Chapter 393: The Trading Society Begins

After the group sat down in the main hall, Chen Jinliang chatted casually with Huang Shengxin and the others for a while. They spoke only of daily cultivation topics, and from time to time, he would offer pointers to the few Foundation Establishment cultivators present.

Seeing this Jin Dan ancestor acting so approachable, the nervousness Song Qingming had felt upon meeting him slowly and naturally faded away.

It seemed the rumors outside were indeed true. Although this Chen Laozu of Mount Tuoyun possessed profound cultivation, he was not arrogant like other high-tier cultivators who looked down upon those of lower tiers. Even when speaking to a young Foundation Establishment cultivator like Song Qingming, who was many generations his junior, he was extremely amiable. It was no wonder so many rogue cultivators enjoyed living long-term at the foot of his Mount Tuoyun.

Being able to receive pointers from a Jin Dan True Person at such close range was no easy feat. Even the simple, casual advice Chen Jinliang offered Song Qingming was of great benefit to him.

It was a pity that time passed too quickly. Song Qingming felt as though he hadn't been sitting in the hall for long when a youth in green robes suddenly walked in. After whispering a few words into Chen Jinliang's ear, Chen Jinliang soon stood up to bid everyone farewell.

Seeing that Chen Laozu had departed, Huang Shengxin led Song Qingming and the others to leave Jin Yunge as well. Afterward, they temporarily rented a few cave dwellings on the mountain to await the Mount Tuoyun Trading Society, which was to be held in ten days.

As the time for the trading society drew nearer, the number of high-tier cultivators on Mount Tuoyun slowly increased. Among these people were those from cultivation families in the north of Song Guo, rogue cultivators who roamed the Fuyun Mountain Range, and many who had traveled specifically from even further away in the west.

During the waiting period, Song Qingming accompanied Huang Siyuan to Jin Yunge several times. Just as Huang Siyuan had said, Jin Yunge was filled almost entirely with second-tier spiritual items and above. Furthermore, because Chen Laozu was an alchemist, the entire second floor of Jin Yunge was stocked with all kinds of second-tier elixirs. Song Qingming even saw some rare spiritual pills refined by Chen Laozu that he had never encountered in Pingyang County, which nearly dazzled his eyes.

Although he saw many spiritual items that interested him in Jin Yunge, Song Qingming had not brought many spirit stones with him to Mount Tuoyun this time. In order not to miss out on even better spiritual items at the trading society, he chose only to purchase a few elixirs that could boost the cultivation of late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Fortunately, there were many Foundation Establishment cultivators at the trading society this time. To liven up the atmosphere of the society in advance, Feng Hede specifically organized a few small-scale exchange meetings for cultivators of the same tier.

Song Qingming took this opportunity to trade his few surplus second-tier magic tools and the few second-tier mid-grade talismans he had been carrying for over two thousand spirit stones. Added to the spirit stones he had brought from home, he now had nearly ten thousand spirit stones. His storage bag slowly grew plump, and Song Qingming felt more confident about the upcoming trading society.

The most important thing for Song Qingming in coming to Mount Tuoyun was to purchase a formation disk of second-tier mid-grade or higher. Having been a second-tier formation master for these years, his formation skills had not improved much. This time, he wanted to see if he could take advantage of the family's opportunity to upgrade their spiritual vein to improve his own formation skills.

Setting up a spirit-gathering formation to upgrade a spiritual vein was considered the simplest type of formation. Most formation masters chose to start with this simplest formation to improve their skills. However, to set up a second-tier mid-grade spirit-gathering formation, Song Qingming was still missing a formation disk of the same tier.

The set of common formation flags and formation disks Song Qingming carried with him were only second-tier low-grade, which was barely sufficient for setting up a second-tier mid-grade spirit-gathering formation. The urgent priority for Song Qingming was to first upgrade this set of equipment he possessed.

Days passed quickly, and soon it was the first day of the Mount Tuoyun Trading Society. Early in the morning, just as Song Qingming finished his daily cultivation and walked out of his rented cave dwelling, a series of crisp bell and drum sounds suddenly rang out across Mount Tuoyun.

By the time Song Qingming followed Huang Shengxin to a huge flat area on the mountaintop, many cultivators gathered from the foot of the mountain had already assembled there, along with many disciples and followers under Chen Laozu of Mount Tuoyun who were already maintaining order at the scene.

The entire flat area was over a hundred zhang in radius and was divided into three sections, large and small, like steps from inside to outside. On a high wooden platform in front of the mountain wall, there were several long wooden tables. On the larger platform below, over a hundred wooden chairs of various styles were arranged in a circle, and further down was a huge open space.

As a veteran Foundation Establishment cultivator who had attended the trading society several times, Huang Shengxin naturally knew the rules of the Mount Tuoyun Trading Society. He led Song Qingming and the others directly to a row of wooden chairs in the middle of the second platform and found a front-row seat to sit down.

Seeing the surrounding empty wooden chairs gradually being filled by Foundation Establishment cultivators walking over, Huang Siyuan couldn't help but exclaim, "I remember that only sixty or seventy Foundation Establishment cultivators came to the last trading society. I didn't expect so many chairs to be prepared this time. It seems Chen Laozu has invited quite a lot of people this time!"

Huang Shengxin narrowed his eyes and stared straight ahead, saying, "In past trading societies, it was common for the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators to fluctuate. But this time, there are actually a few extra tables placed above. This is truly strange. Could it be that besides Senior Ma, Chen Laozu has invited other Jin Dan True Persons to this trading society?"

Hearing Huang Shengxin say this, Song Qingming also cast his gaze toward the high platform in front. According to what Huang Shengxin had said earlier, those qualified to sit on the long tables facing the crowd and be on equal footing with Chen Jinliang were naturally other Jin Dan cultivators.

The Jin Dan cultivator with the best relationship with Chen Jinliang near Mount Tuoyun was naturally the ancestor of the Ma family of Tiexian Valley, Ma Hongshan. Ever since this Ma family ancestor formed his core, he had personally attended every trading society held by Mount Tuoyun to help Chen Laozu hold up the scene. This trading society would naturally be no exception.

Soon, after Chen Jinliang appeared and sat in the primary seat at the front, a tall, middle-aged man with a somewhat graying beard and a rugged appearance also sat at a table to Chen Jinliang's right. Behind this man stood several young-looking cultivators, all of whom had cultivation bases at the Foundation Establishment stage or above.

"Fellow Daoist Li, is the person above likely Senior Ma from Tiexian Valley?"

"Indeed. When I first participated in the trading society decades ago, I also saw Senior Ma once. Our Mount Tuoyun and Tiexian Valley have been helping each other for hundreds of years. During the last Northern Border beast chaos, Chen Laozu once led us to support Tiexian Valley. It is actually within expectations that Senior Ma would come to this Mount Tuoyun Trading Society."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 394 =====