Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During those three days, Ye Chen and the others rarely ventured out. Aside from Shi Meng occasionally visiting the tavern out front to gather information, most of them cultivated quietly in the courtyard, adapting to this world's environment. Lin Qingxue and her two attendants seized the time to restore their vitality, and their injuries had mostly healed.
As expected, the Blood Skull Stronghold intensified its inspections throughout the valley. Several groups even pretended to wander casually near the courtyard where Ye Chen and the others were staying to investigate, but Mo Yu discovered them beforehand and either deftly led them away or intimidated them in secret. No direct clashes occurred. Ye Chen paid them little mind. As long as they did not provoke him, he could not be bothered with these ants.
His attention rested more on the Nameless Fragment tucked against his chest. After he entered Greenstone Valley, its unusual reactions grew increasingly pronounced. Whenever night fell and the valley's formations lit up, its faint directional pulses became especially clear, pointing straight toward the Many Treasures Pavilion.
That made him look forward to today's exchange gathering all the more.
At dawn, the sky remained a murky yellow. Ye Chen left the courtyard for the Many Treasures Pavilion at the valley's center, accompanied by Ye Yun, Ye Ling, and Ye Xiaoshan, who had insisted on coming to "broaden his horizons." Emperor Xuanwu followed unseen, while Shi Meng and Mo Yu stayed behind in case of trouble. After much hesitation, Lin Qingxue decided to join them. She was curious about the "exchange gathering" Ye Chen had mentioned, but more importantly, she had a vague feeling that staying close to him might help her evade the Blood Skull Stronghold's eyes and ears.
The Many Treasures Pavilion was a sprawling five-story stone building, ancient and imposing in design. Two late-stage Golden Core cultivators stood guard at its entrance, their expressions solemn. Today, the area outside was several times busier than usual. Cultivators from across the Wasteland arrived in an endless stream, most at the Golden Core or Nascent Soul level. Occasionally, an aura felt obscure and unfathomably deep, clearly belonging to a Spirit Transformation cultivator concealing their cultivation.
Ye Chen's group immediately drew numerous gazes upon arrival. Their clothing and bearing stood out sharply against the travel-worn cultivators of the Wasteland. Ye Chen in particular, though his aura was restrained, possessed a nobility and composure rooted in his very bones that no one could ignore.
The guards had clearly received instructions. They did not bar the way, instead courteously ushering the group inside.
The pavilion's interior was spacious and brightly lit. The first floor was a regular sales area, displaying all manner of pills, magical implements, and materials. Today's exchange gathering was held on the third floor. They climbed the heavy stone stairs and arrived at a space arranged in a circle, with a display platform at its center and tiered stone seats surrounding it. More than half the seats were already occupied by cultivators conversing in low voices, the atmosphere somewhat tense and wary.
Ye Chen casually chose an inconspicuous seat near the front, and Ye Yun and the others naturally settled on either side of him. Lin Qingxue and her guards sat a little farther back.
Their arrival stirred another faint commotion. Numerous covert strands of divine sense swept over them, but upon touching the invisible barrier surrounding Ye Chen, secretly laid down by Emperor Xuanwu, or Ye Yun's sharp sword intent, they swiftly withdrew, not daring to overstep again.
"Hmph. A few fledglings from who knows where, and they dare join the fun." Not far away, a scar-faced, burly man at the Nascent Soul late stage with a savage aura sneered under his breath. He eyed Ye Chen's group with ill intent, a flicker of lust passing through his gaze when it swept over Ye Ling and Lin Qingxue.
His companion tugged at him and whispered, "Scar Wolf, watch your tongue! We can't see through these people. Don't stir up trouble."
The burly man called Scar Wolf snorted resentfully but ultimately said nothing more. Few who reached the Nascent Soul late stage in the Wasteland were true fools.
As though he had not heard their discussion, Ye Chen calmly surveyed the gathering. His Dual Pupils worked almost imperceptibly, taking in everyone's cultivation and aura. Just as Mo Yu had said, at least five Spirit Transformation cultivators were concealing their cultivation. One aura was cold and obscure, thick with blood fiend qi, seemingly connected to the Blood Demon Sect. Another was upright and peaceful, yet carried a barely perceptible edge, possibly belonging to the Heavenly Sword Pavilion or a similar orthodox sect.
His gaze finally settled on a thin-faced old man in gray robes beside the central display platform. The old man's aura was deep and steady. He had reached the very peak of Nascent Soul great perfection, with half a foot already in Spirit Transformation. Presumably, he was the host here, Old Man Greenstone. At present, he sat with his eyes closed, resting his mind, seemingly indifferent to the undercurrents swirling below.
After roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn, when nearly all the stone seats were occupied, Old Man Greenstone slowly opened his eyes. His calm gaze carried an invisible pressure as it swept over the gathering, and the clamor immediately subsided.
"Thank you, fellow Daoists, for honoring this exchange gathering with your presence." Old Man Greenstone's voice was not loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly. "The usual rules apply: barter for what you need. I shall preside over fair dealings. Forced purchases and sales are forbidden. Anyone who violates this rule makes an enemy of Greenstone Valley."
His words were mild but carried unquestionable weight. The cultivators present, including those at Spirit Transformation, nodded slightly in agreement. Old Man Greenstone's strength and reputation were the keys to Greenstone Valley's foothold here.
