Undercurrents Stir

An antique-style restaurant, with bluish-green sandalwood incense burning slowly.

Inside the room, smoke filled the air as two cultivators dressed in the Li Family robes slowly entered from outside.

Inside, a middle-aged cultivator looked at the two with a serious expression.

"Have you inquired about Xiang Yu and Xiang Fei?"

"Reporting to Lord Qi, I have already questioned all the Rogue Cultivator who run the market guide business, and none of them match the Ye Family. In addition, I have also investigated even those suspected of being fake rogue Rogue Cultivator!" The taller Li Xiangyu reported with his head bowed.

"Keep investigating, the Ye Family will definitely come!" Li Yufu continued.

"Seventh Master, isn't the Ye Family short-handed? Their arrangements in Taihang Marketplace are somewhat lacking!" Li Xiangfei asked, puzzled.

"Not enough manpower? Hmph! Every year, the Ye Family reports to the sect that they have the most Lineage cultivators who have fallen!"

"The Ye Family controls Spirit Beast, yet they live worse than us in the Taihang Mountain Range. Do you think that's possible?" Li Yufu said irritably.

"Last time, your Grand Duke went to Soaring Cloud Peak, Ye Haicheng had a high chance of breaking through. This time, the major Lineage aren't worried about the Ye Family buying Foundation Establishment, but rather about the Ye Family buying Purple Palace Jade Liquid!"

"Ye Haicheng is Body Cultivator!" Li Yufu said worriedly.

"If a breakthrough is achieved, even the minor tyrants of Taihang Marketplace will change!"

Li Xiangyu and Li Xiangfei instantly alerted, feeling a sense of lingering fear.

"Also, pay close attention to the Chu Family. The Chu Family's patriarch, Chu Tianfen, has a wonderful daughter who has managed to marry Mingyuan of the Taiyi Sect!"

"The third Purple Mansion Lineage in Taihang Marketplace must be our Li Family, do you understand?"

"Understood, Seventh Master!" Li Xiangyu and Li Xiangfei both nodded.

"You two are both close to the ninth level of Qi Refining. Well done! The Foundation Establishment the Lineage bought this time are yours!"

The two were overjoyed as Li Yufu finished speaking.

In recent years, the Li Family has lost two Foundation Establishment cultivators, which has made Li Family Foundation Establishment combat strength somewhat insufficient.

This is also the purpose of the Li Family's presence here.

They must ensure that two of the Foundation Establishment distributed by the Taiyi Sect fall into the hands of the Li Family.

Only then can the Li Family's former glory be restored.

With the auction approaching, the number of Rogue Cultivator and cultivators in Taihang Marketplace has also increased.

Meanwhile, the market managers from the Xu Family and Mo Family families also began to summon the heads of the Lineage to appear together at the Mo Clan Restaurant.

Inside the luxurious hall, spiritual fruits and teas were placed in front of each Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The spirit fruit is First-Tier Superior-Grade spirit fruit, and the spirit tea is an even First-Tier Superior-Grade Red Fragrance Tea.

Various kinds of spiritual food were also laid out in front of the table.

Jiang Jinghe, the head of the market, sat at the top, followed by the heads of the six major Lineage.

"Everyone, the sect has already distributed the six Foundation Establishment. However, for the other treasures at this auction, we still need the various Lineage to raise funds. This auction must be a grand success!" Ward Master Jiang said emphatically.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the six family heads, including Ye Xingliu, all changed.

According to previous reports, the budget for this project was eight Foundation Establishment Pills.

Now, suddenly there are six, meaning that the six major Lineage can only have one on average. But two are Purple Mansion Lineage and four are Foundation Establishment Lineage, so how could they possibly be on average?

However, although everyone was dissatisfied, there was nothing they could do, as Jiang Jinghe was the head of the workshop appointed by the Taiyi Sect.

They were cultivators from the Taiyi Sect, and while embezzlement had happened before, this was the first time they had ever embezzled two at once.

