Afraid of missing some news and arousing suspicion, Chu Liang could not spare any more attention for Yun Chaoxian. He shut the door and took out the Soul-Seizing Token again to inspect it.
His divine sense entered the Soul Domain Space, where he saw gleaming golden messages.
Fifty-Nine: "I obtained an Ancient Ape Essence Soul. I have no use for it myself and want to trade it for other treasures. Does anyone want it?"
Oh?
So this group could be used for business transactions too.
Baleful Intent's commentary immediately followed.
Baleful Intent: "Ancient Ape Essence Souls are quite rare. They can only arise when the right time, place, and conditions all converge. If fed to combat-type souls or ghosts, they can raise their battle strength by a major tier. How many years old is your essence soul?"
Fifty-Nine: "Around three hundred years."
Baleful Intent: "Then it is fairly precious. First, see whether those two want it. If they do not, I can help you forward it to other Soul Domain Spaces and ask around."
Fifty-Nine: "Many thanks, Venerable Baleful Intent!"
His explanation was quite thoughtful, and Chu Liang immediately understood the item's use.
Among ghosts were unpredictable types like Skin-Painting Ghosts and Soul-Hooking Ghosts, as well as front-line combat types like Sword-Wielding Ghosts and Rakshasa Ghosts. This Ancient Ape Essence Soul was probably like a Fierce Tiger Essence-Nurturing Pill for ghosts, capable of strengthening their power.
No matter what it was, if it was meant for ghosts to eat, there was no way he could use it.
But he was currently posing as "Fifty-Eight," which made him somewhat uncertain... could he actually use it?
He could only remain silent for now.
Before long, another reply appeared.
Sixty: "I want it. What do you want in exchange?"
Fifty-Nine: "I have not decided yet. Anything of equivalent value that is useful to me will do."
Sixty: "Then how about I trade you two Miruo Azure Leaves?"
Baleful Intent: "Miruo Azure Leaves can store many ghosts. They are much more convenient than the bottle arts we commonly use. Moreover, ghosts dwelling within can nurture themselves and increase their cultivation, bringing considerable benefits. Two Miruo Azure Leaves are enough to trade for your Ancient Ape Essence Soul."
Fifty-Nine: "Since Venerable Baleful Intent says so, then of course that will do. Where are you now? Is there a Glutton Pavilion nearby?"
Sixty: "Yes, the Glutton Pavilion in South Pass City."
Fifty-Nine: "Then mail the Miruo Azure Leaves to the Glutton Pavilion in Hundred Flowers City. I will mail the Ancient Ape Essence Soul from here to South Pass City."
Sixty: "All right."
In just a few words, a transaction was pleasantly concluded.
Only then did Chu Liang appear.
Fifty-Eight: "Ah, what a pity. He beat me to it."
Fifty-Nine: "Haha, Senior, perhaps next time."
Fifty-Eight: "All right."
After briefly showing his face, he went offline again, retiring after accomplishing his mission.
It had only been a simple treasure trade, without much conversation. Still, Chu Liang had gleaned some unusual information from it.
First, the seventy-two Soul-Seizing Envoys were quite loosely connected.
Perhaps it was a common flaw of Devil Dao Sects like the Nether King Sect: fellow disciples slaughtered one another with particular severity. As a result, even members of the same sect guarded against each other.
The fact that they conducted business through the Glutton Pavilion rather than trading face-to-face showed that they did not trust one another. They might not even have met before.
Naturally, this was good news for Chu Liang, who was infiltrating their ranks.
Furthermore, their manner of exchange gave Chu Liang some inspiration.
If the White Tower produced any rewards he did not particularly like in the future, he could also trade them away like this for items he needed.
There was such a small market on Shushan where disciples could set up stalls, but he had heard that it was all small-time business, with few genuine treasures. Chu Liang had never participated before, but he could take a look next time.
Outside Shushan, meanwhile, there was the Glutton Pavilion they had just mentioned.
Every Glutton Pavilion under heaven belonged to Glutton City of the Northern Region, one of the Ten Lands Sects.
A thousand years ago, Glutton City had merely been an unremarkable third-rate immortal sect. Historically, it had been a fortress established to resist the Demon Race, but after the Demon Race retreated, it gradually declined as well.
The city stood amid the desolate northern lands. Aside from occupying a larger area, it had no distinguishing features.
Just as the sect was gradually falling into decline, the newly appointed city lord of that generation had a sudden whim.
Since they had so much land, why not make use of that advantage? He began sending out invitations far and wide, drawing cultivators from every corner of the cultivation world to Glutton City... to do business.
That was right: attracting investment.
He drew people to Glutton City to conduct trades.
Because of cultivators' peculiar circumstances, most transactions even now were still conducted through barter.
Whatever one needed, one exchanged for it. Money was usually useless.
But the greatest problem with barter was the information gap.
Perhaps something Zhang San of the Southern Region needed was in Li Si's hands in the Northern Region, while something Li Si needed was in Wang Wu's hands in the Eastern Region. Yet they could not communicate effectively with one another, and none of them could obtain what they needed.
Another important reason for this information gap was that many cultivators did not dare reveal their treasures openly.
