Fairy Eye

The young man on the right said coldly, "The spirit stone warehouse that maintains the operation of the Dragon Serpent Valley's grand formation has been robbed. The higher-ups suspect that it was done by you, the group taking the exam! Please take out all the storage space on your person so we can check it."

As he spoke, he stared intently into Han Lin's eyes, trying to find something unusual in them.

"What?!"

"The spirit stone warehouse maintaining the Dragon Serpent Valley's grand formation has been robbed?"

Han Lin feigned shock and reached down to take off his identity token from his waist.

"Senior brothers, I have no other storage space. This is all I have. Please take a look for yourselves."

Based on just two short sentences from this person, Han Lin understood a lot of things. He was startled at first, but quickly calmed down and acted like a good person.

The person on the right relaxed slightly upon seeing this, took the token and glanced inside, only to find that there was nothing inside except a copy of the Disciple's Code of Conduct.

But he did not let Han Lin off the hook.

Instead, he took out an ancient yellow mirror and began to scrutinize Han Lin from head to toe.

Han Lin's recently calmed-down mood tensed up again, worried that this thing would discover the Heavenly Eye within him.

Fortunately.

No matter how the person scanned, even checking the soles of his feet, the bronze mirror showed no reaction whatsoever.

"I don't have any on me."

The man on the right finished speaking indifferently and returned the token to Han Lin.

Then he tossed the bronze mirror in his hand into the air.

Instantly, the bronze mirror flew out and hovered above Han Lin's residence, releasing bursts of white light that enveloped the entire residence.

Seeing that the other party had not discovered the Eye of Heaven, Han Lin relaxed and pretended to be curious, asking, "Senior brother, what is this mirror for? It's so amazing!"

"Junior brother, you may not know this, but this mirror is the Spirit Detection Mirror of our Enforcement Hall. It is mainly used to detect abnormal fluctuations in spiritual energy. If there are a large number of spirit stones, it can be detected even through a storage bag," the young man on the left explained with his arms crossed and a smile.

"I see, that's really impressive!" Han Lin smiled and gave a thumbs up.

At this moment, the young man on the right reached out and retrieved the spirit-detecting mirror from mid-air, shaking his head: "No."

"Hehe, it seems that Junior Brother did not secretly hoard spirit stones. Sorry for disturbing you, farewell!" The young man on the left seemed more amiable. After checking and confirming that everything was in order, he cupped his hands to Han Lin.

"Take care, my two senior brothers."

Han Lin returned the greeting with clasped hands, and only after the two had completely disappeared from sight did he breathe a sigh of relief, open the courtyard gate, and walk into the house.

He finally understood that the spirit stones he absorbed from the pit that day were not some senior's treasure vault, but rather a spirit stone warehouse used by the sect to maintain the operation of the great formation.

"No wonder I tripped and fell when I came out. It wasn't the jade talisman that was the problem; it was the lack of spiritual energy in the array."

Han Lin was speechless, yet secretly relieved.

"Luckily, I fed the spirit stones to the Heavenly Eye back then. If I had actually brought them out, I'm afraid they wouldn't have been able to hide them from the Spirit Detection Mirror of the Enforcement Hall."

……

Red Maple Valley is located northeast of Milky Way Valley and is named after two huge red maple trees growing at the entrance of the valley.

The interior area is not large, with several dense forests, and in the center of these forests, there is a square bluestone plaza.

As night falls, the moonstones atop several pillars in the square glow brightly.

Bathed in light, one could see many figures moving about on it, and a simple stall was scattered around the square.

At this moment, a man dressed in a black robe and wearing a bamboo hat walked out from a forest path and stood at the entrance of the square, looking at the surging crowd above.

"So this is what the leader of the Red Maple Valley Gathering is like," Han Lin muttered to himself, not quite what he had imagined.

He had imagined that the gathering would be like a secular market, with wide streets and all sorts of shops and buildings.

Looking at it now, it turns out to be just a group of people setting up stalls on this place.

After glancing around in the distance for a while, Han Lin also entered the square and wandered among the various stalls. He didn't have a specific goal; he was just there to broaden his horizons.

However, the things sold at these stalls broadened Han Lin's horizons considerably.

There are vendors selling spirit herbs, animal blood, and spirit talismans... all sorts of things are available.

Han Lin walked through several stalls, feeling puzzled. "The sect clearly has a system for recycling all kinds of resources, so why are people bringing them here to sell? Could it be that they're worth more here?"

Just then, a deep voice came from afar: "With your talisman, you dare to ask for two spirit stones for one? That's outrageous!"

Han Lin glanced to the side and saw that the speaker was a burly man who also wore a straw hat and whose face was covered by a curtain.

The person setting up the stall made no attempt to conceal his appearance; he was a thin young man.

"Senior brother, this is already very cheap. Normally, you would pay one low-grade spirit stone for one of these at Baibaotang." The thin young man was not angry and said with a smile.

"Hmph! Your talismans can't compare to those from Baibaotang? I'd be worried about blowing myself up if you gave them to me. Three talismans for one spirit stone, sell them or I'm leaving!" The burly man sneered, making a move to leave.

"Three tickets are absolutely impossible. If you want me to buy six, I'll give you one free." The thin young man paused for a moment, then relented slightly.

"Fine, you can keep it yourself!" the burly man said in a deep voice, then turned and left without looking back, ignoring the man's calls.

"One spirit stone and two spirit talismans? Is it that cheap?" Han Lin wondered, and after thinking for a moment, he walked towards the stall.

There was nothing else on the stall, and the number of talismans was also small, only seven in total.

"Hey senior, buy a few tickets, they're very cheap!" The thin young man greeted Han Lin warmly as he approached, calling him senior.

It wasn't that his cultivation level was lower than Han Lin's; he simply hadn't investigated Han Lin's cultivation level and was using a respectful title.

After all, it is extremely impolite to rashly probe someone's cultivation level, and if you encounter someone with a bad temper, they might even turn hostile on the spot.

Upon hearing this, Han Lin stared at the talismans on the stall for a moment, then asked, "These talismans don't look very good. Did you draw them yourself?"

"Yes, senior brother, I'm a beginner at drawing talismans, so the quality is naturally a bit lacking. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to sell them for such a low price, would I?"

The young stall owner answered without any attempt to hide his true feelings.

Upon hearing this, Han Lin's heart stirred. He was looking for a way to make money but had no way to do so. If he could befriend this person, he might be able to learn a trick or two of talisman-making.

In fact, sects also offer various skills training programs, but these trainings are not free and often require a high contribution fee.

He can't afford such high tuition fees right now, so he has to take a different approach and find another way.

Thinking of this, Han Lin's mind stirred, and he said, "To be honest, I'm not particularly interested in these talismans of yours. I wonder if we could discuss another transaction?"

"Another transaction? I wonder what you mean by that, senior brother." The young stall owner scratched his head, thinking that he didn't have much to sell besides talismans.