Chapter 307: Chapter 194: The Circle of High-Tier Cultivators
Half a year later is just the time when the large commercial group in the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm comes to Immortal Sun City.
Zhouyang doesn’t know if Master Cyan Yang can’t see him now, whether it’s related to this matter, this question is destined to have no answer.
So after listening to Xu Zhengyang’s words, he didn’t mention it again, only casually talked to Xu Zhengyang about his intention to purchase Tier Four Spirit Pills to refine his cultivation and some precious Artifact Refining Materials.
Unexpectedly, Xu Zhengyang nodded after hearing his words and said, "There are indeed several kinds of Tier Four Spirit Pills for refining cultivation available in the Pill Pavilion. If you don’t mind the high prices of these pills, you can buy them yourself."
After saying this, he shook his head again and said, "As for Taiyi Essence Gold and Star Pattern Steel, not to mention our Profound Sun Pavilion, most shops won’t sell these widely used rare Spiritual Objects. If you want to collect these materials, you can only obtain them through auctions and exchange meetings."
"It so happens that due to the gathering of many high-tier cultivators in the city now, exchange meetings are held every few days. I can write an introduction letter for you. You take the introduction letter to visit someone, and he will help arrange these things for you. Of course, you’ll have to pay him some Spirit Stones as an introduction fee."
Zhouyang initially only asked casually, not holding much hope for achieving his wish.
Now hearing Xu Zhengyang say this, though he still can’t help feeling a little disappointed, he quickly composed himself and thanked, "Then I shall thank the Senior first."
Right now, Zhouyang took the introduction letter given by Xu Zhengyang and left the guest room, he first went to the third layer of the Pill Pavilion in Profound Sun Pavilion.
Just as Xu Zhengyang said, although the third layer of the Pill Pavilion had three kinds of Tier Four Spirit Pills for refining the magical power of Purple Mansion Stage Cultivators, the prices were very high, with each pill averaging over ten thousand low-grade Spirit Stones!
If Zhouyang were an ordinary Purple Mansion Cultivator who takes one pill every ten or twenty years to improve cultivation, such pill prices wouldn’t be unacceptable.
After all, most Purple Mansion Stage Cultivators have some support from a force. In ten years, just from the tribute benefits, there would be ten thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.
But if he really begins the pill-based cultivation, he would take one pill half a year. At this rate, even if he has tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, he would feel a bit overwhelmed.
At this point, he realized how laughable his past belief was that having tens of thousands of Spirit Stones would ease worries about Spirit Stone spending throughout the Purple Mansion Stage.
In his previous life, he often heard people say that the more you earn, the more you spend, yet he never quite understood the concept.
Because back then, his monthly income was just that little, every penny had to be saved for solving life’s big issues later on.
Now seeing the prices of these Tier Four Spirit Pills in the Profound Sun Pavilion, he finally realizes how absolutely true the saying is.
Yet no matter how expensive things are, he could only grit his teeth and make significant purchases.
In the Profound Sun Pavilion purchasing these Tier Four Spirit Pills, at least he can use the "Profound Sun Order" to get a 20% discount. If buying from other shops or auctions, the Spirit Stones spent will certainly be no less.
Thus, under the surprised gaze of the shopkeeper of the Pill Pavilion, he swept up half of the remaining inventory of those three kinds of Tier Four Spirit Pills, then placed the "Profound Sun Order" on the counter for the final settlement.
"Fellow Daoist, please, the total is one hundred sixty-four thousand seven hundred low-grade Spirit Stones."
The shopkeeper eyed Zhouyang oddly, but ultimately adhered to professionalism, did not ask more, and settled the Spirit Stones for Zhouyang.
Of course Zhouyang understands what the shopkeeper’s gaze means.
For average cultivators purchasing such Spirit Pills to refine cultivation, buying three to five pills at a time is considerable, no one would buy more than ten like him!
It’s not that those Purple Mansion Stage Cultivators can’t afford so many pills, but they simply don’t need to.