"Ward Master Jiang, is there anything unusual about this auction?" Li Muhe, the head of the Li Family, couldn't help but ask.

This matter had a huge impact on the Li Family.

After all, the Li Family urgently needs new Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Nothing unusual. Does Fellow Daoist Li have any unusual reports?" Jiang Jinghe inquired.

"Furthermore, to ensure the safety of the Foundation Establishment, this time, I would like to trouble each of you to send two Foundation Establishment cultivators to remain and guard the market!"

"The Ye Family can use a second-tier Spirit Beast instead!" Ye Family Jiang Jinghe said, seemingly noticing Ye Xingliu's worsening expression.

"The Ye Family has no objection to this matter. Besides, these are treasures that the Ye Family needs to auction. Previously, the Ye Family auctioned a problematic Bloodheart Pill. This time, I hope everyone will let the Ye Family bid more and earn more Spirit Stone. Otherwise, a thorough investigation will not be good for anyone!" Ye Xingliu first agreed with Jiang Jinghe's words, and then changed his tone.

The sects take 30% of the market revenue, while the six major Lineage control the remaining 70%!

If the Ye Family wins more bids, it will naturally take away the quotas from other Lineage.

This time, none of the other three Foundation Establishment Lineage objected!

The Xu Family and Mo Family families were the same; they simply handed over their Jade Slip, their eyes filled with deep thought, but they rarely spoke.

"Then it's decided. The safety of the market these next few days depends on everyone!" Jiang Jinghe said.

In a deserted valley, swarms of Blackwood Ant marched forward.

Behind the Blackwood Ant lies a considerable amount of wild animal meat.

When the Blackwood Ant burrowed into a cave, a large underground hall suddenly appeared.

There were many cultivators in the hall at the moment. Ye Xingyu was in the very center, while Ye Jingyong and Ye Jingli were on the sides.

"Seventh Brother, how is it?" Ye Xingyu asked Ye Xingqun.

"It's nothing. The Chu Family's defenses have become much lax, probably because of the auction!"

"Furthermore, I discovered that the Chu Family raises Fire-Pattern Rabbit in Jade Separation Valley. These rabbits are exceptionally beautiful, and their meat is incredibly delicious!"

"The Chu Family has truly put in a great deal of effort!" Ye Xingqun exclaimed, a slight smile appearing on his face.

"Seventh Brother, we'll have to trouble you to investigate this matter again. Although Taihang Marketplace involves two Foundation Establishment cultivators, and Taichang Market probably has Foundation Establishment who have left, the Chu Family has developed quite well in recent years. We must find out the truth!" Ye Xingyu said.

Ye Xingqun nodded and let a few more Blackwood Ant crawl out.

Several cultivators also went to their respective Stone Chamber to meditate and recover.

At this moment, Ye Xingyu respectfully looked at a cultivator wearing a Spirit-Isolating Robe behind him.

The other party nodded, and Ye Xingyu immediately felt much more at ease.

Ye Jingcheng visited the street stalls in Taichang Market almost every day, and on the third day, he also set up a stall there.

The stall was spread out with a spirit cloth, inside which were several jade bottles.

These were pills refined by Ye Jingcheng. This time, he was mainly selling Azure Spirit Pill, Huiqi Pill, and Qi Recovery Pill Ice Clarity Pill.

The side products are more varied, including first-grade low-level Qi-Nourishing Pills to enhance cultivation, first-grade mid-level Qi-Blood Pill to restore injuries, and the most common Grain Avoidance Pill.

The huge flow of people in the market, coupled with Ye Jingcheng's honest pricing, resulted in excellent sales.

"How much is this Azure Spirit Pill?" a clear female voice asked.

Ye Jingcheng looked up and saw Xu Xiuqing, dressed in a blue dress, squatting down.

Against the backdrop of the crimson sunset, Xu Xiuqing's eyes shone brighter than ever before.

