To comprehend all laws and attain immortality

Gu Fan didn't feel he had anything to regret, so he didn't strike up a conversation.

Seeing this, Bai Mingxuan said slowly, "With your talent, you should have a beautiful wife to serve you, so that you can enjoy worldly pleasures in your spare time from cultivation."

"Is this the business you were talking about, fellow Daoist? If so, I'm afraid I cannot accept it." Gu Fan shook his head and refused.

"Fellow Daoist, won't you listen to the conditions?" Bai Mingxuan asked.

Before Gu Fan could speak, Bai Mingxuan asked again, "I suppose you've already guessed my identity, fellow Daoist?"

Gu Fan nodded.

Bai Mingxuan clearly comes from a prestigious family, and there is only one family with the surname Bai in the Lingxiao Sect.

Bai Mingxuan smiled with satisfaction and continued, "I am here on behalf of the Bai family. If you agree, you can marry a Bai family daughter with a mid-grade spiritual root. Moreover, the Bai family can promise to provide you with a Foundation Establishment Pill when you reach the Qi Refining stage."

"Furthermore, in the future, the talismans you draw and the magical artifacts you refine can be sold through the Bai family's shops, earning even more spirit stones. The Bai family will not interfere."

"If you can successfully establish your foundation, the Bai family will treat you as a guest elder."

Gu Fan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

This promise was incredibly weighty. Even Foundation Establishment Pills were not something that Foundation Establishment families could easily part with, since even members of aristocratic families had to compete for resources, let alone give them to an outsider like him.

In comparison, the position of guest elder is secondary.

"So... what's the price?" Gu Fan asked tentatively, feigning interest.

A hint of smugness flashed in Bai Mingxuan's eyes as he softly comforted him, "Fellow Daoist, there's no need to worry. Just do two things."

"Firstly, all magical artifacts you forge in the future can only be sold through the Bai family's shops in the market, and you can only accept artifact forging commissions through the Bai family."

"Secondly, if the Bai family needs your help, you must not refuse. Of course, the Bai family will not let you suffer any losses; the reward in spirit stones will never be lower than the market price."

Gu Fan narrowed his eyes and sneered inwardly.

Bai Mingxuan's suggestion seemed harmless to him, but in reality, it was all about controlling him.

Once he accepts, his means of earning spirit stones will be in the hands of the Bai family. If the Bai family allows him to earn more spirit stones, he may not earn a single one if the Bai family does not allow him to.

The second point was even more unacceptable to him, as it essentially turned him into a long-term laborer for the Bai family.

Even if the Bai family could provide enough spirit stones, it would inevitably take up a lot of his cultivation time. He cultivates in order to seek immortality and freedom. What use is a fortune if one cannot achieve immortality?

"I am but an outer disciple. Even though I have a slight reputation on Lingxi Peak, I wonder how I have caught the eye of the Bai family?" Gu Fan did not respond immediately, but asked in a leisurely tone.

Upon hearing this, Bai Mingxuan laughed heartily and said, "Fellow Daoist, you underestimate yourself too much."

After speaking, Bai Mingxuan took out a magical artifact from his storage bag and placed it on the stone table in front of him.

Gu Fan looked closely and saw that the magical artifact was a hairpin that was entirely dark green, with a blooming flower at the head, with twelve petals.

"What did you do to her?" Gu Fan suddenly raised his head.

"Fellow Daoist, please don't misunderstand." Bai Mingxuan quickly waved his hand upon seeing this and said, "I exchanged this magic artifact for a high-grade magic artifact and also gave away a lot of spirit stones. It is definitely worth far more than its price, and I didn't let that fellow Daoist suffer any loss at all."

Upon hearing this, Gu Fan felt a surge of anger.

If what Bai Mingxuan said is true, it means that the hairpin was sold by Liu Qin to the Bai family, and the two parties only traded a magic artifact.

As expected, Bai Mingxuan's next sentence confirmed Gu Fan's guess.

"Fellow Daoist, you are proficient in talismans, artifacts, and formations. Your skill in crafting magical artifacts is so refined that even the artifact crafters employed by the Bai family are full of praise. If you were born into the Bai family, you would certainly be groomed to be the next head of the family," Bai Mingxuan exclaimed.

