The outer sect of the Azure Wood Sect.
Deep within Xu Xuan's courtyard.
Spiritual light flickered faintly in a newly built secluded chamber.
Several unremarkable storage bags lay piled before him.
Their mouths were slightly open, revealing neatly stacked talismans, bundles of sinking ironwood, and some specialty spirit herbs from Hundred Fragrance Valley.
All of these had been quietly transported from Hundred Fragrance Valley and its surroundings through the secret channels established by Xu An and the others.
At Liu Yun's direction, the entire Xu Household was cooperating to support Xu Xuan's cultivation.
Spiritual power flowed around his fingertips as he swiftly placed different divine sense marks on these goods.
These marks were not for tracking.
Instead, they served as credentials for making contact with different "sellers."
Xu Xuan would never appear in his true guise to conduct transactions.
Night fell, the moon hidden and the stars sparse.
Xu Xuan altered his appearance, becoming a weather-beaten middle-aged man dressed in coarse hemp clothing.
He restrained his aura to the early Meridian Opening stage, quietly left the sect, and returned to Cloudmist Market.
He did not go to the Qian Talisman Stall or the Gold and Stone Studio.
Instead, he found a street corner with a decent flow of foot traffic and spread out a piece of coarse cloth.
He laid out some talismans bearing specific marks, along with sinking ironwood.
His prices were slightly below market rates, but not so low as to arouse suspicion.
"Fine Azure Wolf Hide Talismans! Reliable power at an affordable price!"
"Hundred-year-old sinking ironwood! Solid and sturdy, excellent material for artifact crafting!"
Xu Xuan's voice was hoarse now. His calls were not loud, yet they carried an inexplicable quality.
Soon, rogue cultivators short on funds and cultivators drawn by the low prices stopped to ask about his wares.
Xu Xuan answered fluently, knowing the properties of his goods like the palm of his hand. He conducted his transactions briskly.
Before long, he had sold just under half.
Meanwhile.
Another batch of spirit herbs from Hundred Fragrance Valley, bearing different marks.
Was quietly sold at the other end of the market by Xu Ping after changing appearances.
These spirit herbs were of excellent quality, yet their prices were no different from ordinary stock.
Buyers from several pill shops quickly took a liking to them and bought up the entire lot.
For several days in a row, Xu Xuan, Xu Ping, and the others took turns.
Changing identities and locations, they sold their goods in batches.
They did not attract much attention.
The spirit stones in Xu Xuan's possession were also increasing rapidly.
However, he knew full well that selling piecemeal like this was not a long-term solution.
It also risked exposing him.
Xu Xuan had already made plans for this.
That day, he changed his appearance and found a small shop in Cloudmist Market that was about to close down.
After bargaining with its original owner, he finally took it over for eighty low-grade spirit stones.
The shop was small and out of the way, but it came with a tiny rear courtyard.
After acquiring the shop, Xu Xuan did not rush to open for business.
Instead, he had Xu Ping find several honest herb garden laborers whose families were impoverished.
He summoned their family members here, promised generous pay, and signed spiritual contracts with them to serve as shop assistants.
Through Li Jiangping's connections, he also obtained a valid business permit from the Steward Hall.
Li Jiangping thought little of it.
Half a month later, a small shop named the Cloud Arrival Trading House quietly opened.
An elderly man from the Xu Household served as its shopkeeper under an assumed name, telling outsiders his surname was Fang.
The shop had several assistants and mostly sold common low-tier talismans, ores, and spirit herbs.
The quality was decent and the prices fair, but there was little that stood out.
Naturally, this was not where Xu Xuan intended to amass wealth.
Instead, it was for selling goods and gathering supplies.
Goods transported from Hundred Fragrance Valley converged here through different channels.
They were then sold "normally" by the trading house.
The talisman-making materials and cultivation supplies Xu Xuan needed could also be purchased discreetly through this channel.
At the same time, it began buying scraps of information about the Southern Wilds and the qi of Heaven and Earth on a small scale.
His authority as a steward afforded him considerable convenience.
