Lingyun Art

Early the next morning, the entire mountaintop teemed with people. For the Lingyun Sect, today was the unlucky day when they would disband and sell off their possessions, but for cultivators who had nothing to do with them and hung the matter high above themselves, this was a day they had anticipated for a long time.

Leaving aside the major sects and cultivation families, even independent cultivators hoped to pick up overlooked bargains and find decent treasures. Lin Xuan had risen early, but when he arrived at the square, he found it already packed with cultivators.

At the entrance, everyone received another Jade Slip. By channeling spiritual sense into it, they could see the detailed arrangements for the day's events.

The entire Treasure Trade Fair was divided into two parts: auction and free selection. First came the auction. Since the participating cultivators would bid against one another, the items sold were naturally of a higher grade. They included Spirit Tools, tool-refining materials, and beast eggs.

Everyone understood Spirit Tools and tool-refining materials. Beast eggs were the unhatched offspring laid by Demonic Beasts.

As everyone knew, Demonic Beasts, like cultivators, could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and possessed immense Supernatural Powers. Though Demonic Beasts were fierce, they could be tamed. Once they recognized a master, they would never betray them. Many cultivation sects were accustomed to raising Demonic Beasts to guard their gates and protect their mountains.

These beast eggs had been laid by the Spirit Beasts raised by the Lingyun Sect. Since they had yet to hatch and had not recognized a master, they were an excellent bargain to buy.

This showed that the auction items were the Lingyun Sect's true treasures. Ordinary independent cultivators need not even think about them; they would certainly be divided among sects such as Floating Cloud Valley, Fire Spirit Sect, Daofu Mountain, and Heavenly Star Sect. Even the cultivation families could at most pick up scraps and drink a little soup, buying a few low-grade Spirit Tools the various sects had disdained, or worthless beast eggs.

The second part of the trade fair was free selection. So-called free selection was somewhat like the stalls set up by independent cultivators a few days ago, except the Lingyun Sect had sorted the items they intended to sell and liquidate into categories for everyone to choose from.

Although the finest treasures had already been sent to auction, the Lingyun Sect's thousand years of accumulation meant its assets were no small matter. All sorts of low-grade items, even things that Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators might need, could appear.

The various sects were uninterested in these items, while the principal buyers were cultivation families and the wealthier independent cultivators.

The Jade Slip's introduction was very clear, even listing the items for sale in detail. Lin Xuan was delighted; it saved him a great deal of trouble.

Setting everything else aside for the moment, Lin Xuan went straight to the cultivation art category. There was a complete assortment of low-grade cultivation arts, more than ten in all. His thoughts began to stir again. Although Floating Cloud Valley taught low-grade cultivation arts, disciples like him who received little attention were casually handed the most ordinary one and dismissed.

Only a handful of outstanding elite disciples were permitted to learn truly good low-grade cultivation arts.

That was also why, despite having a great quantity of spirit herbs to aid him and cultivating diligently, he had still been unable to break through the fifth level.

Though the Lingyun Sect could not compare with Floating Cloud Valley, that referred to the number of high-level cultivators and the quality of their mid-grade cultivation arts. When it came solely to low-grade cultivation arts, the two sides were actually evenly matched.

Then why not buy an exquisite low-grade cultivation art? His cultivation would become smoother, and his progress faster.

What especially moved Lin Xuan was that, because the square was too small and there were too many participating cultivators, the stalls had become somewhat stretched thin. In order to sell their goods for better prices, the Lingyun Sect had decided to hold two free-selection sessions: cheaper goods would be sold in the morning, while more expensive ones would be sold in the afternoon.

Low-grade cultivation arts belonged to the morning's trading, while mid-grade cultivation arts would be traded in the afternoon. This way, he would not have to worry about losing sight of one thing while attending to another and could choose at leisure.

After figuring out the information described in the Jade Slip, Lin Xuan headed directly toward the place selling low-grade cultivation arts. Since he was buying, he had to move quickly. Lin Xuan did not want someone else to get there first; he wanted to acquire the Lingyun Sect's best low-grade cultivation art and had no interest in the ordinary ones.

He found it quickly. It was in a rather secluded corner, for no other reason than that low-grade cultivation arts were only suitable for Spirit Movement Stage disciples. Not to mention the various sects, even cultivation families mostly looked down on them. Independent cultivators might be interested, but they were poor; even if they barely had enough pills in hand, they would be reluctant to spend them.

Thus, these were items that did not sell well, and the person tending the stall was merely an ordinary low-level disciple.

Hardly anyone came to inquire. Lin Xuan looked over the stall, where more than a dozen Jade Slips were displayed. A young man in his twenties sat behind it.

Heaven-Mixing Technique, Purple Sun Force, Soft Wood Technique...

A label stood before every Jade Slip, clearly stating the cultivation art's name. Lin Xuan examined them one by one, until at last the three words Lingyun Art came into view.

It was quite a coincidence. Back when he had attended lectures at Young Eagle Pavilion, a highly learned Foundation Establishment Realm expert had once commented on the basic cultivation arts of the various sects. Among the seven or eight sects within Yanzhou, their own sect was naturally the strongest, with the most Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators and even a Core Condensation Realm expert like their sect master, Master Yunhe.

But among low-level disciples, the lower-ranked Lingyun Sect was actually no inferior to their own sect, especially its finest basic cultivation art, Lingyun Art. It had its own strengths compared to Flying Cloud Force, the top-ranked low-grade cultivation art of their own sect. The two were evenly matched, both excellent arts for laying a foundation.

Lin Xuan had not paid much attention to those words at the time, but he had always remembered them. That Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator had greatly praised Lingyun Art, so naturally he wanted to acquire it.

He picked up the Jade Slip marked with the words Lingyun Art and sent his spiritual sense into it. After giving it a rough browse, Lin Xuan raised his head and casually asked, "How much?"

"Thirty low-grade Marrow Cleansing Pills." The disciple did not even raise his head.

"Mm." Lin Xuan said nothing. He directly took three jade bottles from his robe and placed them on the stall. Once the other party had counted the pills, he turned and left.

The entire process took less than five minutes. Then, as if nothing had happened, he continued strolling through the market. Compared with the stalls run by independent cultivators, business here was extremely brisk. First, there were more valuable treasures; second, cultivation families had more money than independent cultivators. For this Treasure Trade Fair, they had prepared ample pills in advance and begun snapping up goods.

Lin Xuan did not make another purchase. After wandering about for a while, he returned to the Post House. Acquiring Lingyun Art had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. The main purpose of this trip was still a mid-grade cultivation art containing the Spirit Control Technique. He would conserve his strength and build up his energy; so long as nothing unexpected happened that afternoon, this trip would be complete.