Chapter 456 - 429: The Pavilion Master of Nanyuan District

Chapter 456: Chapter 429: The Pavilion Master of Nanyuan District

Starting from Luoxia Port, he followed the coastline south.

By evening, a small harbor nestled between cliffs came into view.

Nanyuan District.

The harbor wasn’t large, with enough space for only seven or eight mid-sized ships to dock at once. The pier was built from rough, black reef rock—crude, but sturdy. Dozens of stone chambers of varying sizes had been carved into the cliffs on either side of the harbor, arranged in tiers climbing up the rock face. These formed the main structure of the marketplace.

A faded blue cloth flag, devoid of any pattern or text, hung at the entrance to the highest level of stone chambers.

Li Yuan descended from the top of the cliff, following the carved stone steps.

The marketplace was much smaller than Mist Forest Marketplace or White Mirror Marketplace, but it was livelier than he had expected. About thirty or forty Cultivators were coming and going on the stone steps. Most of them appeared to be in the Early-stage or Mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, and they were primarily dressed in the coarse, short shirts common to Shuizhou locals.

But a few different people were mixed in among them.

One tall, middle-aged Cultivator wore a deep blue robe sewn from sharkskin, with a seashell-shaped Token hanging from his waist. His skin was tanned a deep bronze by the sea wind and harsh sun, and white salt stains from years of soaking in seawater were visible between his fingers.

Two others were even more conspicuous. A man and a woman, opulently dressed. The man wore a brocade robe embroidered with a silver wave pattern, while the woman wore a necklace of verdant green coral. Both had the aura of Late-stage Foundation Establishment, but their Spiritual Power carried a salty, briny tang that Li Yuan had never sensed from land-based Cultivators.

’Cultivators from island factions.’

Li Yuan walked past them impassively, continuing down the stone steps to the marketplace’s mid-level trading area.

The trading area stretched horizontally along the middle section of the cliff. The facades of a dozen or so stone chambers had been knocked through and connected, forming a short, wide commercial street. Shelves were filled with all sorts of marine Spiritual Materials, Water Element Magical Artifacts, and pills.

The biggest difference from land-based marketplaces was the near-total absence of Fire, Earth, and Metal Element materials.

Li Yuan walked slowly along the shelves, his gaze sweeping over every item.

Deep Sea Coral, Tidal Pearls, Merfolk Scales, Sea Nourishing Algae, Ice Silkworm Silk. All were Water Element or ocean-related Spiritual Materials. The quality was uneven, but the variety was exceptionally rich.

Conversely, not a single piece of the most common terrestrial materials—Fire Crystal Stones, Spirit Silver Ore, or Star Sand—could be seen here. Even the most basic Spirit Grasses and Spirit Medicines were pitifully scarce.

In a corner of the shelves was a small area dedicated to terrestrial Spiritual Materials. A few stalks of mediocre-quality Qi Gathering Grass and Peiyuan Grass were displayed in the most prominent spot, their prices nearly three times the market rate in Liangzhou Marketplace.

The supply and demand were completely out of balance. Marine Spiritual Materials were piled up like mountains, while terrestrial resources were scarce to an absurd degree.

Li Yuan continued forward, stopping at the entrance of a stone chamber tucked away in a corner.

Inside the chamber was a low table, on which sat a few Water Element Magical Artifacts: a short, aqua-blue blade, a small shield covered in Scales, and a fist-sized, deep-blue sphere.

The entry perception within a three-foot radius was triggered.

Li Yuan picked up the sphere.

The moment it touched his palm, an incredibly gentle stream of Water Spiritual Power seeped out from the sphere’s surface, spreading up the meridians in his arm. It felt cool and dense, like dipping his hand into a living spring.

"That’s called a Jade Tide Sand Compression Sphere." The stall owner inside the chamber, a dark-skinned young Cultivator at Early-stage Foundation Establishment, spoke without looking up. He was squatting in a corner, mending a fishing net. "It’s raw ore dug from layers of Jade Tide Sand on the seabed. This is what it looks like after being compressed and shaped. It’s mainly used to charge Water Element Magical Artifacts, but it can also be used as a cultivation aid."

"How much?"

"One hundred Spirit Stones. This thing isn’t worth much at sea, but if you take it back to the mainland, the price will at least double."

Li Yuan didn’t haggle. He directly took out the Spirit Stones from his storage pouch to complete the transaction.

The stall owner took the Spirit Stones, counted them, and put them away with satisfaction.

Li Yuan held the Jade Tide Sand Compression Sphere in his palm, and the panel appeared.

[Equippable Item Detected: Jade Tide Sand Compression Sphere (Intact)]

[Equipment Entry Preview: Tidal Compression (Green)]

[Effect: Increases Water Magic condensation speed by an additional 10%; slowly replenishes Spiritual Power when underwater.]

[Perma-fusion Condition Preview: Accumulate sixty days of living in a sea region (0/60)]

[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace a currently equipped item?]

’A green entry. Both effects point to Water Element combat power and underwater endurance.’

Li Yuan placed the Jade Tide Sand Compression Sphere into his storage pouch and continued walking down the commercial street.

The farther in he went, the more obvious the scarcity of terrestrial Spiritual Materials became. Several stalls had handwritten acquisition notices, with information scrawled in crooked characters offering high prices for various types of terrestrial Spirit Grasses and Spirit Medicines.

One stall was even offering five times the market price for Peiyuan Grass, with a note on the side that read, "Buying as much as you can supply."

Li Yuan silently made some calculations in his mind.

’The warehouses of Mist Forest Marketplace are piled with large quantities of low and mid-tier Spirit Grass. Many of these varieties are already oversupplied in the Liangzhou market, with razor-thin profit margins. But if they were transported to Shuizhou to be sold, the profit margin would at least triple.’

