of high-speed flight, an ordinary cultivator would need a great deal of time to traverse this region.

Additionally, including the territory of the Xuanming Sect, two major sects that were enemies, it was common for both Sky Sea Sect and Xuanming Sect cultivators to undertake missions targeting each other's territories, hence the maps included the Xuanming Sect.

But the map Baili Jin Yan had was different; it included the entire continent and was extremely detailed.

Many of the recorded details were secrets of the sects.

Baili Jin Yan inserted the Jade Scroll into an Array within the Flying Boat, and a holographic Terrain Map appeared inside.

He lightly tapped the holographic Terrain Map, transforming it into one centered on his current location.

He connected mentally and queried the Terrain Map for Eagle Beak Island; soon, the location of Eagle Beak Island lit up.

"Found you!" Baili Jin Yan said coldly as he looked at the holographic Terrain Map, thinking of Yin Shilan's extraordinarily beautiful face, his desire to kill Li Shiming surged.

In his heart, he was already considering a hundred different ways to brutally kill Li Shiming; he never doubted whether he would succeed.

With his methods, unless Li Shiming hid within the nine peaks of the Sky Sea Sect, it would be impossible for him to escape Baili Jin Yan's techniques, given the vast differences between them.

The Flying Boat went from invisibility to accelerating in one swift motion, immediately disappearing into the sky.