Chapter 308: Chapter 295: Exchange Treasure
In the Cultivation Realm, there are quite a few unwritten rules regarding trade fairs.
Generally speaking, when a trade fair is privately organized by a cultivator going out to invite others, the number of participants is kept under fifty, and there are certain identity and background requirements for the cultivators attending.
Take Zhouyang as an example, if he hadn’t used Xu Zhengyang’s recommendation letter to find "Fairy Yunxiang," even if he had learned about today’s trade fair from other sources in advance, and went to request participation from "Fairy Yunxiang," she would never have handed over the token to him.
The thousand pieces of Low-grade Spirit Stones were not casually received from him; Fairy Yunxiang accepted these Spirit Stones—named as an introduction fee but essentially a guarantee fee. This meant she vouched for him in front of Duanmu Yong, ensuring he wouldn’t commit the foolish act of snatching treasures and escaping at the fair.
If he actually did such a foolish thing, "Fairy Yunxiang," as the guarantor, would certainly be held accountable by Duanmu Yong.
Therefore, Zhouyang attended this trade fair without any identity disguise and couldn’t disguise his identity while participating.
As for the type of "Underground Exchange Meeting" Zhouyang participated in at Zhenyue Immortal City earlier, they were generally organized by a certain power, which didn’t impose any investigation restrictions on the background and identity of the cultivators attending, following the principle of the more people, the better.
At the same time, to allow people to participate in this kind of "Underground Exchange Meeting" with peace of mind, the organizers would actively provide Magical Artifacts to help attendees hide their identities, and usually arrange high-tier cultivators to preside over the event on site, preventing trouble from ignorant individuals.
Like when Zhouyang was at that underground exchange meeting, if it weren’t for the host Tian Wenxuan warning him, Zhu Ziyu, who was exchanging treasures with him, might have caused trouble right there, rather than pursuing to kill him when he left the city years later.
In summary, the trade fair Zhouyang attended officially commenced shortly after he entered.
According to the rules, as the initiator of the fair, Duanmu Yong was the first to bring out his treasures for exchange.
With a wave of his hand, seven or eight treasures appeared on the stone table in front, which included Elixirs, Magical Artifacts, and some rare Tier Four Spiritual Materials, each one not ordinary.
But compared to these treasures, Zhouyang’s gaze lingered more on the Storage Ring on Duanmu Yong’s hand.
It was still his first time seeing a Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator owning a Storage Ring like himself, whereas for safety reasons, before participating in the fair this time, he had put away his Storage Ring and switched to using a Storage Bag.
"I recently plan to refine a furnace of Tier Four High-Grade Spirit Pills, but I’m missing two spirit elixirs, [Thousand-year-old Red Ginseng] and [Fire Beard Grass]. Any fellow Daoist possessing these spirit elixirs can freely exchange them one-for-one with any of the treasures here, or can contact me via sound transmission to specify the desired item. I could use these treasures to trade with other Daoists or help the Daoist acquire the desired item from elsewhere."
After displaying his treasures, Duanmu Yong scanned the thirty-three cultivators in the Hall, besides himself, and voiced his exchange requirements in a solemn tone.
From this person’s words, it is evident that he is a rare Tier Four High-grade Alchemist Master!
Although the treasures Duanmu Yong brought out were good, there was nothing Zhouyang urgently needed, and he himself didn’t possess anything that met his requirements, so he merely watched indifferently as Duanmu Yong exchanged with others.
Ultimately, a cultivator presented [Thousand-year-old Red Ginseng] and exchanged it for a bottle of Spirit Pills from Duanmu Yong, while another unknown cultivator communicated with Duanmu Yong via sound transmission and likewise took out a Jade Box containing spirit elixirs, exchanging it for a precious "Thunder Crystal Stone."
Once Duanmu Yong completed his exchanges, the person to his left immediately followed suit, bringing out his treasures onto the stone table in front, stating his requirements.
Thus, one by one, efficiency is quite high.
However, Zhouyang has yet to make any exchanges with others.
Though he carries many Spirit Stones and Magical Artifacts, the treasures he can use to trade are not many.
Unless he encounters something he genuinely needs, he isn’t willing to trade his treasures for items of little current use to him.
"...[Taiyi Essence Gold], weighing two pounds and seven ounces, all these items are only exchanged for Top-grade Spirit Stones, one Top-grade Spirit Stone for one item!"
Finally, when nearly half of the attendees had taken their turn, someone finally offered what Zhouyang needed.
This person was a middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and large eyes, possessing the Seventh-layer of Purple Mansion cultivation, belonging to those with relatively high cultivation among the attendees, and except for the "Taiyi Essence Gold" which Zhouyang was determined to obtain, the rest of his treasures were all of the same high grade.
But upon hearing the middle-aged man’s exchange requirement, those cultivators who, like Zhouyang, were interested in his offerings, immediately shook their heads silently.
Not to mention whether these Purple Mansion Stage cultivators had any Top-grade Spirit Stones in their hands, even if they did, few would be willing to part with them for exchange.
After all, such treasures can substitute when exchanging with Golden Core Stage cultivators.
Except for someone like Zhouyang, who urgently needs a particular treasure, who would be willing to trade such valuable items with the middle-aged man?
Fortuitously, due to various encounters, Zhouyang’s current possession of standard-sized Top-grade Spirit Stones amounts to seventeen pieces!
At this moment, after listening to the middle-aged man’s words, he immediately slapped his storage bag at his waist, took out a jade box containing upper-grade spirit stones, opened it, and pushed the jade box towards the middle-aged man, saying, "I want that piece of Taiyi Essence Gold."