Gu Fan remained silent for a moment upon hearing this, then shook his head and sneered twice, saying, "I'm sorry, I only seek a carefree life and have no intention of dual cultivation."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Fan thought Bai Mingxuan would offer some advice, but to his surprise, Bai Mingxuan simply sighed and let the matter drop.

"If you are unwilling, then so be it. However, my promise for today still stands. If you change your mind, you may come to me."

After speaking, Bai Mingxuan took out a communication talisman from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

Gu Fan said coldly, "Since that's the case, I'll excuse myself from seeing you off any further."

"Fellow Daoist, please don't be in such a hurry. I have another business deal to discuss with you."

Bai Mingxuan seemed completely unconcerned by Gu Fan's cold tone. He took out a golden jade slip from his sleeve and handed it to Gu Fan, saying, "Fellow Daoist, please take a look."

Gu Fan reached out and took the jade slip. After hesitating for a moment, he placed the jade slip on his forehead and examined it. He found that the jade slip contained the method for crafting a magical artifact called the "Dragon-Trapping Stake".

In terms of grade, the Dragon-Trapping Stake should be considered a mid-grade magic weapon. It requires four restrictions to be engraved on it. What's peculiar is that the Dragon-Trapping Stake is not a single piece, but a set of magic weapons. At least three pieces are required to use it, and a maximum of thirty-six stakes can be made into a set.

Once the Dragon-Trapping Stakes are placed in one place, a barrier will be formed between them. Unless one possesses a barrier-crossing talisman, the barrier can only be broken by force. The strength of the barrier is directly proportional to the number of Dragon-Trapping Stakes.

According to the jade slip, the thirty-six Dragon-Trapping Stakes are enough to withstand a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

As Gu Fan put down the jade slip, Bai Mingxuan asked, "With your crafting skills, crafting the Dragon-Trapping Stake should be a piece of cake, right?"

"It's not difficult at all." Gu Fan nodded slightly.

Bai Mingxuan was overjoyed and was about to speak when Gu Fan changed the subject.

"However... I'm quite busy lately and am not prepared to take on this job."

When the Bai family failed to recruit him, they offered him a crafting commission. Even though Gu Fan was greedy, he was worried that there might be a trap. At his current rate of earning spirit stones, he was already able to support his cultivation at the Qi Refining stage, so he was not prepared to accept the Bai family's commission.

"Even if the Bai family's reward is a piece of Crimson Dragon Wood?" Bai Mingxuan asked quietly.

"Red Dragon Wood?" Gu Fan asked in surprise, then his heart sank.

Crimson Dragon Wood is an extremely rare spiritual material, used to refine high-grade magical artifacts. However, for Gu Fan, the value of Crimson Dragon Wood lies not in refining artifacts, but in the trace of fire contained within it.

This wisp of fire is the "fire within wood" needed to refine the Samadhi True Fire, and it is also the most difficult of the three types of fire to find.

Bai Mingxuan chuckled and said, "It's quite a coincidence. The Bai family had heard that Master Li of the inner sect had a Flame Stone, but when we went to ask for a trade, we were told that it had already been given to someone else."

"My nephew Bai Ziming listened to your lectures at Shenji Peak with you, and he has a deep impression of you. I originally only guessed that the Flame Stone was in your hands, but your reaction now confirms it."

Gu Fan hadn't expected the Bai family to have even guessed that he had obtained the Flame Stone. He asked in a deep voice, "Since the Bai family also employs weapon refiners, why did they entrust it to me?"

Bai Mingxuan explained solemnly, "This is a long story. There are also conflicts between powerful families. The Bai family is currently preparing to seize a mine and wants to use the Dragon-Trapping Stake to block it."

"The weapon refiners employed by the Bai family all work in the market. If they were to refine the weapons, the news would easily leak out. That's why we need to find weapon refiners within the sect. And just then, your reputation has risen, so we started inquiring about your information. But the more we inquired, the more we realized that you were hiding your true abilities, which is why we decided to arrange a marriage."

"If you accept this commission, you must sign a confidentiality agreement."

"I see." Gu Fan nodded.