I have the face of a great demon.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper nodded vigorously, like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Yes, yes! That person did indeed have a shiny black sword on his back. It looked heavy and seemed quite extraordinary."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Qian's eyes lit up instantly, like a hunter finally locking onto his prey: "That's it!"

He pressed further, "What did that person look like? Was there anything unusual about their clothing or appearance?"

The shopkeeper tried hard to recall, afraid of missing any details.

"That man's eyes were so cold they could freeze you to death. He was definitely not a good guy. He must be a top assassin in the martial arts world."

"His black robe was incredibly luxurious. I don't know what kind of material it was made of, but it was embroidered with strange patterns. It was obviously very expensive and definitely not something an ordinary person could afford."

"..."

The shopkeeper rattled off a long explanation, and Cheng Qian summarized the characteristics of the man in black.

This guy is rich and sophisticated, how could he have fallen so low as to sell his sword?

Isn't this a contradiction?

Enraged, Cheng Qian slapped the shopkeeper to the ground and stormed off.

The information he received from the pawnshop confirmed that the man in black robes was responsible for stealing the divine sword, so he quickly ordered his men to investigate the man's movements.

The investigation revealed quite a few things. Many people in the town had seen the man in the black robe, and everyone had a deep impression of his distinctive black robe.

But the man in black robes seemed to be just a passerby. He wandered around the town for a day, and no one saw him again the next day.

Cheng Qian figured that this guy was probably in town to replenish his supplies. Once he finished his business, he would naturally leave without a trace. Who would want to stay in this poor, remote place any longer?

Cheng Qian decisively sent a message back to the gang via carrier pigeon, and at the same time dispatched his disciples to investigate the area around the town, intending to find out which direction the man in black had gone.

However, after asking everyone in the vicinity, no clues were found, and the man in black robes mysteriously disappeared.

Cheng Qian was quite troubled. The man in black robes acted mysteriously, and the people in the town had little contact with him.

Currently, only the pawnshop owner and the man in black have had contact, and they have very little information about him, making it difficult to investigate.

What he didn't know was that there was another person who had been in contact with the man in black robes, namely Zhao Dayou, the steward of the Chen family, the richest family in Lingshui Town, but he was not in town at the moment.

Our steward, Zhao, is currently spinning like a top on a dazzling luxury ship.

This large ship was built by its owner, Chen Youcai, at great expense. It was wide and luxuriously decorated, and he rarely used it except when receiving distinguished guests.

At this moment, a grand banquet is being held on the ship to welcome a distinguished guest.

Butler Zhao personally supervised the chefs in preparing the delicacies, and each dish was like a work of art, perfect in color, aroma, and taste.

He also directed his servants to bring in platters of delicacies like a flowing stream into the lavishly decorated cabin, filling the large tables to the brim, before standing aside to carefully serve the host and the distinguished guests who had come from afar.

His gaze kept falling on the elegant young master at the table, and he felt incredibly proud.

He never imagined that after fifteen years apart, the young master would become a disciple of the immortals.

Back then, the young master was only nine years old when he went up the mountain to play with his friends, and he never came back.

The children came back crying, saying that the young master had been kidnapped by a strange man. The master and mistress were frantic, and the whole town searched the mountain for ten days and ten nights, but to no avail.

They thought the young master had met with misfortune, but unexpectedly last night, two mysterious figures streaked across the night sky and landed directly in the Chen residence, startling Steward Zhao.

One of them recognized Butler Zhao and said that he was the young master who had been missing for many years.

He produced the clothes he wore back then as evidence, and he knew every plant, tree, person, and event in his home like the back of his hand.

Upon hearing this, the master and mistress burst into tears, and the whole family embraced and wept bitterly, a deeply moving scene.

After everyone sat down to chat, they learned that the young master had been chosen by an immortal and taken to a sacred mountain to cultivate, a journey that lasted for fifteen years.

After fifteen years of cultivation, the young master had made some progress and was only allowed to go down the mountain to visit his family with his master's permission.

The other person was his senior brother, who had already become an immortal and could fly on a sword. He specially escorted the young master home.

When the Chen family learned of this joyous news, they were absolutely in an uproar. If the immortal hadn't said he didn't want mortals to know about it, they would have told the whole town.

Although the immortal said to keep a low profile, necessary hospitality is still appropriate.

Only then did the master order the large ship to be brought out, and a grand banquet to be held on board to express his gratitude to the immortal.

Butler Zhao poured the master another cup of wine, and the master, Chen Youcai, raised his cup to toast his young master's senior apprentice, Zhou.

"Immortal, you have taken great care of Minghui over the years. I am deeply grateful and have no way to repay you. Let me offer you another cup."

Senior Brother Zhou laughed heartily, downed the fine wine in his cup in one gulp, and said with a smile:

“Of course. Minghui has exceptional talent. In just fifteen years, he has already entered the third level of Qi Refining. This speed is almost as fast as when I was young. He will become an immortal in the near future. This is all thanks to you two elders.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Youcai beamed with joy: "This old man is dull-witted, but I don't know how powerful the third level of Qi Refining is? Is it even more powerful than the big shots and top experts in Lingzhou Prefecture?"

Upon hearing this, young master Chen Minghui frowned slightly and interrupted with displeasure:

"Father, what you're saying is ridiculous. In the eyes of us cultivators, those martial arts practitioners are nothing but mortals. Compared to us, they are like fireflies compared to the brilliance of the moon—they are incomparable!"

Senior Brother Zhou also burst into laughter:

"Master Chen, you may not know this, but the spiritual energy here is thin, and cultivators rarely come and go. Naturally, you cannot experience the power of cultivators. No matter how powerful martial artists are, they are still just mortals. How can they be compared to cultivators?"

"Those so-called superior martial arts and internal energy cultivation methods sound impressive, but in reality they are just fragments left behind by rogue cultivators. If they don't know the proper methods, they will never be able to reach the threshold of immortality even if they cultivate for a lifetime."

“Junior Brother Minghui cultivates the authentic immortal methods. Don’t be fooled by the fact that he is only at the third level of Qi Refining. Dealing with those top masters in the martial arts world is a piece of cake for him. It’s as easy as crushing an ant.”

Butler Zhao listened with great excitement, feeling incredibly proud and elated.

Thinking of those arrogant sects in Lingzhou, who used to look down on them like country bumpkins, it was all because of their martial arts skills.

Now that our young master has started cultivating immortality, those so-called martial arts masters are nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs in front of him, easily crushed with a pinch.

With the young master around, who would dare to provoke the Chen family?

It truly proves the old saying, "When one person attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!"