Stone Ridge Town is located in Fengan Prefecture, southeast of Qizhou, making it one of the more remote areas in Chu Kingdom.

However, compared to other small border regions, Stone Ridge Town had its own luck.

The cold from the Great Heaven Mountain to the south did not spread here, and the conflicts between the small kingdoms and tribes to the west did not affect it.

It was only close to Yue Kingdom in the east, but there was an enormous natural chasm and rift valley in between. People from the two countries would never see each other in their lives, let alone conflict; there was no possibility of friction whatsoever.

Coupled with its proximity to Lin Prefecture and smooth official roads,

the development of Stone Ridge Town was not backward.

During festivals and holidays, with lantern fairs and markets, it might even be one of the liveliest places in Fengan Prefecture.

Song Yan slowly walked through the town, occasionally greeting acquaintances.

"Candied—haw—on—a—stick—ice—pagoda—!"

"Come one, come all—northern and southern goods—!" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Old Liu, what kind of strange things did you get this time...?"

"Ho, the way you say that..."

"Hey, esteemed customer, combs from Dongyuan Village, clay figurines from Nanhong City, Buddha carvings from Xiqi River, flower seeds from Bei Ya Mountain. Whatever you want, just reach into the box and find it yourself..."

In the teahouse by the roadside, the storyteller spoke with eloquence.

"Esteemed listeners, the world is quite lively these days. Last time, we spoke of Li Lianxiu, the head of the imperial kitchen, known as the ’Divine Chef of the Capital,’ who was accused of colluding with the enemy and betraying the country, leading to the execution of his entire family..."

"Today, I shall speak of the youngest general of Chu Kingdom, Marquis Yan Li Yi, who died on the battlefield at the tender age of eighteen..."

"Oh, how many of you? Alright, three in the second eastern wing room. Hey, esteemed customers—please come in—!"

The sharp-eyed waiter of the inn spotted Song Yan.

"Oh, Doctor Song! Uh... hey, look at my mouth, Immortal Song."

"Go, go... Is A Nian here?"

The waiter, Huang Dou, was an old acquaintance of Song Yan, and nothing seemed to have changed.

"No, haven’t seen him today... Ah!"

Huang Dou suddenly slapped his head: "Look at my memory, he should be at the Meng Family medical hall today."

"Detective Ling has rested well these past few days, and A Nian is with his master at the medical hall."

"Ah, thank you."

"Walk safely."

At that time, his grandfather had already passed away, and Song Yan, this divine doctor’s Disciple, had been introduced to Immortal Cultivation by Zhao Fengcheng. Initially, some people worried about future medical treatments.

Fortunately, there was still another doctor in town.

Passing through the market and the crowds, Song Yan looked up. A weathered and old plaque hung above the door of a house.

Meng Family Medical Hall.

Song Yan stepped inside.

"Ye Sheng is here."

"Uncle Meng, I’m about to return to the Sect, I have something to tell A Nian."

"Oh, Detective Ling and the others are all in the backyard. Lulu and Darong are applying medicine to them."

"Alright."

In the backyard, Xu Darong and Meng Lu had just finished applying medicine to an old and a young constable and were tidying up their things.

"Detective Ling."

"Ye Sheng."

Seeing Song Yan, Detective Ling smiled slightly: "I heard about yesterday’s incident from A Nian and Yun’er. Thank you."

"It was nothing."

After a few pleasantries, Song Yan called Sheng Nian out of the medical hall alone.

"You shouldn’t have known that Hermit Xin Shan before, right?"

"Never even heard of him."

Sheng Nian waved his hand: "How would a Mortal like me know about the affairs of you Cultivators?"

"But the person he sent to Stone Ridge seems to have targeted you..."

"?"

Sheng Nian’s eyebrows furrowed. He was about to deny it but suddenly paused, then looked up at Song Yan.

"Those three people are dead?"

"..."

"Killed by you?"

Song Yan pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Good." Sheng Nian merely nodded: "Master is about to be promoted to the Six Gates. When that happens, I will leave Stone Ridge."

"Where to?"

"Anywhere but here will be fine."

"If you have the chance, take that Disciple token and try your luck at the Sheyang Sect."

Song Yan used a small trick for this sentence.

Sound transmission into secrecy; even if walls had ears, others would not hear it.

Sheng Nian was pensive but did not nod.

Song Yan waved his sleeve: "I’m going back."

"Aren’t you going to say goodbye to them?"

"No, I’m afraid I’ll be reluctant to leave..."

..."Demonic Cultivator?"

Cave Abyss Sect, Outer Sect Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.

Lin Qing frowned, looking at the blood-stained page and three pitch-black nails in his hand, lost in thought.

"If that’s truly the case, then this mission of yours is a great achievement."

Yes, Song Yan was a bit stingy, only handing over three nails, and even those were only produced to narrate the incident.

Three villagers went missing from Yunding Village. The Cave Abyss Sect could easily investigate such a matter. If he had hidden it, and they traced it back to him, accusing him of concealing Demonic Cultivator items, it would be troublesome.

It was better to be safe and explain everything clearly.

Lin Qing took out a blank Jade Slip from his qiankun bag and handed it to Song Yan.

"Junior Brother Song, record the entire incident in this, and I will immediately report it to the Sect Elder."

"Yes."

The whole process didn’t take too long, and Lin Qing left in a hurry.

Song Yan tallied his mission rewards and left the Outer Sect Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.

"The ten Spirit Stones and ten Sect contribution points given for the mission itself are already quite good. I didn’t expect an additional ten Sect contribution points for providing clues about a Demonic Cultivator."

Cultivation resources come in many forms: Medicinal Pills, Talismans, Formations, Spiritual Artifacts, Spirit Stones, Cultivation Techniques, and so on... Sect contribution points are probably one of the hardest currencies for Sect Disciples.

As long as one has enough contribution points, they can exchange for any of the aforementioned Cultivation resources within the Sect.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the Sect must have those items.

Previously, Song Yan had only done some routine miscellaneous tasks within the Sect, accumulating not many contribution points. With the current twenty, he now had a total of forty-eight Sect contribution points.

To say it’s a lot is certainly not true, but to say it’s little, he could actually exchange for quite a few good things.

No rush, save them for now, and spend them when needed.

Song Yan rushed non-stop to the Lingyuanze Market.

"Granny Qin!"

Qin Xijun was dozing off in a rattan chair, in a somewhat ungraceful posture. Before Song Yan even stepped into the Relief Grocery Store, he had already shouted out loud.

"Oh dear! You brat, why are you shouting so loudly?!"

"You scared this old woman quite a bit..."

Song Yan seemed to realize something and cautiously looked around. Fortunately, this place was remote, and there were hardly any people.

He walked into the grocery store, casually closed the main door, and locked it.

"You... you... what are you doing?"

Qin Xijun was a bit confused: "Did you steal the Sect Master’s wife?"

"..."

This time, it was Song Yan’s turn to be speechless.

Never mind, he decided to get straight to the point. Song Yan slapped his qiankun bag and dumped out all the illicit items, arranging them one by one on the small counter.

"Hmm? Yin Puppet Rebirth Nails? Why are there only two..."

"This is... a Spirit Transformation Blood Pill? And a Pill Formula?"

"These thick paper sheets seem to be Materials for low-grade paper puppets..."

The more Qin Xijun looked, the more surprised she became. These things were generally used by Demonic Cultivators. How did this boy get involved with Demonic Cultivators after a trip down the mountain?

The more Song Yan listened, the more he admired Granny Qin. She was truly knowledgeable and recognized everything. This saved him a lot of effort in explaining things.

After all, Granny Qin would not shortchange him on the price.