"The exchange gathering shall now begin."
As Old Man Greenstone's words fell, a steward of the Many Treasures Pavilion stepped onto the display platform and brought out the first item: a fist-sized piece of ore, crimson throughout and radiating scorching heat.
"Redflame fine gold, three jin and seven liang. An excellent material for forging fire-attribute magical treasures. Offered in exchange for earth-attribute spiritual materials of equivalent value or pills that strengthen the soul..."
The exchange gathering proceeded in orderly fashion. Materials, pills, magical implements, and even jade slips containing incomplete cultivation methods, all rarely seen in the outside world, were presented one after another, prompting rounds of bidding and discussion. Ye Chen mostly watched. These things held little appeal for him. Ever since he entered the Many Treasures Pavilion, the Nameless Fragment against his chest had been giving off a faint warmth and pointing in a clear direction, but its target did not seem to be any of the items on the platform.
Lin Qingxue, on the other hand, watched intently. Whenever pills or materials useful to sword cultivators appeared, interest crossed her face, but after feeling her nearly empty storage pouch, she could only sigh inwardly. The Heavenly Sword Pavilion's current circumstances had left even an inner disciple like her strapped for funds.
As time passed, the items offered grew increasingly valuable, and the atmosphere became ever livelier.
When a steward carried up an unremarkable black wooden box, the Nameless Fragment against Ye Chen's chest, warm all this time, suddenly grew burning hot! Its directional pulses instantly intensified severalfold, locking firmly onto that wooden box!
Ye Chen's spirits lifted. At last!
The wooden box opened. Inside was no radiant treasure, but a palm-sized, irregularly shaped piece of iron, black throughout and utterly lacking in luster. Rust and signs of wear covered its surface. It looked like a fragment that had fallen off some object, ordinary in every way.
"This item..." The steward conducting the exchange seemed uncertain himself. He consulted the jade slip in his hand and explained, "Its origin and material are unknown. Spiritual energy cannot be infused into it, and it cannot be destroyed. Its sole distinguishing feature is its extreme hardness. Even with all our strength, we could not damage it in the slightest. The consignor requests a bottle of Soul-Nourishing Pills capable of stabilizing the Nascent Soul and healing hidden injuries to the Dao foundation, or a treasure of equivalent value."
His words immediately drew a chorus of jeers from the audience.
"A scrap of iron, and they dare ask for Soul-Nourishing Pills? Those are fourth-grade spirit pills that can repair damage to the Nascent Soul. They're worth a fortune!"
"Exactly! And it can't be destroyed? More likely no one wanted to waste the effort trying!"
"Why is the Many Treasures Pavilion bringing out things like this? Isn't it just wasting everyone's time?"
The steward looked embarrassed and turned toward Old Man Greenstone. The old man frowned slightly, seemingly harboring little hope for the item either, and was about to signal that it should be passed over.
Just then, a calm voice rang out:
"I'll take it."
The entire gathering fell silent. Every gaze swung toward the source of the voice—Ye Chen, seated in the front row!
Ye Chen's expression remained placid, as though he were merely buying some insignificant trinket. He casually produced a jade bottle and flicked a finger. The bottle floated lightly toward the display platform and landed before Old Man Greenstone.
"This is a Nine-Turn Origin-Returning Pill. Its healing effects should surpass those of a Soul-Nourishing Pill. It is sufficient to repair damage to the Nascent Soul and stabilize the Dao foundation," Ye Chen said evenly.
A Nine-Turn Origin-Returning Pill?
The audience exchanged bewildered looks. Most had never heard the name. Only Old Man Greenstone's expression changed sharply when he opened the jade bottle and caught a trace of the escaping pill fragrance, refreshing his heart and soul and making even the Nascent Soul within him leap with joy!
With his experience, he immediately judged that the pill's quality far surpassed that of any healing pill he knew! Its value was more than enough to exchange for not merely this scrap of iron, but ten or even a hundred such pieces!
"Th-this young master, are you certain?" Old Man Greenstone asked, suppressing his shock.
"Of course." Ye Chen nodded.
“Deal!” Without the slightest hesitation, Old Man Greenstone immediately sent the wooden box containing the Black Iron Piece to Ye Chen, while carefully putting away the bottle containing the Nine-Turn Origin-Returning Pill, as though afraid Ye Chen might change his mind.
The audience stared, dumbstruck. Trading such a precious pill for a scrap of iron no one could identify? Was this young man mad, or was his wealth so immense that he could squander it at will?
Scar Wolf, who had mocked him earlier, practically had bloodshot eyes. He stared fixedly at Ye Chen, brimming with envy and greed. He was convinced that Ye Chen was an unbelievably fat lamb, dripping with riches and utterly ignorant of the world's dangers!
Ye Chen ignored everyone's gazes and accepted the wooden box. The moment his fingertips touched the cold Black Iron Piece, the Nameless Fragment against his chest gave a faint tremor, as though it had encountered a companion lost for many years.
He understood. This Black Iron Piece was indeed connected to the Nameless Fragment.
Ye Chen's "profligate" act also brought the exchange gathering to a considerable crescendo, while drawing even more attention to him.
Trouble, it seemed, was quietly approaching.
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