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    Starry Sky Professional Directory 50

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    Chapter 50: Surveillance and a Visit (Please collect!)

    Qinglinfang City.

    Fang Xing finished preparing his meal and ate alone. While the chefs on Aquila Star had excellent culinary skills, the ingredients here were far superior. For the sake of his martial arts cultivation, he preferred to dine in Qinglinfang City, only occasionally ordering takeout from Aquila Star as a treat. Of course, to maintain appearances, he’d occasionally stock up on some household supplies on Aquila Star, only to bring them here and destroy them.

    He was happily eating his rice from a large bowl when a series of silver bell-like laughs reached his ears. A fragrant breeze preceded the arrival of Hua Feiyue, who gracefully approached, saying, “Sir…”

    She wore a well-tailored pink dress that showcased her impressive bust and peach-like buttocks, yet her facial expression was remarkably serious, giving the impression of a virtuous woman. However, combined with her alluring and enchanting figure, it created a strangely contradictory aura. In short, she was incredibly tempting!

    Nearby, Yu Xia, a demon hunter and their neighbor who was just leaving his house, stared with wide, captivated eyes.

    “You’re here… There’s no food for you, did you bring the spirit stones?”

    Fang Xing quickly finished his Spirit Rice and asked.

    “I did.”

    Hua Feiyue giggled, gracefully entering the house and closing the door behind her.

    “Whoa…”

    Outside, Yu Xia, his gaze broken, gasped, “Brother Fang is truly extraordinary, to have such a beauty throwing herself at him!”

    Then he thought about himself. He considered himself handsome, tall, and dashing, yet no female cultivator had ever shown any interest. It’s truly a case of comparing oneself to others and feeling utterly disheartened!

    He sighed and decided to head to the Listening Rain Tower to vent his frustrations.

    “Sir, three Serpent Orchid Fruits, one Golden Dragon Ginseng, three Jade Bone Flowers… all have been sold, totaling thirteen spirit stones and eight spirit sand. Besides that, thirteen Zhu Long Grasses remain unsold. The market was previously buying Zhu Long Grass at a high price, but the trend seems to have passed. Should we lower the price?”

    Hua Feiyue sat upright, reporting her sales.

    “Zhu Long Grass price dropped?”

    Fang Xing was slightly surprised, but this kind of information was easy to find out; Hua Feiyue had no reason to lie to him.

    “Perhaps some faction is experimenting with a new pill formula, or they discovered other uses for Zhu Long Grass, like feeding it to demonic beasts, requiring a large quantity for testing, and the experiments failed?”

    Hua Feiyue tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. This sort of thing was quite common.

    “Alright…”

    Fang Xing pondered for a moment, took a low-grade spirit stone and four spirit sand from the small pile Hua Feiyue gave him, and handed it back, “This is what you deserve…”

    While he had to give Hua Feiyue a commission, having someone run errands for him was still more profitable than selling everything to the shops, so Fang Xing didn’t mind.

    “Thank you, sir!”

    Hua Feiyue played with the low-grade spirit stone, the size of a regular die, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

    For martial artists, earning spirit stones in the market was extremely difficult, let alone in her situation. Many innate Martial Artists would envy her having such a livelihood!

    Because of this, she didn’t mind Fang Xing taking a little advantage, wanting to keep this business firmly in her hands.

    “Well, I like fair trades. As long as you operate honestly, you don’t need to worry about anything here…”

    Fang Xing added, returning to his room to retrieve a wooden box, “These are the herbs for this time…”

    Hua Feiyue’s eyes lit up. She opened the box and began to carefully count each item.

    Fang Xing appreciated this about her: understanding, sensible, and professional. If she thought she could get away with offering him favors in exchange for lax work, or even trying to take advantage of him, she would severely underestimate him.

    After a moment, Hua Feiyue finished her meticulous examination: “These herbs should sell for about sixteen low-grade spirit stones…”

    She felt quite strange. What kind of channels did this young master have? Did he have a team of herb gatherers secretly supporting him? Otherwise, how could he obtain so many high-quality herbs so frequently?

    However, the joy on her face gradually faded, replaced by a serious expression.

    “What’s wrong? Is there trouble?”

    Seeing this, Fang Xing immediately asked.

    Fifteen to sixteen low-grade spirit stones every three days, translating to roughly one hundred per month—the profit was indeed quite substantial. Logically, a Qi Condensation early-stage cultivator with this income would be in danger; a Qi Condensation mid-stage cultivator could handle it for a short time, but not long-term. Only a Qi Condensation late-stage cultivator could truly maintain it!

    This was the result of him secretly suppressing his herbal yield, and yet, it still caused problems.

    “It’s just a little bit of probing. The Qingxuan Sect’s law enforcement team is in the market, so there’s not much of a problem… but your channels outside the market need to be more careful, especially during transactions.”

    Hua Feiyue warned.

    “I understand…”

    Fang Xing nodded silently, knowing he had probably attracted the attention of some interested parties, and he would need to be extra cautious when leaving the market.

    ‘Those attracted by this amount of profit shouldn’t be high-level cultivators…’

    In his heart, he sneered: ‘I don’t even need to use disguise to leave the market… Let them come and test the sharpness of my sword!’

    As for the possibility of failure?

    With his taser, protective suit, and laser gun—his three treasures—even a Qi Condensation Perfection cultivator would find it difficult to truly threaten him, so he had nothing to fear. In fact, Fang Xing intended to avoid using them, deliberately setting a trap to increase his combat experience!