These people can’t remove the erysipelas inside their bodies using "Qianyang Immortal Light" like Zhouyang. After taking one spirit pill to refine cultivation, they typically need ten or twenty years to slowly eliminate the erysipelas within. Thus, buying many pills at once is just wasting Spirit Stones.
Zhouyang even knows that if he didn’t carry the "Profound Sun Order", buying so many Spirit Pills to refine cultivation at once would certainly attract attention from the Profound Sun Pavilion, and they might arrange to track and investigate his background.
He’s not suspecting others out of malicious intent, rather in the Cultivation Realm, such things are perfectly normal.
Tracking and investigating a certain cultivator isn’t always about murder and plunder; sometimes it is to see if there’s an opportunity for deeper collaboration.
Had Zhouyang not had the protection of the "Profound Sun Order", to avoid such incidents, he certainly wouldn’t dare to buy a large number of pills at once.
The principle of keeping wealth discreet is known even to the fledgling cultivators stepping out their doors, let alone someone shrewd like him.
After buying the elixirs, Zhouyang took Xu Zhengyang’s introduction letter and went to the famous restaurant "Yunxiang Tower" in Immortal Sun City, visiting the owner "Fairy Yunxiang".
This "Fairy Yunxiang" is the Dao Companion of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect. Though her cultivation is only the Eighth-Layer of the Purple Mansion, due to her relationship, she has extensive connections in Immortal Sun City and friendships with many high-tier cultivators.
Upon hearing that Zhouyang was introduced by Xu Zhengyang, this "Fairy Yunxiang" didn’t dare to neglect him, after verifying the authenticity of his letter, collected a thousand Spirit Stones as an introduction fee, and soon gave him a token for a high-level cultivators’ exchange meeting.
This token is a white jade ring engraved with a black tripod cauldron. When "Fairy Yunxiang" handed it to Zhouyang, she dutifully introduced and reminded him, "This exchange meeting is hosted by Fellow Daoist Duanmu Yong from the Profound Cauldron Sect. As long as Fellow Daoist Zhou holds this token and goes to Fellow Daoist Duanmu’s temporary residence cave in the city the night after tomorrow, there will be someone leading you to the exchange venue."
"Madam needs to remind Fellow Daoist Zhou that during this kind of exchange meeting, there might suddenly be Golden Core Stage Cultivators participating, so if Fellow Daoist happens to fancy the same treasure as a Golden Core Stage Cultivator during the exchange, it’s best not to compete for it."
Golden Core Stage cultivators are also high-tier cultivators; their presence at a trading meeting mainly attended by Purple Mansion-stage cultivators is not surprising, given that Purple Mansion-stage cultivators are not unknown figures in various forces and may possess treasures desired by Golden Core Stage cultivators.
In contrast, the circle among Nascent Soul Stage cultivators is not easily accessible to Golden Core Stage cultivators because the items used by Nascent Soul Stage cultivators are exceedingly rare, and almost no Golden Core Stage cultivators can obtain them.
Upon hearing the reminder from "Fairy Yunxiang," Zhouyang’s heart trembled slightly, and he did not forget to express his gratitude, "Thank you, fairy, for the reminder, Zhou understands what needs to be done now."
Two days passed swiftly.
On this day, when night fell, Zhouyang carried the token he received from "Fairy Yunxiang" and rushed to the outside of Duanmu Yong’s cave mansion, the host of the exchange meeting.
Upon arriving outside the cave mansion, he slightly activated the white jade ring on his finger using magical power, causing an invisible ripple to spread out from the ring.
Soon after, the illusion realm in front of him vanished, revealing the true entrance to the cave mansion.
"Many guests have arrived tonight; please forgive Duanmu Yong for not being able to greet each personally. New fellow Daoists, please follow my spirit pet into the cave."
A clear, resonant voice transmitted from within the cave to Zhouyang’s ears, and the cave door opened wide before him, with a half-human-sized golden monkey leaping out.
The golden monkey, after leaping out from the cave, first looked around, its head darting back and forth. Upon seeing Zhouyang, it quickly restrained its mischievous nature and clasped its hands in a human-like salute, "Zhi Zhi," calling twice, then turned to the side, making a gesture of invitation to enter the cave.
