Obtaining Another Fragment, Surveying the Market

For the Cheng Family, this ancestral fragment holds a rather awkward position.

It's important, but after all these years, nobody really knows what its purpose is.

When the clan faces danger, a Talisman or even a Spirit Stone is more useful.

You could say it's unimportant, but it's been passed down for hundreds of thousands of years, and it even has symbolic meaning.

To deny it would be to deny our ancestors throughout history.

In particular, the Cheng Family has not produced Golden Core for thousands of years, and has basically become an ordinary Foundation Establishment Family.

This single remaining fragment is almost the only testament to their Lineage's glory.

For a long time, this problem has deeply troubled the current clan leader Cheng Shi.

But in the early hours of this morning, while he was still in the arms of his seventh concubine, half-asleep, he was suddenly awakened by several sect Elder who inquired about the ancestral fragments.

He immediately made a wise decision.

That was to readily admit that the matter had indeed occurred, and to retrieve the fragments as quickly as possible and hand them over.

Before he could figure out what was going on, the fragment was put back into his hand.

Immediately afterwards, the group led him to the Azure Sea Immortal Sect and informed him along the way that they would be taking him to pay respects to a True Lord.

Heaven have mercy, this is the first time in Cheng Shi's life that he has seen a living True Lord.

In the past, he had only seen these lofty and important figures in storybooks or portraits.

That led to the remarks about offering tribute.

"Don't be nervous, I won't take your things."

As Xiao Chen reached for the fragment, he first waved his hand, gesturing, "Cheng Shi, right? Please sit down and have a drink... um, wait a moment."

He had originally intended to suggest having a cup of Spirit Tea.

However, the tea on the table was Fourth-Order Spirit Tea, and given Cheng Shi's wrinkled face, he was clearly quite old; if he actually drank it, he would probably be too weak to handle the nourishment.

So they changed their tune at the last minute.

Then he lowered his head and began to carefully analyze the fragments in his hand.

This is a fragment only the length of a little finger, completely black, without any trace of inscriptions.

It doesn't seem to be part of Law Treasure; rather, it looks more like a fragment of a damaged Spirit Artifact or an unfamiliar spiritual ore.

Xiao Chen first tried to probe into it with his Divine Sense, but he couldn't detect anything unusual.

It's as if he has a rare and precious spirit ore in his hand.

He then tried to infuse it with true essence, and initially there was almost no extra reaction; it was merely able to absorb a lot of true essence.

This continued until Xiao Chen continuously injected approximately one hundred strands of true essence.

On one of the surfaces, Spiritual Pattern faintly appeared, but since it was a fragment, the Spiritual Pattern vanished almost instantly.

Fortunately, with the powerful Divine Sense of Nascent Soul True Lord, the pattern was still captured in time.

It is very similar to the other Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield fragments from before, almost certainly from the same source.

No wonder no one noticed anything unusual for so many years; the requirements for detecting this thing are just too high.

It should be noted that the true essence strength of Nascent Soul True Lord is generally more than five times that of Golden Core cultivator.

If someone like Xiao Chen possesses special methods to enhance the quality of their true essence, the effect can be more than ten times greater.

In other words, for ordinary Golden Core True Person...

Unless he possesses over a thousand strands of true essence, he would absolutely be unable to discover the hidden Spiritual Pattern within the fragment, and thus unable to confirm its true value.

This resulted in the Cheng Family being unable to effectively utilize this fragment for the past hundreds of thousands of years.

But it is precisely for this reason that this fragment has been successfully preserved to this day.

"Yes, this is exactly what I've been looking for."

Xiao Chen nodded in satisfaction, then asked, "You may not have heard of my bounty before, so let me tell you again."

"If you're willing to sell me this fragment, I can offer one million Low-grade Spirit Stone."

"Rest assured, this transaction is entirely voluntary. Even if you are unwilling, I guarantee I will not make things difficult for you."

Although it sounded a bit fake, that was indeed what Xiao Chen thought.

His main concern was that he believed the price he was offering was high enough.