But that brightness vanished in an instant, turning into doubt.

"Ten Spirit Stone each, buy five and get a two- Spirit Stone discount!" Ye Jingcheng said.

"Give me ten!" Xu Xiuqing said, then handed over a bag containing ninety-six Spirit Stone.

Ye Jingcheng handed the two pill bottles to the other party, who then made a swiping motion on Ye Jingcheng's palm.

Ye Jingcheng's eyes turned cold.

A hint of disappointment appeared in Xu Xiuqing's puzzled eyes.

Ye Jingcheng took out the powder from his Storage Bag and rubbed it in his hand, as if he was afraid that Xu Xiuqing had poisoned him.

Xu Xiuqing was even more disappointed.

"I'm sorry, Fellow Daoist Tang, I have offended you. I was reminded of an old friend, and I apologize to you."

"Your old friend's Spirit Root are also incompatible?" Ye Jingcheng asked doubtfully.

Xu Xiuqing shook her head, then looked at a sign next to Ye Jingcheng.

"I have some poisonous flower seeds here. If you want them, I can sell them to you!" Xu Xiuqing said, then opened her palm.

A small jade box appeared, now completely black.

Through the Black Jade, one can still vaguely see more than thirty black seeds inside.

"Fellow Daoist Tang, this seed is called the Black Cloud Flower. Once mature, it will gather Cloud Miasma, which is quite harmful. It would be excellent as the first line of defense for a mountain and river Array!"

"I'll give it to Fellow Daoist Tang as a token of gratitude for the life-saving favors you and Lord Ling showed me last time!"

"There's no hope!" Ye Jingcheng took the black jade box and then threw the cloth bag he had just received directly to Xu Xiuqing.

The Black Cloud Flower is a level higher than the Purple Illusion Flower, belonging to the First-Tier Superior-Grade poisonous flower. However, although the Black Cloud Flower produces a lot of miasma, it only blooms once every three years.

Otherwise, it would be even more valuable.

Actually, sixty Spirit Stone would have been enough for Ye Jingcheng.

However, at this moment Xu Xiuqing wanted to leave again, so he threw all ninety-six of them over.

Xu Xiuqing didn't want to accept it, but then she saw Ye Jingcheng's jade box also preparing to be handed over.

Xu Xiuqing then put away the bag she had taken out earlier and disappeared at the end of the street market.

Ye Jingcheng shook his head, feeling somewhat helpless; a woman's intuition was indeed accurate.

He felt that the other person had already figured it out when they touched his hand.

Because the way she touched Ye Jingcheng's hand was very similar to how Ye Jingcheng touched the head of the Golden-Scaled Beast before.

As for old friends, they've already made it quite obvious that they're testing us.

Now, he could only hope that Xu Xiuqing would understand that they didn't want to be recognized.

Ye Jingcheng then set up his stall for another hour. After packing it up as usual, he strolled around the market again. The square was even more crowded now.

The results were quite good.

Make him find all the advanced spirit medicine for the Five Poison Bee!

If it weren't for Taichang Market, Ye Jingcheng would have wanted to go back and start the furnace immediately.

My mood has improved.

When he returned to the small house, he found that Xu Xiuqing was not there. Ye Jingcheng went inside, and Ye Haiyi also looked over.

"Hao Bo, there's an Alchemist exchange meeting in three days. You should attend it. Also, don't set up your stall for the next two days; take good care of yourself!" Ye Haiyi said.

This made Ye Jingcheng nervous again. He thought it was because of Xu Xiuqing, but the next moment, Ye Jingcheng saw Ye Haiyi open Array again, this time even more thoroughly!

His gaze became more serious.

"Activate the runes!" Ye Haiyi flipped his hand, and the Beast-Link Mark flashed slightly. Ye Jingcheng also nodded and released his Beast-Link Mark for a moment!

Ye Haiyi felt much more at ease and took out a Storage Bag and a Spirit Beast bag for Ye Jingcheng!