Taking advantage of information gaps, Xu Xuan knew where goods were produced cheaply and where demand was pressing.
Though the Cloud Arrival Trading House's business showed neither mountain nor water, its profits were quite substantial.
More importantly, it provided the Xu Household's younger members with a legitimate gathering place and cover on the outskirts of the Azure Wood Sect.
Xu Xuan remained in the sect, directing operations from afar.
Through Xu An, he continually sent spirit stones, low-tier cultivation methods he had collected, and pills back to North Ridge Mountain to help Xu Ziyu train their clansmen and explore the Southern Wilds.
Xu Ziyu had received secret orders from Xu Xuan.
Over these years, he had continually searched outside for people with spiritual roots, then arranged for members of the Xu Household to marry them, either taking wives or marrying into their families.
Whenever a child with a spiritual root was born into the household, a substantial reward was granted.
The cultivation supplies needed by direct-line clansmen with spiritual roots were also gradually catching up.
They generally had Meridian Opening cultivation.
It was just that the Xu Household's foundations were shallow, its members had cultivated for relatively few years, and its accumulated resources were insufficient.
Still, compared with Xu Daocheng's time in Xu Xuan's previous life, things were already far better.
And all of this was simply because Xu Xuan had entered the Azure Wood Sect in this life.
A single disciple of an immortal sect could establish a lineage.
It had been so for Yuan Qiu, and it was so for Xu Xuan.
Of course, more people in immortal sects were unwilling to establish lineages.
They preferred to travel farther down the road to longevity and see the scenery higher up.
That day, Shopkeeper Fang sent back a message through a secret channel.
"Proprietor, rumors have been circulating in the market recently that the conflict between the Azure Wood Sect and the Profound Sword Gate is intensifying. The sect is stockpiling large quantities of bloodstaunching vine and adamantine sand, and prices are already showing signs of rising."
When Xu Xuan received the message, a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.
Bloodstaunching vine was a primary ingredient in healing pills, while adamantine sand could be used to repair and reinforce formations.
Before troops and horses moved, provisions went ahead.
This move by the sect happened to confirm the talk that it was preparing for war.
Xu Xuan pondered for a moment, then immediately issued orders.
"Stop selling the bloodstaunching vine and adamantine sand in stock."
"Find a way to purchase a batch secretly and stockpile it in the trading house's hidden storeroom."
"Send word to Xu An as well. Tell Hundred Fragrance Valley to plant as much bloodstaunching vine and gather as much raw adamantine sand ore as possible."
"Use every available channel and buy aggressively!"
Sure enough, fewer than five days later.
The sect's Mission Hall officially issued a purchase order.
It sought large quantities of these two materials, at prices twenty percent higher than market rates!
The Cloud Arrival Trading House released part of its stock at just the right time.
It both profited from the price difference and met the sect's needs, without attracting anyone's attention.
This sale alone recouped all the money spent on the earlier purchases.
He now had considerably more funds available, and he was in no hurry to sell.
Prices are still low right now. Once the fighting really starts, these materials will see another sharp surge!
He drew up a plan and instructed those under him to sell in batches.
Meanwhile, he also watched price fluctuations in other strategic supplies.
Although others in the market were doing the same thing, it did not disrupt Xu Xuan's pace.
He would not keep too many spirit stones on hand.
Most were exchanged for pills, formation disks, or high-tier talismans that could directly strengthen his combat power.
In the secluded chamber, Xu Xuan sat cross-legged.
The newly purchased Essence Condensation Pill lay before him.
The pill entered his stomach and dissolved into a warm current, nourishing his Yellow Court.
With the trading house reopened, a channel for income has begun to take shape...
Still, on the path of cultivation, I must rely primarily on myself. While searching for the qi of Heaven and Earth, I must also raise my cultivation...
He slowly closed his eyes. Spiritual energy gathered around him as the five elements cycled.
He steadily advanced toward the late Yellow Court stage.
The signboard of the Cloud Arrival Trading House hung quietly in a corner of Cloudmist Market.
Like its owner, who showed neither mountain nor water.
It quietly gathered strength amid the surging undercurrents of the cultivation world.