    After Hua Feiyue left, Fang Xing activated his surveillance system, a smile appearing on his face: “Sure enough, they’re following…”

    His residence was, naturally, a heavily monitored area, even more secure than temporary camps outside. Numerous seemingly harmless birds, insects, and even earthworms formed a tight network. Unless it was a Foundation Establishment cultivator using their spiritual sense for surveillance, any attempt would be detected.

    Currently, there were three groups of people on his screen!

    “A business worth over a hundred spirit stones a month, is it really worth attracting so many people?”

    Fang Xing glanced at the screen, falling into deep doubt, and then issued his orders.

    A thin cultivator with unremarkable features, someone who would blend seamlessly into a crowd, watched Hua Feiyue return home and nodded, “She only interacts with these people?”

    He turned to leave, but he didn’t notice a drone, the size of a mosquito, moving with the wind, following behind him…

    On the roof of a shack, a bright-eyed spirit bird watched Hua Feiyue, then glanced at its side with some confusion.

    On the eaves, a yellow sparrow had appeared at some point.

    For some reason, when the spirit bird noticed the yellow sparrow’s lifeless eyes, it suddenly shuddered, flapping its wings and flying high.

    The yellow sparrow tilted its head, also taking flight, following the spirit bird.

    “Three groups… one group is unsophisticated, probably a gang from the slums…”

    Gangs were rampant in the slums, each dreaming of becoming a behemoth like the Black Tiger Gang, but most were wiped out within months. Then more gangs would appear like cockroaches, never-ending.

    “For such a small gang, having a Qi Condensation late-stage leader would be impressive…”

    “They’re the ones most likely interested in my business.”

    Fang Xing stroked his chin, then looked at another group: “The Black Tiger Gang? One of the three major forces in Qinglinfang City, they’re interested in my little business? No… The Black Tiger Gang is quite large, with several Qi Condensation Perfection cultivators, it’s likely a private job for one of their stewards or elders? Or… is there another reason, are they after Hua Feiyue?”

    To be honest, Fang Xing initially thought Chen Yi had only provoked Fu Qing, but now he wasn’t so sure. Fu Qing, a mere Qi Condensation late-stage cultivator, couldn’t have mobilized so many Black Tiger Gang members!

    ‘There’s definitely something hidden! Unfortunately, my surveillance often only allows me to observe from a distance, unable to record their every word, every subtle movement… otherwise, I would have found something.’

    He felt a little regret, then saw the yellow sparrow following the spirit bird slowly land on a shack.

    Soon, the opposite shack opened, and a middle-aged cultivator came out.

    The spirit bird landed on his shoulder, chirping incessantly.

    The middle-aged cultivator took out a few pills from his bosom, fed them to his spirit pet, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

    Then, he actually headed towards the Ding district.

    Fifty-seven, Shack number.

    “Here he comes.”

    Fang Xing emerged from the underground monitoring room, thoughtfully arriving at the living room.

    Almost as soon as he arrived, he heard a knock.

    Knock knock!

    The knock was unhurried, indicating that the visitor was extremely confident.

    “Who is it?”

    Fang Xing intentionally asked.

    “An old friend has come, I hope you will grant me an audience!”

    The middle-aged cultivator spoke, his voice surprisingly aged and familiar.

    Fang Xing opened the door, and the middle-aged cultivator immediately darted inside.

    “Who are you?”

    A hint of confusion appeared on Fang Xing’s face, but he wasn’t worried.

    He never believed in the market rules, so his nanotech suit was always on when he was here. Besides, in a confrontation between a cultivator and a martial artist, the latter should always be the one worried.

    The middle-aged cultivator smiled slightly, touching his face.

    A layer of green light flashed.

    In an instant, his face changed, settling on an aged countenance.

    “It’s you, Chen Yi?!”

    Fang Xing was surprised, “Daoist Chen, we only met once. Why are you looking for me?”

    “Alas… back in the Five Scorpion Valley, I made a mistake and alienated my sworn brothers… Now, I deeply regret it.”

    Chen Yi’s face was full of bitterness, “But I have a difficult situation. I heard earlier that you saved my fifth sister’s family, a widow and orphans, and then took in my second sister, so I came to thank you…”

    ‘Thank me? Aren’t you here to silence me?’

    Fang Xing muttered in his heart.

    But he keenly sensed that Chen Yi was even more dangerous than before. He wasn’t a cultivator, he didn’t have any spiritual sight techniques to clearly see the other’s cultivation level, only a martial artist’s intuition! But he trusted his instincts!

    ‘Isn’t Chen Yi a Qi Condensation mid-stage cultivator? Even at Qi Condensation sixth layer, he shouldn’t give me this sense of danger… unless, he recently broke through to Qi Condensation late-stage?’

    Fang Xing’s heart stirred; this was incredibly unbelievable.

    After all, most cultivators in the market had poor spiritual roots, some even stuck at their cultivation level for life. Chen Yi had been stuck for half his life, only able to associate with innate martial artists, calling them brothers—showing that not only was his aptitude poor, but his luck was also terrible, he would probably remain at Qi Condensation mid-stage until his death!

    A true cultivation genius would never be willing to associate with martial artists.

    But there are always exceptions!

    To break through the bottleneck from Qi Condensation mid-stage to late-stage at his age, he clearly encountered a ‘great opportunity’!

    (End of Chapter)

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