Chapter 465 - 437: Trade

Chapter 465: Chapter 437: Trade

Jingzhou’s largest free trade market remained as bustling as ever. The wide, flagstone main street teemed with people, while shops stood shoulder to shoulder on both sides, their colorful signs and banners swaying gently in the morning breeze. The air carried the faint aroma of Spirit Grass and the acrid smell of Artifact Refining forges. A few messenger birds darted between the eaves, carrying message jades to different destinations.

Li Yuan suppressed his Late-stage Foundation Establishment aura as he entered the city, heading straight for the trade district.

After selling his goods, Li Yuan began his procurement run.

Array consumables, refined Spiritual Ink, and High Tier talisman paper—these were all items Jingzhou excelled in, their quality far surpassing anything produced locally in Liangzhou. He purchased from several specialized shops, spreading out the transactions to avoid drawing attention with any single large purchase.

As he walked down a remote alley in the southern part of the trade district, Li Yuan’s pace suddenly slowed.

The passive perception of Dark Evil Insight detected a familiar set of Spiritual Power signatures.

In front of a Spiritual Materials shop opposite the alley entrance, five Cultivators in blue and white robes were speaking with the Shopkeeper. Their leader was a middle-aged man at Late-stage Foundation Establishment with a square face, a Jade Pendant engraved with a turquoise water insignia hanging from his waist. The Cultivation of the other four ranged from Early-stage to Mid Stage Foundation Establishment; none of them were old. Judging by their composition, they looked like a standard procurement team from a Sect.

’Bitan Sect.’

Li Yuan didn’t stop, maintaining a natural rhythm as he walked past the alley entrance. But in the instant he passed, the permanent trait of Trace Retrospection passively triggered.

’This person’s Spiritual Power spectrum—’

’Extremely orthodox, extremely pure. Its circulation was steady and solid, without a trace of flashy embellishment.’

It was remarkably similar to the northeast-by-north Spiritual Power spectrum left behind at the point where the trail went cold while he was tracking the Abyss Sect’s contact on the grey road.

’Not the same person. The trail’s intensity was that of an Early-stage Golden Core, while this leader is only Late-stage Foundation Establishment. But the foundational Spiritual Power spectra of the two are almost identical. Spiritual Power cultivated within the same Sect, under the same Cultivation Technique system, will carry highly similar spectral characteristics.’

’The Bitan Sect’s Cultivation Technique.’

After leaving the alley, Li Yuan turned onto another street and sat down at a tea stall.

The group of five stayed in the Spiritual Materials shop for about a quarter of an hour before leaving with two large crates of materials. They walked west along the streets of the southern trade district for three blocks, then turned into a private courtyard that had plain white gauze curtains hanging at its entrance.

The courtyard gate closed immediately after they went inside.

Li Yuan committed the courtyard’s location and the group’s route to memory in his Sea of Consciousness, then retracted his perception.

He then got up and left the tea stall, walked north along the trade district’s main street for a stretch, and ducked into a two-story tavern.

The tavern’s first-floor hall was packed with Loose Cultivators and minor merchants, filled with a clamorous din. Li Yuan found a low table in a corner, sat down, and ordered a pot of Spirit Wine with two side dishes.

At the next table, three local Loose Cultivators were loudly discussing recent market trends. Their topic drifted from the price of Spiritual Materials to the activities of various Sects, and they made no effort to lower their voices.

"...Bitan Sect has been quite active lately. I saw two of their groups in White Mirror Market last month, and now they’re back again."

"Weren’t they always holed up in western Jingzhou? What are they doing over here in White Mirror Market?"

"Procurement, obviously. I heard that over the past six months, Bitan Sect has sent a lot of people toward Liangzhou, specifically to acquire medicinal materials and Spirit Grass. The big-batch kind, buying several hundred pounds at a time."

"Liangzhou? What kind of business does the Bitan Sect have in Liangzhou?"

"Who knows. But they mostly go through the channels at Yunyang Market. That’s the Primordial Yang Sect’s territory, you know. As long as they use the proper channels, no one can really say anything."

Li Yuan raised his wine cup, listening impassively.

’Bitan Sect has been frequently sending Cultivators to Liangzhou on procurement missions for the past six months, mainly through Yunyang Market’s channels. This aligns perfectly with seeing Bitan Sect disciples at Yunyang Market yesterday.’

He stayed in the tavern for another hour, piecing together more fragments of information from the idle chatter at the next table and from other patrons.

After leaving the tavern, Li Yuan resumed purchasing Jingzhou’s local specialties in the White Mirror Market’s trade district.