Even if the other party disregards the strength of the transaction and simply weighs the pros and cons, they will still choose to proceed with the deal.

In fact, Cheng Shi was completely bewildered at this point.

How many Spirit Stone?

One million!

His eyes were first blank, then turned to excitement, and then a hint of unease quickly appeared.

The amount was so large that he could hardly believe it and was somewhat at a loss.

Finally, he subconsciously turned his head to look behind him, his gaze landing on the only person he recognized, the Internal Affairs Elder, as if seeking help.

How should this question be answered?

However, the Internal Affairs Elder did not recognize him, and was somewhat surprised after noticing the seemingly pleading look in his eyes.

At a critical moment.

Iron Fan True Monarch spoke up directly, "Little Cheng, if you are unwilling to sell your ancestral spiritual artifact, no one in our sect will force you."

"If you're willing to accept this deal, then you'll have to thank Daoist Xiao properly."

"To be fair, you won't find another person in the entire Compassion Sea willing to pay such a high price. You've hit the jackpot."

Xiao Chen's offer was indeed very high.

Although there is no established market price for ancient Magic Treasure Fragment, a million Spirit Stone is already more expensive than most Fourth-Order Spiritual Item.

For a small piece of debris, it's definitely worth many times the premium for recycling.

"I am willing, and I thank you for your generous gift, True Lord!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shi immediately knelt down and bowed deeply, saying, "Your True Lord is so generous; I am deeply grateful for your great kindness!"

It wasn't that he was weak-willed; it was simply that as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he had never seen so many Spirit Stone before.

"No need for these formalities."

With a thought, Xiao Chen used his Spiritual Qi to lift him up. "Then it's settled. I'll leave the things behind, and you can take the one million Spirit Stone."

With a wave of his hand, he created a mountain of Spirit Stone on the ground.

As a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Cheng Shi couldn't even fit that many Spirit Stone in his Storage Bag.

In the end, it was Iron Fan True Monarch's Closed-door Disciple who stepped forward and used his own Storage Ring to help him take the Spirit Stone back.

After the people below dispersed.

Xiao Chen put away the fragments and took the initiative to speak, "I have two small matters I'd like to ask for your help with."

"First, I would appreciate it if you could send someone to spread the word about what happened today."

"Secondly, I would like to trouble you to send people to secretly watch over the Cheng Family for a few years, in order to prevent any ill-intentioned individuals from entering."

Iron Fan True Monarch was initially curious. Logically speaking, Xiao Chen could have just given a token amount of ten or 200,000 Spirit Stones, so why go to such lengths?

Upon hearing this, he immediately understood.

It turned out that he was spending A Thousand Gold Buys Horse Bones, hoping to attract other knowledgeable people or cultivators who possessed fragments to come and trade with him.

"Daoist Xiao, rest assured, I will have someone spread the word about today's events in detail shortly."

Iron Fan True Monarch immediately stated, "Furthermore, as long as the Cheng Family do not leave the Azure Sea, I guarantee their safety for the next fifty years."

After all, there are no Fourth-Order great demon appearing on their side.

Simply assigning a few Golden Core Guest Elder to take turns secretly watching over the Cheng Family would be enough to ensure their safety and prevent them from being affected by rumors.

We've sorted out the Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield fragment issue.

Xiao Chen didn't linger and went directly to Azure Sea Market to investigate the situation.

In order not to disrupt the normal operation of the market.

He also deliberately suppressed his cultivation level and took out a bamboo hat to cover his face, disguising himself as an ordinary Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator.

Thus, they discreetly blended into the crowd in the market, quietly searching for spiritual items suitable for making money quickly.

For Xiao Chen, possessing the special ability to travel Two Realms, earning Spirit Stone was not difficult at all.

However, considering the situation in the New Cultivation World, especially the special existence of the Holy City.

If only the simplest reselling and dumping is carried out, it may quickly attract attention.

Therefore, to be on the safe side, Xiao Chen decided to put his eggs in different baskets, that is, to diversify his transactions.

On the one hand, they maintained their business dealings with the Rebellious Immortal Alliance through Zhang Cunfu as an agent.

