Chapter 38

Everyone in the reading area stopped what they were doing upon hearing the noise and looked at the person shouting "black shop!"

Seeing that everyone in the reading area was looking at him, the man continued loudly, "If you don't believe me, you can come and check my body. It's because of practicing the techniques here that I've become like this!"

Immediately, the reading area was abuzz with discussion.

"Is this true? But I subscribed to the cultivation method here a few years ago and nothing happened."

"I think it's true that they dare to make such a fuss, and who knows if their hearts will turn black after they've gained resources."

"No wonder I've been experiencing a blockage of spiritual energy while practicing my cultivation technique these past two days. I initially thought it was a problem with the technique itself. Now I know, there's something wrong with the technique!"

"Me too, but thankfully there are now discerning people who have come forward to expose their true colors for us all."

...

Shi Anxu was puzzled. All the cultivation techniques he had taken out were from his master's library, so there was no way there could be a problem.

He walked into the middle of the crowd and loudly reassured everyone, "Please calm down, everyone. There is absolutely no way there could be a problem with our cultivation techniques. As for what this immortal master said, we will investigate and give everyone a satisfactory answer."

The person who had just shouted "heartless shop" scoffed upon hearing Shi Anxu's words, "Heh, does that even need an investigation? You know perfectly well what you did, why do you need an investigation? Just admit it, give me some compensation, and we'll call it even."

Shi Anxu would not admit to something he hadn't done. He stated firmly, "We will not admit to something we didn't do. This matter must be investigated before appropriate compensation is given."

The man, however, persisted and stepped forward, ready to attack. "I paid to subscribe to this cultivation technique right here. What's there to investigate? You just don't want to give me an explanation. It's not like your cultivation was damaged!"

Fortunately, some of the cultivators present still had a kind heart. When they saw that the man was about to hit Shi Anxu, several of them joined forces to hold him back, thus saving Shi Anxu from physical pain.

Shi Anxu wanted to explain further why he wanted to investigate, but a group of menacing cultivators entered the reading area.

The cultivator who was leading the group glared at Shi Anxu with venomous eyes, "We all subscribed to cultivation techniques from you, and we all encountered problems in our cultivation, our cultivation levels regressed, and we almost couldn't cultivate anymore. You have to give us an explanation today!"

The cultivators following behind echoed, "That's right, we must get an explanation today!"

The people in the reading area, who were almost out of breath, stopped and came back to watch the show again when they saw a large group of people suddenly rushing in to attack Shi Anxu.

Faced with this scene, Shi Anxu felt his head was about to explode. He quickly reassured the cultivators who had come in demanding an explanation: "Since this happened because they all subscribed to our cultivation techniques, we will definitely give you an explanation. However, the matter has not yet been fully investigated, so we cannot make any hasty conclusions."

The first to demand compensation told the later cultivators, "Don't believe his nonsense. They just don't want to take responsibility for us and are trying to fob us off with this excuse. Next time, we might not even be able to get into the peak!"

The group of cultivators all agreed that the cultivator who first came to demand compensation was right, and they all stood there and refused to leave.

Judging from their demeanor, Shi Anxu felt that if he didn't give them an explanation today, they would destroy Qin Nian Peak.

Shi Anxu frantically racked his brains for a solution, hoping to resolve the current situation as soon as possible.

However, these people are clearly refusing to leave unless we give them an explanation and compensation. It wasn't their doing in the first place, so how can we expect them to give us an explanation and compensation?

Shi Anxu could only continue trying to reason with these cultivators, "Listen to me, I can guarantee that there are no problems with the cultivation methods here. You suddenly come to me demanding an explanation, and I can't give you one even if I wanted to."

Someone in the crowd sneered, "You dare to guarantee that your techniques are without flaws? What a joke! I still remember which techniques I practiced. Do you dare ask us to bring them out and confront you?"

Shi Anxu has never done such selfish things that harm others. He has a clear conscience, so why doesn't he dare to confront them face to face?

"Of course I dare. Go ahead and bring me the cultivation techniques to confront me face to face."

They sent a few people to search for cultivation techniques in the reading area, while others stayed behind to guard Shi Anxu and prevent him from using any underhanded tactics to lure him away from the mountain.

Soon, the cultivators brought over all the cultivation techniques they had subscribed to.

They opened the manual themselves and looked at its contents. Not long after, they slammed the manual onto the ground.

The leader looked at Shi Anxu with a sinister gaze, "You really do have some skill, daring to replace the cultivation technique right under our noses."

Shi Anxu loudly protested, "I didn't! You're all here watching me, how could I possibly have had the chance to replace the cultivation technique?"

The leader then gave a knowing look, saying, "That means they calculated the time when we would take effect and replaced the technique in advance."