As he walked down a remote alley of old bookshops, his gaze was caught by a dust-covered old store on the side of the path.

The shopfront was tiny and its doorframe crooked. The shelves were piled high with old jade slips of varying quality and yellowed beast-hide scrolls. Most were outdated copies of Cultivation Techniques and beginner-level Array Dao manuals, utterly useless to Li Yuan.

But in a corner on the bottommost shelf, a beast-hide scroll buried beneath dozens of old books caught his eye.

Trait Perception triggered within a three-foot radius. A white trait.

Li Yuan picked up the beast-hide scroll.

’White.’

After asking the price and paying with Spirit Stones, Li Yuan returned to the inn where he was staying. He spread out the beast-hide scroll, his fingertip lightly touching its surface.

A panel popped up.

[Equippable Item Detected: Comprehensive Guide to Ancient Array Vein Patterns (Complete)]

[Equip Trait Preview: Vein Pattern Comprehension (White)—Further increases Array Base Retrospection precision; gain additional node logic when reading information from remnant arrays.]

[Permanence Condition: Fully retrace and restore the Array Base structure of three remnant arrays (0/3).]

’A white trait. Its effect stacks perfectly with the permanent trait from Array Base Retrospection.’

’Array Base Retrospection lets me trace the energy trajectory from an Array’s most recent activation. Vein Pattern Comprehension builds on that, providing additional node logic—meaning I can see not only *what* an array did, but also *why* it did it.’

’For cracking the various Array Restrictions at the Profound Nether Sect ruins, the value of this trait is self-evident.’

’The permanence condition is to retrace and restore three remnant arrays. Fulfilling it is just a matter of time.’

Just as he was preparing to leave the inn, a knock came from the door.

When he opened the door, a middle-aged Cultivator stood outside, dressed in the attire of a White Mirror Market Steward. He was at Late-stage Foundation Establishment and wore a warm smile. Two guards stood behind him.

"Li Dao You, my apologies for the intrusion." The middle-aged steward clasped his hands in a salute. "I am Qian Tong, a supervisor in the White Mirror Market’s trade district. I’ve long heard of your great name."

Li Yuan recognized the man. The last time he was purchasing goods in White Mirror Market, several of the trade district’s Shopkeepers had mentioned his name. As a free trade market, White Mirror Market was not affiliated with any Sect, but it had its own administrative system. Qian Tong was one of the supervisors in charge of the trade district’s daily affairs.

"Manager Qian, you’re too kind."

"Not at all, not at all." Qian Tong chuckled and sat down across from Li Yuan.

"Li Dao You, you’ve graced White Mirror Market with your presence twice now, and your purchase volumes have been quite considerable. Several of the Shopkeepers have mentioned it to me. White Mirror Market has always valued its major clients, so I’ve come to pay a special visit and see if there is anything the market can do to assist you."

He paused and lowered his voice.

"Li Dao You, carrying so many Spirit Stones and goods in and out of the market... it would be unfortunate if you were targeted by unsavory characters. Would you like the market to arrange a few guards to escort you out of the city?"

"There’s no need." Li Yuan shook his head. "I’m used to traveling alone."

Qian Tong didn’t press the matter. He took a silver Token engraved with the White Mirror Market insignia from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

"Then please accept this Token, Li Dao You. With this Token, city entry and lodging fees are completely waived, and you’ll receive a five-percent discount at all official White Mirror Market shops. Please consider it a small token of appreciation from the market to a valued client."

Li Yuan took the Token and nodded, accepting it.

"Thank you."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Qian Tong tactfully took his leave.

After seeing Qian Tong off, Li Yuan organized his purchased goods, left White Mirror Market, and headed south to Shuizhou.

He crossed the Spiritless District, made landfall at Luoxia Port, and followed the coastline straight to Nanyuan District.

Zhou He was having tea with an unfamiliar Cultivator.

The unfamiliar Cultivator was tall and slender with deep bronze skin. His knuckles were large, and white salt stains from years of immersion in seawater were visible between his fingers. He had a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation and was dressed in a finely crafted long robe made of merfolk hide.

"You’re here." Zhou He waved him over. "Let me make an introduction. This is Shopkeeper Jiang from the Jiaozhi Island Merchant Guild; he specializes in overseas trade. I’ve mentioned you to him, and we just happened to run into each other today."

Shopkeeper Jiang stood and clasped his hands in a salute.