On the other hand, they changed their tactics and transported an extra batch of spiritual items to sell to Wilderness Cultivators, bypassing heavily monitored areas like Gui Yun Market.

Such actions would not immediately alarm the blessed land and the Holy City, and would also be very difficult to investigate afterward.

However, this means the items sold cannot be too expensive.

We must ensure that most of the relatively Wilderness Cultivators can afford it, and adopt a business strategy of low profit and high volume.

In other words, one needs to find a low-level spiritual item that can be supplied stably and where there is a significant price difference between the two.

"Hey, wait a minute!"

Xiao Chen suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Since dumping goods over there is risky, why not do the opposite and bring those goods here to sell?"

The main goal is to earn Spirit Stone, and it doesn't really matter which kind of Spirit Stone they come from.

For example, that Clear Dew Foundation Establishment Pill that I'd heard about before—it's a truly excellent product!

A single pill can provide nearly 90% Foundation Establishment Success Rate. If they were brought here, they would sell like hotcakes!

Moreover, given Xiao Chen's current status in the Sea of the Compassion Sea.

Even if it is sold openly and honestly, it will not attract the covetousness of others.

Of course, the best way is to work harder and resell on both sides simultaneously.

This way, they can earn more Spirit Stone while also slowing down their activities in the New Cultivation World, making their actions more discreet and less likely to attract the attention of the Holy City.

"This gives me a lot more options."

Xiao Chen quickly made a decision on sixty different Second-Order Spiritual Object after a brief stroll through the market.

They then each purchased a share of 10,000 Spirit Stone, intending to take it over first to test the market.

The reason for bringing so many different spiritual items is that they weren't just the ones that had the biggest price difference when sold individually.

This is because although Xiao Chen doesn't know much about business, he knows that you can't just look at the price difference on the surface; you also have to consider various factors that may affect sales.

The best approach is to select several items and bring them over to try them out.

Then find that truly profitable and easily marketable spiritual item.

Moreover, Xiao Chen remembered that Zhang Cunfu had said before that if too many of the same things appeared on the market in a short period of time, it would greatly affect the price.

Therefore, from the very beginning, he planned to select several types of spirit items that were both highly profitable and easy to sell.

The impact can be mitigated as much as possible by sharing the costs.

At the same time, Xiao Chen doesn't need to worry about the problem of too many kinds of spiritual objects causing confusion.

Because he also had a tool he had prepared beforehand— Chen Fan.

Logically speaking, how could a dignified Nascent Soul True Lord really disguise himself and go sell Second-Order Spiritual Object?

At most, I'd just go along to scout out the location at the very beginning, just in case.

Once things are on track, we'll definitely hand this matter over to Chen Fan.

After all, he is now Golden Core cultivator, and he should be more than capable of handling large quantities of Second-Order Spiritual Object in the future.

Moreover, Xiao Chen trained him precisely so that he would have a reliable subordinate to handle these trivial matters for him.

But speaking of this...

If he's going to start dumping Clear Dew Foundation Establishment Pill here in the future, he'd better find someone to use as a tool.

Xiao Chen had originally been somewhat inclined towards the Jade Leaf Commerce Association.

But given the current situation, we definitely need to find someone else.

To be honest, he knows quite a few people in the Compassion Sea, but excluding the True Lord and Zen Master, the number is actually not that many.

Su Li definitely won't do.

Zhang Shouquan is already at the fourth level, so he's not easy to invite. Besides, even if he were willing to come, the cost would be too high.

Or should we just go find Chu Tianze?

That kid is probably still in the Foundation Establishment; paying him a little extra money should be enough.

Moreover, he would most likely not refuse if I asked.

However, Xiao Chen felt it was a waste to ask him to do these trivial things; it would be better to let him go out and take risks.

Who knows, it might bring me a surprise someday.

"That's right, I can ask him and Zhang Shouquan to help find the remaining Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield fragments!"

A thought flashed through Xiao Chen's mind, "Given their Fortune and destiny, they should be able to discover these High Antiquity relics more easily than other cultivators."