Upon witnessing this scene, Zhouyang, surprised, couldn’t help but praise out loud, "What a spiritually gifted monkey!"
At the moment, Zhouyang could not discern the origin of the golden monkey; the magical power radiating from it was only Tier Two Top Grade, likely still in its juvenile stage like his "Flying Divine Leopard."
However, in terms of spiritual wisdom, the golden monkey was, at least, streets ahead of the "Flying Divine Leopard," possibly even matching some Tier Four demon beasts.
While monkey-type demon beasts are naturally considered "wise" among demon beasts, having such spirituality at a Tier Two Top Grade cultivation stage is extremely rare.
Such a situation, Zhouyang speculated, was likely attributable to the exceptional bloodline of the golden monkey itself, as well as its master, Duanmu Yong, feeding it "Spirit Awakening Pill" or similar Wisdom Pills.
The "Spirit Awakening Pill" is a Tier Four High-Grade Spirit Pill; being willing to feed such a pill to a Tier Two demon beast, Zhouyang hasn’t yet met Duanmu Yong but has already seen his generosity from this event, heightening his anticipation for today’s trading meeting.
Following the golden monkey inside the cave for a while, he soon saw the host of the cave mansion.
It was a spacious cave hall capable of accommodating dozens of seated people, and at this point, the hall held twenty to thirty individuals of both genders and various ages, but without exception, all were Purple Mansion-stage cultivators.
The golden monkey guiding Zhouyang leaped into the hall and jumped directly behind an old man in a black robe, seated cross-legged on the ground, gently massaging the elder’s back.
"I am Duanmu Yong of the Profound Cauldron Sect, the initiator of this trading meeting. May I know this fellow Daoist’s name and origin?"
As Zhouyang’s gaze met the black-robed elder, the elder also looked brightly at him, actively greeting him.
Hearing this, Zhouyang’s eyes flickered with a strange color, yet he clasped his hands toward the elder and said, "Zhouyang greets Fellow Daoist Duanmu."
He didn’t reveal his origin, clearly unwilling to disclose it, and observing this, the black-robed elder Duanmu Yong did not press further, but his attitude visibly cooled down, glancing at him indifferently and saying, "So it’s Fellow Daoist Zhou. The trading meeting hasn’t started yet; please find a place to sit."
After these words, Duanmu Yong paid no further attention to Zhouyang, his lips slightly moving as he used transmission to communicate with certain cultivators within the hall.
Scanning the room, Zhouyang realized the number of cultivators engaged in transmission conversations was quite substantial; they were evidently familiar cultivators engaged in discreet discussions.
Observing this, Zhouyang merely pondered briefly, understanding the situation.
Clearly, aside from him and some cultivators, most participants at this trading meeting were acquaintances with Duanmu Yong.
These individuals probably knew each other from past trading meetings, gradually forming a circle of high-tier cultivators, which, every few years, might gather under the aegis of a charismatic cultivator to hold a trading meeting and exchange goods.
And in order to make the trading meeting vibrant and not disappointing for the participants, the organizer might spread news of the meeting through personal circles, inviting other high-tier cultivators to join.
Earlier, Duanmu Yong asked about his origin; if Zhouyang had answered in detail, he likely would have been seen as someone worth associating with, possibly having the chance to join Duanmu Yong’s high-tier cultivators’ circle someday.
But since he chose not to answer, in Duanmu Yong’s eyes, this was clearly a kind of rejection, hence the other person naturally had no reason to converse further with him.
Having understood all this, Zhouyang’s mood quickly calmed down.
In some sense, Duanmu Yong wasn’t wrong—Zhouyang indeed had no intention of joining a high-tier cultivator circle at this moment.
This isn’t because he isn’t a native of Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm; his participation in this trading meeting was actually a coincidental event.
In other words, he was here to trade items, not to make friends.
If he truly wanted to establish friendships with high-tier cultivators, he would have plenty of opportunities in the future; there was no need to rush into this when he barely knew anyone’s name yet.