Cloud Gathering Commerce

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Cloud Gathering Commerce
Original Name	雲集商會
Alias(es)	Cloud Gathering Commerce Guild
Occupation/Role	Commercial power dealing in spiritual objects, inheritances, intelligence, auctions, and cultivator services
Founder(s)	Shan Gu and Xie Yuanrui 238
Headquarters	Cloud Gathering Mountain Range, Cloud Prefecture City 163
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 48

History

Cloud Gathering Commerce began as the family business of Shan Gu's Shan Family. After Shan Gu and the outsider Xie Yuanrui joined forces, they established the Commerce's prototype rather than affiliating with existing Core Formation powers. Its contribution-based structure attracted rogue cultivators with specialized skills, allowing it to expand into a major force in Cloud Prefecture City and Yun Province within roughly a century. Xie Yuanrui's later advancement to Late Nascent Soul further secured its position. 238

The Commerce entered Azurewood Sect territory during Yao ZhengSheng's Core Formation Grand Ceremony, where Shan Qin hosted a major auction featuring a High-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill, Soul Nurturing Pill, and Dustfall Pill. Its financial power, Core Formation backing, and interest in the Azurewood Sect's inheritance immediately drew attention from local factions. 48 49 50

It subsequently established a long-term base near Bright Moon Market and opened a local branch. The branch collected surrounding free spirit qi to raise its internal environment from a First-Order Spirit Ground to the richness of a Second-Order Spirit Ground, while its shop openly displayed goods—including Foundation Establishment Pills—with marked prices. 51 61

Organization

Leadership

Position	Known Holder(s)	Notes
Guild Master	Shan Gu	A Great Core Formation cultivator, Fourth-Order Pill Master, and one of the Commerce's founders. 161 162 171 238
Senior figure / former co-founder	Xie Yuanrui	An outsider to Yun Province with Fourth-Order Alchemy; his Late Nascent Soul advancement established the Commerce's dominance. 238
Core Formation elder	Miao Lishan	Shan Gu's disciple who handles extensive internal and external Commerce affairs. 161 171
Pill Hall Chief Manager	Du Longfeng	Fourth-Order Pill Master; later retired and was succeeded by Wei Zhong. 171 206
Core Formation elder	Yu Tianze	Mid-stage Core Formation cultivator and a special-seat elder. 164 171
Auctioneer / senior representative	Shan Qin	Hosted the Azurewood Sect ceremony auction and later managed Commerce affairs during Miao Lishan's seclusion. 48 182

Halls and Internal Structure

The Commerce's principal halls are the Pill Hall and Artifact Hall, supplemented by smaller divisions including the Talisman Hall, Tea Hall, Array Hall, and Puppet Hall. 163

• Pill Hall — handles pill refinement, medicinal resources, and pill-related allocations. Its resources were reduced by 10% to support the Artifact Hall's puppet project. 162
• Artifact Hall — refines magical artifacts and pursues large-scale puppet development. It uses assembly-line production for components and encourages open technical criticism among refiners regardless of rank. 162 170
• Puppet Hall — associated with the Commerce's puppet techniques and its collaboration with Artifact Hall refiners on Fourth-Order Puppets. 163 170
• Elder Council — part of the Commerce's governing hierarchy. 163
• Special-seat elders — high-status members recognized for exceptional ability or cultivation; Wei Zhong later became one of six. 237

Rather than relying solely on cultivation rank, the Commerce formally values contribution and specialized capability. Skilled artisans can gain influence and advancement opportunities, while combat-focused rogue cultivators may also be recruited for duties such as escorting valuable goods. 75 94 238

Operations

Trade and Auctions

Cloud Gathering Commerce sells a broad range of spiritual objects, including pills, spirit herbs, magical artifacts, cultivation inheritances, and brewing methods. It stated that, given sufficient Spirit Stones, it could provide second-order inheritances in pills, arrays, artifact refinement, and winemaking. 51

Its auctions attract cultivators from Qi Refining to Core Formation. During the Azurewood Sect grand ceremony, its seating was divided into ordinary seats for Qi Refining cultivators, middle seats for Foundation Establishment cultivators, and private rooms for Golden Core forces. 48

Notable auction lots include:

• High-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill — sold for 6,000 Spirit Stones. 48
• Soul Nurturing Pill — contested by the Azurewood Sect and Rakshasa Sect; acquired by the Azurewood Sect for 13,000 Spirit Stones. 48 49
• Dustfall Pill — a pill that improves the chance of Core Formation by 1–3%; sold for 42,000 Spirit Stones. 49
• Second-Order Array — purchased by Wei Zhong for 4,000 Spirit Stones. 49

Contribution Point System

The Commerce uses an internal contribution-point system for scarce items that cannot be reasonably priced in Spirit Stones. Members earn points through commercial profits, recipe exchanges, assigned work, and rewards from senior members. 67

• Contribution points can be exchanged through a member's token for cultivation methods and rare spiritual objects. 67
• The Spring Autumn Water Refining Art fragment, covering Qi Refining through Core Formation, was listed for 3,000 contribution points. 67
• Higher-order items may be exchanged through confidential barter listings rather than fixed prices. Members can display their rank, desired items, and offered goods through the token system. 138 155
• The Commerce protects the identities of participants in these high-level exchanges. 138

Intelligence and Information

The Commerce trades intelligence alongside physical goods. Its information network spans multiple prefectures and is regarded as highly comprehensive; its cloud-marked intelligence reports are treated as reliable by its members. 94 159

It also gathers information on major events and opportunities, including Secret Realm rumors, regional faction movements, the Demon Race's incursions, and the spiritual-energy disaster connected to collapsing Secret Realms. 132 191 223

Security and Logistics

The Commerce maintains formations, guards, merchant Flying Boats, and escort personnel to protect its interests.