"Senior Zhou has mentioned many times that a Daoist friend from the mainland has some excellent goods. My name is Jiang Dulian, Second Shopkeeper of the Jiaozhi Island Merchant Guild."

Li Yuan returned the salute and took a seat.

After a round of tea, the three got down to business.

Jiang Dulian’s merchant guild primarily traded in Spiritual Materials and Magical Artifact components from the deep outer seas, focusing on the mid-to-high-end market. From him, Li Yuan purchased three Tidal Bone Beads, several batches of excellent quality Deep Sea Coral powder and Merfolk Scales, and the forging method for a Sea-Enriched Shortsword.

He also acquired an Artifact Refining Technique unique to Shuizhou: the Sea Forging Skill.

The Sea Forging Skill was a special technique that used the pressure of seawater and Tidal Spiritual Power to temper an Artifact Embryo. It had an excellent enhancing effect on Magical Artifacts made from Water Element Spiritual Materials. This technique was virtually unseen on the mainland, an exclusive craft belonging to the factions of the outer sea islands.

During their transaction, Li Yuan took the opportunity to ask Jiang Dulian about conditions in the outer seas.

"Are the merchant guilds on the islands more unified than those on the mainland?"

"Of course," Jiang Dulian said, taking a gulp of tea. His tone carried the characteristic frankness of a seafaring man.

"The mainland is rich in Spiritual Qi. Cultivators can practice without ever leaving home, which gives them plenty of spare time for scheming and backstabbing. It’s different at sea. It’s all deep ocean between the islands, and it’s hard to make use of the Spirit Veins in the water. The sea is too deep."

"Diving into the water to replenish Spiritual Power just makes it easier to attract Demon Beasts. A person can’t do anything alone at sea; all travel and trade rely on merchant vessels."

"Isn’t it dangerous for you to travel?"

"It’s manageable." Jiang Dulian smiled. "Jiaozhi Island is located in the mid-section of the outer seas, a decent distance from any major Demon Beast lairs. Our merchant guild has three large merchant vessels, each equipped with a Tier Two Defensive Array. As long as we don’t head into the extreme depths, we’re quite safe. The real danger is for Loose Cultivators traveling alone—without companions at sea, they wouldn’t even know which way to flee if they ran into a swarm of Demon Beasts."

Li Yuan nodded, committing this information to memory.

Once the transaction was complete, Jiang Dulian took his leave. Li Yuan turned to Zhou He.

"Are there any Artifact Refining workshops in Nanyuan District?"

With a grand wave of his hand, Zhou He picked a Token off the table and tossed it over.

"Take it. All the Artifact Refining workshops and cultivation facilities in Nanyuan District are yours to use, free of charge."

Li Yuan caught the Token and thanked him.

In the eastern part of Nanyuan District’s middle tier, there was a small but well-equipped Artifact Refining workshop. The stone chamber contained two medium-sized forges and a complete set of smithing tools. Several Constant Temperature Spirit Stones were embedded in the walls, keeping the room at the perfect temperature for Artifact Refining.

Li Yuan walked into the workshop and lit the forge.

The Sea Forging Skill he had just acquired required hands-on practice to master. He took out a few of the deep-sea Spiritual Materials he had bought from Jiang Dulian—Merfolk Scales and Sea-Enriched Iron—and tossed them into the forge.

The core of the Sea Forging Skill lay in using Water Spiritual Power to simulate the pressure of seawater, repeatedly tempering the Artifact Embryo. Each layer of tempering made the Spirit Patterns within the embryo denser, while also imbuing the finished product with a very thin field of Water Affinity.

A moment later, the forging was complete.

[Equippable Item Detected: Sea-Enriched Shortsword (Complete)]

[Equip Trait Preview: Tide Forging Pattern (Green)—When performing Artifact Refining with Water Element Spiritual Materials, the compatibility of the Artifact Embryo’s Spirit Patterns is increased, and the finished Spiritual Artifact will possess a faint Water Affinity.]

[Permanence Condition: Cultivate a Tier Two Water Element Cultivation Technique to Great Success.]

’A green trait. I don’t have a Tier Two Water Element Magical Artifact yet.’

Li Yuan placed the Sea-Enriched Shortsword into his storage pouch but did not equip it right away. ’I’ll save the empty equipment slot for a more opportune time.’

Extinguishing the forge and tidying up his tools, Li Yuan walked out of the Artifact Refining workshop.

On the sea outside Nanyuan District, the sun was sinking in the west. Golden-red light blanketed the entire expanse of water, and the few sailboats at the pier cast long shadows in the twilight.