Chapter 64: Heavenly Gang Thirty‑Six Methods Fragment

It's okay, the gathering is mainly for Trading items, the environment doesn't matter.

The silent Wei Yang smiled calmly, lifted the table that had been split in two and pressed the halves together; she placed her palms over the crack, and a bone‑chilling white mist instantly spread, with specks of ice crystals re‑binding the table.

Pop! Pop!

Shuigu Tang immediately slapped the table twice with her hand, and seeing the table not budge, gave Wei Yang a thumbs‑up.

Seeing this, everyone grabbed the logs, gathered around the table, sat down one by one, and prepared for today's Trading activities.

However, perhaps because no one took the lead, the atmosphere was a bit awkward; everyone was looking at each other, and ultimately they all fixed their eyes on the 'first player of the second batch', Chen Shicheng.

Helpless, he could only set an example for the crowd, taking the three items prepared for Trading out of the storage.

"These are the items I prepared for Trading. The first are Spiritual Medicines that boost Attributes, ten in total, each enhancing a different attribute. If anyone needs them, they can be exchanged for items of equal value."

Realizing he already possessed thousands of taels of gold, he quickly added, "Of course, I don't need gold or silver or the like."

As soon as Chen Shicheng finished speaking, he noticed everyone's eyes burning toward him—more precisely, toward the ten Spiritual Medicines before him.

A few newcomers were fine, but the elders of over ten levels each stared at those Spiritual Medicines as if their eyeballs might stick, giving him a strong sense of insecurity, and he instinctively glanced at the nearby Shuigu Tang.

As it turned out, Shuigu Tang's gaze was no less intense than anyone else's—she was just about to reach out and take them.

When Chen Shicheng looked at her, Shuigu Tang licked her lips enviously and said, "Did you uproot an entire pharmacy from some cultivation sect? How could you have so many?"

"Just luck, all luck," Chen Shicheng said, glancing sheepishly at the Gray Immortal Hui Siye, who sat on his shoulder with eyes closed, meditating.

"Hey, the stuff's great, but it's just too good—we can't afford to trade for it."

"Indeed, had I known earlier, I would have brought more good stuff."

Si She and Wu Ma Chan nearly had tears slip from the corners of their mouths, but because of the Ganjiang couple, they didn't place much importance on this Trading, so they brought nothing valuable and could only give up in disappointment.

Seeing the crowd's regretful faces, Chen Shicheng really wanted to ask, are these items truly that expensive?

But to maintain his lofty image, he could only sigh inwardly and continue promoting the other two Trading items: "The second item is a Qi Refining technique true solution that can raise a cultivation method's level by one; the third is..."

Chen Shicheng glanced at the small handful of ash in his hand and, a bit embarrassed, said, "Ash of an unknown creature can heal certain injuries, and when added during Elixir brewing it has a small chance to improve the Elixir's quality."

Unlike the earlier reaction, after these two items were introduced, the crowd showed little interest.

Although cultivation techniques are essential for every player, the technique's level holds no real meaning for them; once learned, they can defeat monsters and level up, so the level itself is irrelevant.

As for the ash, aside from Si She, nobody gave it a glance; several ladies even shifted their bodies, trying to stay farther from the small pile of black ash.

"Crunch, crunch."

Under the terrified gazes of the ladies, Si She dabbed a bit of ash on his finger, put it into his mouth, closed his eyes to taste it, and said, "It does improve Elixir quality, but it requires so much that mixing it into the furnace could actually lower the Elixir's quality—it's a chicken‑rib."

"Got it—either too pricey or too useless!" Chen Shicheng thought to himself, then signaled that his display was finished, and it was the next turn.

Sitting directly behind him was Chen Long.

He tapped the table repeatedly with his index finger, thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I hadn't planned to trade anything today, so I didn't bring any valuable items, but since Zi Shu has already shown his gems, I can't drop the ball."

"So, I'll share some information with everyone as an apology from this old man; this intel is still quite valuable to all of you present."

Chen Long saw everyone perk up their ears to listen, nodded appreciatively, and said, "Since you all have come here, it means you know that a hidden palace has been discovered inside Bu Xian Shan; such a dungeon‑like place yields good rewards once entered."

"Tomorrow morning is the day the hidden palace will be fully excavated, but as far as I know, the national team seems to be planning to book the entire venue.

The national team is also coming here and intends to book the whole place? This news left Chen Shicheng stunned—so domineering?"

Others were also unusually surprised, apparently not expecting the usually gentle national team to change its approach toward players.

"You mean we came all for nothing and can't even enter that hidden palace?" Wei Yang asked, a bit displeased.

"Not exactly; I heard this is to train reserve members of the Cultural Tourism Bureau Logistics Department of C City, so they made an exception to compete with players for pioneering rights, but they won't drive everyone out. They eat meat; we can still have some soup," Chen Long quickly explained.

"Question!" Mao Tu raised a hand and asked, "Is the national team's name really Cultural Tourism Bureau Logistics Department? Why is it called that?"

"The specifics are unclear, but rumors say that because the game falls under the cultural department and we're like crossing into another world, it's called Cultural Tourism Bureau Logistics Department."

After Chen Long finished answering Mao Tu's question and seeing no further queries, he gave Wei Yang a slight chin lift, indicating he was done.

It was Wei Yang's turn; after a hesitation she produced a jade tablet and looked at Chen Shicheng, "I have an accidentally acquired Skill 'Earth-Pointing Steel', a Spell completed from the Heavenly Gang Thirty‑Six Methods Fragment. Its effect is still unclear—could I trade some Spiritual Medicine with Zi Shu?"

"Trade, that's a good thing!"

Before Chen Shicheng could speak, the ever‑hidden Hui Siye suddenly transmitted a voice via Divine Perception, his mouse‑like eyes fixed on the jade tablet in Wei Yang's hand.

Chen Shicheng, expression unchanged, nodded, took the jade tablet from Wei Yang, and used the Eye of Bai Ze to assess its Attribute.

【Earth-Pointing Steel: Completed from the Heavenly Gang Thirty‑Six Methods Fragment, it can harden soil to steel, countering Earth‑Travel Evasion, preventing drilling into ground, evading without moving, and shifting without displacement.】

The Skill matches what Wei Yang said; indeed it is a fragmentary completion of the Heavenly Gang Thirty‑Six Methods.

However, regarding its effect—Chen Shicheng knows the Heavenly Gang Thirty‑Six Methods contain many over‑godly abilities, such as Manipulating Creation, Shaking Mountains, and Radiant Ground Light, whose names alone sound formidable.

As for Earth-Pointing Steel, he doubts it's merely filler; aside from soft‑material hardening, it lacks the merit to be part of the Heavenly Gang Thirty‑Six Methods.

Nevertheless, since Hui Siye spoke up, he chose to believe the Skill is worthwhile, as the Gray Immortal has an innate keen sense for treasures.

(End of Chapter)