• Soaring Sky Formation — activated around Bright Moon Market during an Azurewood Sect disturbance; it trapped numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators within a ten-mile area. 66
• Guest Elder token defense — the White Jade Token carries a passively triggered Third-Order defensive spell capable of withstanding one Core Formation strike at most. 67
• Merchant Flying Boats — Commerce members can form arrays to resist attacks, though one such vessel was ambushed by organized robber cultivators. 69
• Following the Wang Family infiltration incident, the Commerce strengthened formation checkpoints and placed Core Formation cultivators in charge of entrances and exits. 180

Membership

Guest Elders

Guest Elder status is offered to cultivators with valuable skills or combat ability. The position grants considerable freedom and does not impose mandatory tasks in ordinary circumstances. 67 87

• Wei Zhong / Chu Zhong — accepted as a Guest Elder after providing the Jade Forest Green spirit-wine recipe; his token initially recorded nine contribution points from the recipe's proceeds and exchanges. 67
• Hu Yang Daoren — joined after achieving Core Formation. 68
• Ling Ziwei — served as a Guest Elder and Formation Master; she was later summoned to assist with formation deployment during the Demon Abyss crisis. 223
• Tantai Lin — held a Guest Elder token as a combat-capable Core Formation cultivator and performed escort work for the Commerce. 94

The Commerce recruits talent but does not automatically intervene in a member's personal conflicts. When Wei Zhong sought protection from Azurewood Sect coercion, its Bright Moon branch declined direct involvement because the dispute exceeded ordinary business competition. 61

Wei Zhong's Integration

Wei Zhong initially maintained only a loose relationship with the Commerce, using it for trade, information, inheritances, and a Guest Elder identity. 160 162

His relationship deepened after he demonstrated Fourth-Order pill refinement, artifact refinement, and puppet-crafting ability. He received a Hundred Weapons Token granting high status in the Artifact Hall and joined the collaborative Fourth-Order Puppet project. 169 170

After advancing to Core Formation, he returned to the Commerce Guild, selected a Fourth-Order Spirit Ground, and replaced the retiring Du Longfeng as Pill Hall Chief Manager. 206 His later output of pills, artifacts, and technical instruction elevated his standing to near the top of the organization. 213

Fourth-Order Puppet Project

Cloud Gathering Commerce invested substantial resources into producing Fourth-Order Puppets, combining the efforts of Artifact Refiners, Puppet Crafters, and assembly-line workers. 154 162

• Component production was divided among numerous refiners, with individual workers engraving portions of each puppet component before it moved to the next stage. 162
• Huang Yunqi and Zhuge Zhao were key Fourth-Order Artifact Refiners in the project; Zhuge Zhao's puppet techniques complemented Huang Yunqi's artifact-refining expertise. 162
• The Artifact Hall's collaborative model allowed Third-Order refiners to openly challenge and improve the proposals of Fourth-Order masters. 170
• Wei Zhong's participation helped raise the project's success estimate to 60%. 182
• The finished Fourth-Order Puppet was later displayed as a refined humanoid weapon with built-in magical artifacts and rune formations. 210
• Wei Zhong, Huang Yunqi, and Zhuge Zhao later completed a Fourth-Order Mid-Grade Puppet together. 215

Relationships

• Azurewood Sect — commercial rival in Mangyuan Prefecture; the Commerce established a base in its territory and obtained the Spring Autumn Water Refining Art to preserve peace after the Dustfall Pill incident. 50 51
• Wang Family — one of the four major Core Formation powers surrounding Cloud Prefecture City; relations include banquets, trade, political tension, and competition for opportunities. 171 180
• Shadow Moon Sect — neighboring major Core Formation power; one of the forces drawn into the Luohe Prefecture Secret Realm opportunity. 132 171
• Crimson Flame Society — neighboring major Core Formation power and participant in regional competition. 132 171
• Puyang Family — maintains business ties with the Commerce; Xunyang Zi was explicitly described as a Commerce business partner. 168
• Lin Hai Ice Palace — invited to join the Commerce but declined, fearing that full incorporation would dissolve the sect into the Commerce's structure. 203
• Demon Race — an adversarial force during the Demon Abyss crisis; the Commerce mobilized Formation Masters, increased pill reserves, and supported Human Race preparations. 180 223

Notable Assets and Locations

• Cloud Gathering Mountain Range — the Commerce's core territory, extending hundreds of miles and containing First- through Fourth-Order Spirit Grounds, spirit-stone and spiritual-material veins, and active earth fire for pill and artifact refinement. 163
• Cloud Gathering Market — an outer market spanning multiple peaks, open to rogue cultivators and other powers for the sale of Commerce goods. 163
• Bright Moon Market branch — a local commercial branch near Azurewood Sect territory with an enhanced spirit-qi environment. 61
• White Jade Guest Elder Token — membership credential, contribution-point interface, and defensive magical artifact. 67
• Hundred Weapons Token — Artifact Hall credential recognizing Wei Zhong's Fourth-Order Artifact Refiner status. 169 170