A common man was innocent, but possessing a jade ringed guilt around him.
If someone proclaimed across the world what treasures they possessed and what they wished to exchange for, those who came to them would very likely not be merchants, but bandits.
In short, constrained by all sorts of factors, cultivator transactions had been extremely inconvenient at the time.
The emergence of Glutton City provided such a venue, allowing cultivators across the world to list in the city what they possessed and what they needed. Everything was clear at a glance, convenient and swift.
With Glutton City's reputation serving as a guarantee, the information of all traders was kept strictly confidential. Both parties handed their trade items to Glutton City, which verified them before delivering them to each side.
The entire process was simple and safe. Although Glutton City charged steep handling fees, people no longer had to worry about being robbed after the deal. Most cultivators paid the money willingly.
Mainstream cultivators from the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, such as Chu Liang, could not truly appreciate this need firsthand.
Large sects had abundant resources and numerous members. Circulation within the immortal sect was already sufficient. Shushan's Sword Exchange Pavilion and four halls, for instance, handled this part of resource circulation.
Moreover, with a major sect at one's back, there was no need to fear being cheated even when trading with outsiders.
But for the far more numerous non-mainstream cultivators, these were pains that cut to the bone. The emergence of Glutton City was nothing less than gospel.
Of course, establishing such credibility was not something that could be achieved overnight.
Several generations of Glutton City spent hundreds of years before it finally became the trading ground recognized by cultivators across the world, earning a place among the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
In recent years, Glutton City had expanded its business beyond its own mountain gate.
It opened Glutton Pavilions in major cities.
Both sides could trade anonymously from any location, with the Glutton Pavilion handling delivery and leaving them free of all worries.
While conducting this business, Glutton City had not forgotten its own inheritance. It used the enormous funds it earned to arm its sect, and its disciples grew ever stronger.
Glutton City disciples today were famously equipment-focused.
The defining trait was that they were rich.
While the major immortal sects were still competing in technical hard power, Glutton City built credibility, created a platform, handled logistics, then used its early returns to increase its strength and establish its own moat.
From Chu Liang's perspective, Glutton City's entire rise could only be described as professional.
Nothing else happened that night. Early the next morning, after washing up, Chu Liang went next door to find Yun Chaoxian.
He heard roars and shouts from inside. That fellow was bare-chested, practicing punches in his room.
Chu Liang could not help silently grumbling, Do all you muscle-bound brutes hate wearing clothes or what?
After this fellow's clothes had exploded on Hidden Forest Mountain yesterday, he had traveled all the way to Backer City bare-chested. With his upper body naked and a fierce weapon in hand, he had nearly been stopped by the city guards. He had first found a place to buy clothes and wrapped up his great halberd before he could enter the city gates.
"Brother Chu, you're up." Seeing Chu Liang enter, Yun Chaoxian stopped moving and smiled. "I was just about to call for you. I have already tracked down the location of Tianyinbo. Let's go kill that bastard now!"
"All right." Chu Liang smiled. After a pause, he suddenly asked, "Brother Yun, do you know any simple martial arts techniques that are easy to learn? Could you teach me a move or two?"
He had suddenly gained the strength of ten tigers, and it would be somewhat wasteful to possess such physical power without making use of it. If he could learn a couple of quick martial techniques from Yun Chaoxian, that would be even better.
If they were high-level cultivation manuals, he certainly would not casually ask. But for simple beginner moves, Yun Chaoxian probably would not mind teaching him a thing or two.
"Eh?" Yun Chaoxian was rather curious too. "Why do you suddenly want to learn martial arts, Brother Chu?"
"Because... yesterday, when I saw your invincible and valiant bearing on Hidden Forest Mountain, I greatly admired you. It was only natural that I would feel the urge to learn from you." Chu Liang answered with an utterly sincere expression.
"Ehehe..." The moment Yun Chaoxian heard this, he could not hide his delight. He repeatedly waved his hands. "You flatter me, you flatter me. Since you have never practiced martial arts, it will be easy enough to teach you a few beginner moves. What weapon do you usually handle best?"
Chu Liang answered without the slightest hesitation, "A brick."
Yun Chaoxian: "?"
For some reason, writing this book made me nervous every day. Maybe it was because I had expectations for its results. When I started writing my previous book, I did not expect it to achieve anything. I just wrote whatever came to mind, and my mood was actually much better then.
I had actually planned to make some changes with this book. The overall style would not change too drastically, but it would still be somewhat different from my previous book. When I began it, I was worried that old readers might find it less interesting than the previous one. Fortunately, not many people have said that. Up to now, only a handful of comments have mentioned it, which is a little better than I expected.
Progression fantasy and invincible-protagonist stories, long-term pacing and short-term pacing, and toning down the meme jokes—anyway, the reading experience would definitely be somewhat different. But these were all efforts I was trying in hopes of achieving better results. I do not know whether they will succeed, but I have to give them a try.
If anyone feels it is not as good as my previous book, there is actually no need to insist on comparing its opening with an invincible-protagonist story. Just treat it as an ordinary story. If you can read it easily and enjoyably, then keep reading.
The overall atmosphere will still be about spreading joy and spreading love. That definitely will not change.
Before you continue