"Why were we so focused on the bounty that we forgot about this?"

It's common knowledge that people like them could one day just walk out and buy Ancient Magic Treasure from a street stall.

Collecting a fragment is a piece of cake; it's a breeze.

The more Xiao Chen thought about it, the more he felt he was incredibly clever to have come up with such a brilliant idea.

So he decided to take a detour to the Ink Barrier Sect later to explain the mission to Chu Tianze.

However, this also ruled him out.

Who else would be suitable to help sell Clear Dew Foundation Establishment Pill?

Xiao Chen tried hard to recall the cultivators he had encountered before, expanding his pool of potential candidates.

Why not let Cloud Cliff True Person of the Azure Sea Immortal Sect take charge?

Or perhaps we could ask Ruan Lingchun and her Ruan Family for help?

Or perhaps we should go find Wang Shichang, the Sword Abode Disciple who knows how to repay kindness?

To be honest, none of them seem quite right, but it seems like there aren't any better candidates.

"Forget it, why should I worry about the future?"

Xiao Chen shook his head. "We can consider this issue after we return with the Clear Dew Foundation Establishment Pill."

If you don't think about it, there will be no worries in the world.

He turned and easily went to the Golden Silk Market: "One hundred servings of Golden Silk Glaze Pastries... um? No, I should say one hundred servings of all flavors of pastries."

ah?

The shop manager was taken aback by what he heard, and then gave him a wary look.

After carefully considering his tone, he explained, "I'm really sorry, sir, but our shop doesn't have that many raw materials, nor do we have that many portions of pastries."

"If you're willing to wait a bit, we can buy it and make it right away."

"However, the prices of many kinds of spiritual materials in the market have skyrocketed recently, and we have just opened for business."

"So even if you're willing to wait, you'll have to help pay for the spiritual materials first."

"Due to the limited circumstances, I am truly sorry for any shortcomings in our hospitality."

He did this simply because he was worried that the masked stranger wouldn't be able to pay the bill.

However, seeing that the other person had an extraordinary demeanor, and fearing that speaking directly would cause trouble, he made up an excuse.

"No need for that trouble, the Spirit Stone are all here."

Xiao Chen waved his hand dismissively and paid the full price according to the notice board next to him. "Hurry up and arrange for someone to go and buy the things."

"After you're done, deliver the pastries you've made to... Let me think... I'll just deliver them to the Azure Sea Pavilion over there."

"I'll say hello to them."

The manager's brow twitched upon hearing this; he immediately realized that this was a powerful individual who had concealed his identity.

It might be an Elder from the Azure Sea Immortal Sect secretly patrolling the market.

Therefore, they dared not delay in the slightest and immediately began to mobilize manpower to prepare the pastries as quickly as possible.

What he thinks is irrelevant.

After leaving the Golden Silk Market, Xiao Chen first went to the Azure Sea Pavilion to reveal his identity and gave instructions regarding the pastries.

Then I left through the back door and, while making pastries, went straight to the Ink Stone Market.

In the past, such a round trip would have taken at least half a month, and it would have taken only two or three days to fly out of the Azure Sea.

However, now that Xiao Chen's escape techniques have become increasingly proficient, nearing completion, his speed has also become incredibly fast.

They arrived at Ink Stone Market smoothly in just two days.

First, find the market manager and explain your purpose to avoid any misunderstandings.

Immediately, a massive Divine Sense expanded, ignoring the warnings of the array and plundering the entire market area.

He was lucky; he soon spotted Chu Tianze in a small courtyard, where he was inscribing Formation Pattern patterns on the Array Foundation.

So he went straight there and knocked on the courtyard gate.

I don't know what mischief this kid was up to, but as soon as he heard the knock on the door, he pricked up his ears like a rabbit and became alert.

He put away the Array Foundation in his hand and took out an Formation Flag in the backhand to ensure that he could command the array that had been set up in advance in the courtyard at any time.

Then, alertly, he asked, "Who's knocking?"

"This is Wu Da Lu's Residence. Fellow Daoist, you haven't come to the wrong place, have you?"