Shi Anxu felt a wave of powerlessness instantly spread throughout his body. "You guys overestimate my strength. How could I possibly know when you'd attack?"

The leader didn't believe Shi Anxu's explanation at all, saying, "If you're not capable, isn't there someone else? He's not here right now, so maybe he was the one who secretly replaced the technique just now. Don't waste your breath on him. The fact that he hasn't kicked us out for so long shows that he's not strong enough. Let's capture him and threaten the other person to give us an explanation!"

Shi Anxu still wanted to reason with them, but now that they were trying to arrest him, there was no need to be polite anymore.

He directly activated the array he had set up in the reading area, teleporting them all outside the reading area.

Those who were teleported outside wanted to come back in, but were blocked by the formation as soon as they got close.

The leader threatened Shi Anxu from outside, "You just wait. When we get back, we'll report this to the sect and have them all come to punish you. You asked for this!"

After saying that, he left with the other cultivators in a menacing manner.

Shi Anxu picked up the martial arts manual that they had thrown on the ground and put it back in its original place.

Now that's good, there's really no time to keep thinking about Mu Qingzhou. Hopefully, by the time Mu Qingzhou comes out of seclusion, he will have already resolved this matter, Shi Anxu thought to himself.

The key now is to find the cultivation techniques they said caused the problems in their practice. He had already memorized the names of all those techniques when he put them back.

Based on their previous reactions, the techniques in the reading area have not been replaced.

He just couldn't understand how the person who replaced the cultivation method could do it so secretly, even though he had already set up an array here.

When he was looking for an array, he was searching for the highest level array he could set up. Unless one was a cultivator at the Mahayana stage, no one could replace it without being detected.

However, he couldn't think of any reason why a powerful being in the Mahayana stage would slander such a small shop; it was simply unreasonable!

If it weren't for a cultivator at the Mahayana stage, Shi Anxu couldn't think of anyone else who could do it.

What is his purpose in slandering us like this?

One question after another formed in Shi Anxu's mind, and he felt like his brain was about to explode.

He has no clue how to resolve this matter. As someone who has lived "deep in the mountains" for a long time, he has no idea who he has offended, and he has no way to investigate.

He now has a slight clue that some people might resent them making money and want to use some means to prevent them from continuing to operate.

However, such shops often do not have highly accomplished practitioners at the Mahayana level.

However, there is another possibility: they exist under the patronage of a certain sect. The sect provides them with protection and a market, and they pay tribute to the sect every year.

When they become envious, they seek the protection of sects, and sects, for their own benefit, often step in to help them.

If the sect sent some extraordinary person to replace their cultivation method, then all of this makes sense.

These people are just too malicious; they would have such a vicious mind for such a small gain.

However, he shouldn't jump to conclusions now; he still needs to investigate whether they did it. If they didn't, then it seems he was too hasty in his condemnation.

There aren't many businesses related to their operations, only two, so it's quite easy to investigate.

Shi Anxu planned to investigate as soon as possible, give an explanation, and clear their names.

Thinking this, Shi Anxu took out the shadow cloak left to him by his master from his spatial ring, put it on, and then disappeared from the spot.

——

Mu Qingzhou, who was in seclusion in the Lingju, opened his eyes the moment Shi Anxu left. He realized that his senior brother had left Qinnian Peak.

Because he needed to focus on his secluded cultivation and breakthrough, Mu Qingzhou temporarily severed the connection between his soul and Shi Anxu, so he was unaware of everything that had happened before.

Now that he has discovered that Shi Anxu has left Qin Nian Peak, he immediately reconnects his soul with Shi Anxu. He must ensure that Shi Anxu is not in a dangerous environment before he can continue his seclusion and break through to the next level with peace of mind.

He closed his eyes and guided the wisp of his soul that he had placed on Shi Anxu into Shi Anxu's sea of ​​consciousness, watching Shi Anxu's every move through Shi Anxu's eyes.

In his field of vision, Shi Anxu stealthily flew onto the roof of a shop and, using the same trick as before, lifted the tiles to peek at the people inside.

Mu Qingzhou was relieved to see that Shi Anxu had only gone to a shop to eavesdrop.

When Shi Anxu mentioned opening a reading area, he thoroughly investigated all the similar shops to make sure they wouldn't pose any threat to his senior.

It's been a long time since I've seen my senior brother; let him linger a little longer.

Mu Qingzhou did not push his soul out, but continued to do "sneaky" things with Shi Anxu.

After a long while, Mu Qingzhou reluctantly withdrew from Shi Anxu's sea of ​​consciousness and continued to concentrate on his seclusion.

——

Shi Anxu, who was still eavesdropping on the conversation in the store, suddenly trembled.