Chapter 56: Small Exchange Gathering

After the storm caused by the robbery of the Lingyu Gate's herb garden.

The Jin Yun Valley and Lingyu Gate sects jointly issued a higher-level bounty: any cultivator providing information on the bandits' whereabouts would receive a substantial reward.

It seems they're determined to see this through to the death.

…

A month passed.

Qin Ming was performing the Advanced Spirit Rain Technique in the spirit fields, irrigating the crops.

His message talisman stirred with activity.

"Brother Qin, the small gathering we arranged is about to begin, scheduled for tomorrow—Feng Brothers have returned from their beast hunt."

"Brother Qin, please prepare some items; we can exchange and discuss them then."

The message came from Yan Danshi, his neighbor in the adjacent courtyard.

Qin Ming replied, then pondered what to bring for tomorrow's exchange.

The next day.

Qin Ming arrived as invited.

When he entered Yan Danshi's courtyard, the cultivators from the other courtyards had all already gathered.

"Come, come, everyone, let me introduce you—this is Qin Ming, Brother Qin, from the neighboring courtyard; he is one mid-grade spirit cultivator." Yan Danshi warmly introduced him to the assembled cultivators.

Qin Ming greeted each one in turn.

The Feng Brothers both cultivated to Qi Realm Level Eight; the bald elder was Feng Yuan, the other, a burly man with a scar on his face, was Feng Fan.

Since they spent most of their time hunting beasts outside, they carried a rugged, untamed aura.

Their speech and mannerisms were bold and casual.

The Huang cultivator from the Ding-sized courtyard was originally named Huang Xishan, around forty years old.

Due to years spent around furnace fires, his skin was a deep bronze, he cultivated to Qi Realm Level Nine, and served as the chief armorer of the marketplace's Artifact Hall.

As a high-grade armorer, Huang Xishan had clearly become the center of this gathering.

Several others clustered around him, cultivating familiarity.

After all, befriending such an armoring master meant one might one day need his services for custom weapons.

"Hmph, I won't hide it from you all—my armoring orders are booked through the end of next year."

"But if any of you here have urgent needs, I can expedite your order—I'll give you a ten percent discount." Huang Xishan sat in a rattan chair, his expression haughty, speaking coolly with an air of superiority.

At these words, the Feng Brothers immediately considered commissioning him to forge weapons.

After all, they spent their lives hunting beasts and had no shortage of beast materials to offer.

Their demeanor toward Huang Xishan grew even more courteous.

They addressed him repeatedly as "Master Huang," sounding especially warm.

The final cultivator, from the Bing-sized courtyard, was Lin Zixiao—dignified and imposing, around twenty years old, perhaps four or five years older than Qin Ming.

He was a true beauty: his face was cold and sharp, his long hair loosely tied behind his head with a thin cord.

More remarkably, he was a rare mid-grade formation master.

Lin Zixiao's personality was quite amiable; he smiled as he greeted everyone present.

The cultivators sat on rattan chairs in the courtyard, sipping tea and chatting.

As a spirit cultivator, Qin Ming's mid-grade status was slightly inferior to the others present, all of whom practiced the hundred arts of cultivation.

Added to that, he was a Lingyu Gate laborer under service.

And his magic power was only at Qi Realm Level Five. Their attitude toward Qin Ming was lukewarm—neither actively engaging him nor avoiding him.

After an hour of idle chatter, the exchange began.

Yan Danshi smiled warmly. "Since I proposed this gathering, I'll go first."

He pulled out two vials of pills. "These two bottles: one is Gen Xue Pill—a miraculous healing medicine; any non-fatal wound can be healed, even regenerating flesh from bone."

"The other is Ju Ling Pill—a mid-to-late stage spirit-enhancing pill."

"If any of you have sufficient spirit stones or equivalent items, feel free to trade."

Qin Ming glanced curiously at the Gen Xue Pill—he had never seen this healing pill before. It was recorded in pill texts and among the few difficult mid-grade pills to produce.

The Ju Ling Pill, however, was of ordinary quality.

Still, it proved Yan Danshi had considerable skill in pill refinement—after all, he could produce several of the most difficult mid-grade pills.

Soon, the Feng Brothers purchased both vials with spirit stones.

Next came the Feng Brothers' turn to display their trade items.

Elder Feng Yuan took from his storage pouch a demon core and a pair of claws, placing them on the table. "This is the demon core and claws of a late-stage Stage One beast, the Xuan Shui Crocodile. My brother and I went through great trouble to kill it. If any of you have anything valuable, show it—perhaps we can trade."

He then watched the others' reactions.

"I have a mid-grade artifact, the Bind Beasts Rope. If you agree, we can exchange." Huang Xishan seemed very interested in the two items.

Feng Yuan and Feng Fan exchanged glances, hesitated, then said: "Master Huang, could you add a bit more? These are materials from a late-stage Stage One beast—they can even be used to forge high-grade artifacts."

"That's my bottom line." Huang Xishan fell silent, his expression slightly displeased.

Hearing this, the Feng Brothers grew awkward.

At that moment, Lin Zixiao took from his storage pouch a set of formations and smiled: "I have here a Minor Li Fire Formation—a mid-grade offensive formation. Would this exchange for your two beast materials?"

"It's the Minor Li Fire Formation!" The Feng Brothers' faces lit up; they nodded eagerly in agreement.

Even Huang Xishan, the high-grade armorer, subtly changed expression, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

Qin Ming understood the Minor Li Fire Formation—it was said to be the most devastating offensive formation among all mid-grade formations, and it was area-of-effect, with tremendous power.

Crafting this formation required an extremely high level of formation mastery.

"I didn't expect Brother Lin could even craft the Minor Li Fire Formation—remarkable!" Yan Danshi gave him a thumbs-up in admiration.

The cultivators present echoed one another, raising their estimation of Lin Zi.

Lin Zi smiled and replied modestly, "These are mere trivial tricks, not worth mentioning."

The Feng brothers, beaming with joy, took the array disk of the Minor Separation Fire Array from Lin Zi's hands, completing the transaction with him.

The cultivators grew even more curious and eager to see what item Lin Zi would offer next in exchange.

After putting away the beast materials, Lin Zi...

... calmly retrieved a palm-sized chessboard from his storage bag, its surface covered densely with black and white pieces.

The moment this object appeared, everyone was left baffled.

One by one, they wore expressions of confusion and incomprehension.

Qin Ming also observed the chessboard with curiosity; after pondering for a while, he indeed failed to recognize its value.

Among the crowd, only Huang Xishan, a high-grade artifact refiner, wore an expression of deep, strained contemplation.

After a long while...

... his eyes suddenly widened, and he spoke in disbelief: "C-Could this be the long-lost Two-Inversion Illusion Array?!"

PS: Thanks to all fellow Daoists for your monthly tickets and recommendation tickets; thank you!

(End of Chapter)