Elder Chen continued discussing the trading rules. He spoke for roughly half an hour and settled the framework for unified trading rules. As for exactly how taxes would be collected and how much would be charged, that would have to wait until everyone returned and discussed it with the higher-ups of their respective sects. Today was only to sound things out first.
Once the trading rules were finished, Elder Chen brought up the matter of resource allocation in the Underground City.
The Underground City lay to the north of the Southern Region, right up against the Northern Region. Inside the Underground City was a kind of spirit ore called Obsidian, an essential material for forging high-level Dharma Artifacts.
In the past, all of this Obsidian had been divided among several major sects. The smaller sects got none, and Rogue Cultivators had no share at all. This year, however, leaders from Rogue Cultivator forces had come to attend the meeting and demanded that the resources of the Underground City be redistributed.
One Rogue Cultivator leader stood up and said a long piece, the gist being that Obsidian could not always be occupied by the major sects, and that the smaller sects and Rogue Cultivators should also receive a portion.
After hearing him out, the representatives of the major sects all remained silent.
Elder Chen stepped in again to smooth things over, saying that this matter could be discussed slowly and that there was no rush to decide it.
The Rogue Cultivator leader still wanted to say something, but someone beside him tugged at him, and he sat back down.
The exchange meeting continued for roughly another hour. Everything that needed to be said was said, and every quarrel that needed to be had was had, but in the end, no result