His voice sounded like that of a middle-aged man, completely lacking the brightness that a young man should have.

Xiao Chen was taken aback by the question. If he hadn't already seen the person with his Divine Sense, he would have thought he had gone to the wrong place.

He then called out directly, "Young Friend Chu, it's me."

"Stop pretending, I have something important to discuss with you."

Chu Tianze recognized Xiao Chen's voice and immediately lowered his guard, quickly opening the courtyard gate to invite him in.

Then, curiously, he asked, "Senior Xiao, what brings you here?"

"I merely picked a spirit medicine herb; surely that shouldn't have alarmed you, sir?"

Oh wow, there's a story behind this!

Xiao Chen said, "Why is he so nervous in broad daylight? He must have done something bad!"

But that's not the point.

He looked Chu Tianze up and down.

I remember the last time we met, this kid had just broken through to the Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that he had actually reached the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer.

Moreover, his aura was calm yet sharp, and his Qi and Blood Concentration was slightly higher than normal.

This rate of progress is remarkably fast, even compared to my own initial Cultivation Speed.

Xiao Chen increasingly felt that he could build a relationship with him and make an investment while he was still young and inexperienced.

It doesn't take much effort at all.

Thinking of this, he immediately snorted, "Hmm? Who are you calling old man? Do I look that old?"

"You're the one I brought here, so you don't need to be so polite with me."

"You can call me 'senior' if you want, or 'big brother' if you want; it's up to you."

"But there's one thing: you're not allowed to use my name to cause trouble."

Upon hearing this, Chu Tianze's eyes lit up, and he immediately followed up by saying, "Hello, Brother Xiao!"

Xiao Chen smiled and nodded, thus concluding the reminiscing session.

He then directly stated his purpose. "I came to see you mainly to ask you to keep an eye out for a fragment of an Ancient Magic Treasure."

To help him understand better.

Xiao Chen also gave a detailed explanation of the information about the Ancient Magic Treasure and what exactly the Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield was all about.

Midway through the conversation, she also took out the Ancient Sword Sheath she had recently acquired and introduced it to him.

In conclusion, "In short, many fragments are still missing."

"If you come across any other fragments of the Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield, or any other remnants related to the Ancient Sword Sheath, please keep an eye out for them for me."

"Ideally, we could bring it back directly."

"I won't let you work for nothing."

"Whether it's Spirit Stone, Purple-Gold Bodhi Fruit, or various Breakthrough Spirit Item, everything is negotiable."

If you're short of money, I can give you an advance.

Chu Tianze's eyes lit up when he heard about this good news.

He immediately agreed, "It's a deal. Brother Xiao, you can't lie to me!"

In truth, collecting Ancient Magic Treasure was no easy feat, and he wasn't entirely confident about it.

This is especially difficult for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

But think about the renowned Fourth-tier Mysterious Item, the Purple-Gold Bodhi Fruit, and then think about the Breakthrough Spirit Item that ordinary cultivators fight tooth and nail for.

Chu Tianze felt that even the greatest difficulties could be overcome with a try.

After a moment's consideration, he even said, "Brother Xiao, if possible, I'd like to ask you for an advance of 100,000 Spirit Stone."

"Then I'll use this money to improve my cultivation and refine my array techniques."

"I think only by improving my strength can I better conduct the search next."

To be honest, Chu Tianze, as a self-taught Array Master, is currently worried that the huge cost of cultivating arrays is something he can hardly afford.

As a result, he made many enemies while competing for resources outside.

If we could obtain these Spirit Stone, it would greatly alleviate our current financial difficulties.

"Of course, no problem!"

Xiao Chen readily agreed, then placed 200,000 Spirit Stones in the courtyard. "And I can give you double."

"However, I have other things to do, so I may not have time to come often."

"Let's agree on a secret code."

"That way I'll come and take a look whenever I have free time. If you find any fragments, leave a mark for me."

The two then briefly discussed and agreed on a method for Secret Mark.

Xiao Chen didn't linger and set off again to return to Azure Sea Market.