’The problem is the transportation cost. The consumption for crossing the Spiritless District is not insignificant, and the spirituality of Spirit Grasses continuously decays after leaving a Spiritual Qi environment. Ordinary Loose Cultivators don’t have the means to conduct this kind of inter-state trade. Only Cultivators with special methods or large merchant guilds can afford it.’

’But I have a Teleportation Array.’

’It only takes a few breaths to travel from Liangzhou to Mozhou via the Teleportation Array, and from Mozhou, it’s at most a day’s journey over the high mountains into Shuizhou. The Spirit Grass can be kept fresh in Sealing Spirit Jade Bottles for the entire trip, so the loss of spirituality would be almost negligible.’

’The profit from this trade route would be extremely substantial.’

As Li Yuan was calculating, a steady footstep sounded from behind him.

’Golden Core.’

Li Yuan turned around.

A middle-aged Cultivator of average build was walking toward him along the commercial street. He wore a gray-white cloth robe and had an ordinary face with no distinguishing features. But the Spiritual Power around him was like the still water of a deep pool—calm on the surface, but containing an extremely profound power beneath.

’Early-stage Golden Core.’

’This must be the Loose Cultivator Golden Core Pill Refiner that the Su family’s steward mentioned—the Pavilion Master of Nanyuan District.’

The man’s gaze paused for a moment as he passed by Li Yuan.

"From another state?"

His tone was flat. It didn’t sound like an interrogation, but more like a casual confirmation of something he had already guessed.

Li Yuan nodded.

"Liangzhou."

"Liangzhou," the middle-aged Cultivator repeated, his gaze lingering on Li Yuan for a moment longer, as if he were trying to size him up.

’A Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator from Liangzhou, traveling thousands of miles across the Spiritless District to a small marketplace at the southernmost tip of Shuizhou... this isn’t something an ordinary Loose Cultivator could do.’

"I am Li Yuan, Pavilion Master of Mist Forest Marketplace," Li Yuan stated his identity.

A flicker of interest appeared in the middle-aged Cultivator’s eyes.

"Pavilion Master?"

"It’s a marketplace on the outskirts of Liangzhou’s Ghost Mist Forest. It’s not large. We primarily deal in pills, Talismans, and Magical Artifacts," Li Yuan said concisely. "I came to Shuizhou this time to procure marine Spiritual Materials and to see if there are any opportunities for collaboration."

The middle-aged Cultivator was silent for a few breaths, then extended his hand.

"Zhou He. Pavilion Master of Nanyuan District."

The two briefly shook hands on the stone steps of the commercial street.

Zhou He’s palm was dry and warm, his Spiritual Power contained, with no hint of probing.

"Come, let’s go sit up top." Zhou He turned and walked toward the stone chamber on the highest level of the cliff, and Li Yuan followed.

The highest-level stone chamber was Zhou He’s private reception room. The furnishings were simple: a stone table, two wooden chairs, and a few hand-drawn Nautical Charts hanging on the walls. A teapot, steaming with heat, sat on the table with two coarse ceramic teacups.

The two sat down opposite each other.

Zhou He poured two cups of tea and pushed one over.

"A Pavilion Master from Liangzhou running all the way to my little place... I doubt it’s just to buy a few pounds of Jade Tide Sand." Zhou He picked up his teacup and took a sip, his gaze placid but sharp. "Are you planning to do business?"

"Exchanging terrestrial Spiritual Materials for marine products." Li Yuan thought for a moment. ’There is indeed a huge profit to be made doing business here.’

"Your place is short on Spirit Grasses and Spirit Medicines; my place is short on Water Element Spiritual Materials. If we establish a line of trade to supply each other’s needs, it would be profitable for both sides."

A smile appeared on Zhou He’s face when he heard this.

"How exactly do you propose we do this?"

The two then hammered out a basic framework. The specific item lists, delivery schedules, and payment methods would need to be refined later, but the core terms were established.

Zhou He stood up, took a jade slip from a wooden shelf on the wall, and handed it to Li Yuan.

"This is Nanyuan District’s standard product list and price sheet. Take it back, draft a purchase order against it, and we’ll go through the formal process next time you’re here."

Li Yuan accepted the jade slip and put it away.

"Oh, right," Zhou He suddenly recalled something. "Since you’re in the marketplace business, you can come to Shuizhou directly through my place from now on. I’ve set up a small teleportation node on the outskirts of Nanyuan District. It was laid down by my former Sect. I’ve repaired half of it, so it can only receive one-way, but it will save you the time of running along the coastline. I’ll give you a positioning jade tablet for it then."

’A teleportation node.’

"Thank you," Li Yuan nodded.

After leaving Zhou He’s reception room, Li Yuan took another stroll around Nanyuan District.

Although the marketplace was small, it covered almost all the categories a Cultivator would need for daily life. The finished pills in the Pill Shop were of extremely high quality, confirming Zhou He’s skill as a Golden Core Pill Refiner. The variety of Water Element Magical Artifacts in the Magical Artifact Shop was extensive, and the craftsmanship of some of the finer pieces was on par with the mid-to-high-end goods at White Mirror Marketplace.

The only shortcoming was the lack of terrestrial resources. The scarcity of Spirit Grass, ores, and Fire and Earth Element materials severely limited Nanyuan District’s growth potential.

This was precisely the gap he could fill.

’Liangzhou to Mozhou via the Teleportation Array, then over the mountains from Mozhou into Shuizhou, and finally along the Shuizhou coast to Nanyuan District. The entire journey would take no more than two days.’

’The blueprint for a secret trade route spanning the Three States has already taken shape.’