"Deal!"
The middle-aged man scanned the upper-grade spirit stones in the jade box in front of Zhouyang with his divine sense, and immediately showed a joyful expression as he uttered the word "Deal" and directly picked up the silver-white Taiyi Essence Gold and tossed it to Zhouyang.
Seeing this, Zhouyang also flicked his sleeve, using magical power to roll up the upper-grade spirit stones from the jade box and tossed them to the middle-aged man.
Unexpectedly to Zhouyang, just as he had put away the Taiyi Essence Gold thrown by the middle-aged man, Duanmu Yong, who had already exchanged his treasures, suddenly sent a message asking him, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, do you still have upper-grade spirit stones? I am willing to exchange them for elixirs like Foundation Establishment Pill or Purple Cloud Pill!"
Hearing this, Zhouyang’s eyes flashed with brilliance, and he immediately denied, "I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint Fellow Daoist Duanmu. This piece of upper-grade spirit stone in my hand was gifted by a senior. Otherwise, with my cultivation level, having just established the Purple Mansion, how would I possess such a treasure!"
Upper-grade spirit stones are extremely important. A Purple Mansion Stage cultivator can possess a piece, which can be explained as gifted by a senior or accidentally obtained.
But if he continuously takes out several pieces, anyone would suspect that he might have discovered a spirit stone ore and has a large number of spirit stones on him.
At that point, his First-Layer of Purple Mansion cultivation level would probably be seen as a tasty morsel by anyone.
Although Zhouyang is not afraid of engaging in magical combat with others, he does not wish to make enemies either. After all, those who can cultivate to the Purple Mansion are backed by some influence, except for a few loose cultivators.
Even if he could kill those cultivators trying to rob him and occupy the moral high ground by recording the process, it is unlikely that the forces backing those deceased Purple Mansion cultivators would give up chasing him.
Hence, he has decided before attending the exchange meeting that he will definitely not take out two pieces of upper-grade spirit stones for exchange at the same meeting.
Furthermore, although he has many upper-grade spirit stones on him, who knows if there will be a day when he might need such a treasure in the future?
Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, he would not take out such a treasure for exchange.
Duanmu Yong just asked with a mentality of "just in case," and upon hearing Zhouyang’s denial, whether he believes it or not, he did not pursue the matter, nodded, and said no more about it.
With such individual exchanges, it soon came to Zhouyang’s turn.
Having already prepared, he at this time also reached out and slapped his storage bag, taking out Earth Fire Reishi, Fire Separation Essence Gold, Tree Demon Root, Tier Four Demon Wolf Beast Soul, Tier Four Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact and other spiritual objects onto the stone table in front of him.
"These things of mine are only for exchanging Taiyi Essence Gold and Star Pattern Steel. If any Fellow Daoist has these two materials, even if you don’t like these items, you can send a message to me to specify what you want in exchange, and I will see if I can find it for you."
He swept his gaze over those cultivators attracted by the treasures he had laid out, saying calmly what he wanted.
Upon hearing that he wants to exchange for these spiritual objects even after obtaining a piece weighing two jin and seven liang of Taiyi Essence Gold, the Purple Mansion cultivators were slightly taken aback, then carefully scrutinized him, their expressions becoming serious.
Evidently, through the spiritual objects he sought, these people had guessed his status as a Tier Four Refining Master.
And a Tier Four Refining Master, even if Zhouyang’s cultivation is only at the First-Layer of Purple Mansion, is enough for many cultivators present not to underestimate him, especially since from his appearance and voice, he seems so young.
"I do have seven liang of Taiyi Essence Gold here and I’d like to exchange it for that Earth Fire Reishi in Fellow Daoist Zhou’s hand. Would you be willing to make the exchange?"
Duanmu Yong was the first to speak shortly after Zhouyang’s words fell.
As a Tier Four High-Grade Alchemist, his wealth was immense, possessing such spiritual objects like Taiyi Essence Gold, which did not surprise Zhouyang at all.
However, seven liang of Taiyi Essence Gold is still quite a bit shy in value compared to the Earth Fire Reishi requested by the other party. Therefore, Zhouyang pondered for a moment and then replied, "If Fellow Daoist Duanmu can gather a jin of Taiyi Essence Gold, I will make the exchange with you."
Upon hearing this, Duanmu Yong immediately cupped his hands and said to the others, "My fellow cultivators have heard Fellow Daoist Zhou’s words. If any of you have three liang of Taiyi Essence Gold, Old me is willing to buy it at a high price or exchange it for spirit pills."
As the initiator of the exchange meeting and a Tier Four High-Grade Alchemist Master, Duanmu Yong had broad social connections and had deep ties with many present, and many were willing to do him a favor.
Therefore, upon saying this, a cultivator quickly took out three liang of Taiyi Essence Gold and exchanged it with him, and then he took a jin of Taiyi Essence Gold and exchanged the Earth Fire Reishi with Zhouyang.
With Duanmu Yong setting the precedent, several cultivators subsequently took out varying amounts of Taiyi Essence Gold and Star Pattern Steel, exchanging for equivalent amounts of Fire Separation Essence Gold and that Tier Four Demon Wolf Beast Soul.
Thus, over the course of this exchange meeting, Zhouyang managed to collect over half of the materials needed to refine a flying sword.
And in the following month, with introductions from Fairy Yunxiang, he attended two additional exchange meetings, finally gathering all the materials needed for refining the flying sword, and then he eagerly shut himself in to refine artifacts.