Chapter 267: The Trade Begins

After about fifteen minutes, a total of forty-six Yuan Ying ancestors arrived one after another, with only over twenty followers, all at least at the Golden Core cultivation level. At that moment, a beautiful and strikingly lovely woman rode on a lotus platform and slowly floated to the center of the venue—clearly the host of this trade fair.

Yin Ling transmitted her voice, introducing her: “This is the Peacock Sovereign of our Floating City, at the middle stage of the fourth level. Over the past thousand years, she has jointly ruled Floating City with three other sovereigns…”

A demon cultivator at the middle stage of the fourth level was equivalent to a human cultivator in the middle stage of Yuan Ying. Floating City was property shared by all demons, with its eight tribes taking turns ruling it for a thousand years each.

“Welcome, fellow cultivators, to this trade fair. We’re all old acquaintances, so there’s no need for unnecessary words.”

The Peacock Sovereign’s voice was clear and melodious, like heavenly music that nourished everyone’s ears. “I will still be hosting this trade fair and acting as the intermediary. To ensure fairness, both parties who reach a deal must bring their treasures to me first. After I confirm they are genuine, I’ll deliver them to the respective parties.”

During transactions, it was inevitable that some might receive the other party’s treasure but refuse to hand over their own promised items, resorting to dishonest behavior. By having both parties’ treasures delivered to the Peacock Sovereign first, who would confirm their authenticity before distributing them, such dishonesty could be avoided.

As one of the rulers of Floating City, the Peacock Sovereign represented not only her own credibility but also the trust of all in her role as an intermediary.

After her opening remarks, the Peacock Sovereign finally said, “All costs for holding this trade fair are entirely covered by Daoist Zi Xiao from Tian Xuan Sect. His main request is for any type of ninth-level Yin Fire. I hope all fellow cultivators will pay attention to this and do their best to assist Daoist Zi Xiao. Well, once again, thank you all for coming to Floating City. The trade fair now begins!”

Everyone politely clapped in agreement. Su Che then transmitted a message, asking, “Elder Zi Xiao, organizing such a trade fair must incur a significant expense for Floating City, right?”

“Not much,” Zi Xiao replied calmly. “Our Tian Xuan Sect already has some business dealings with them. The fee is merely symbolic.”

Su Che nodded slightly.

As the trade fair began, an Yuan Ying ancestor immediately called out to them, “Zixiao, I don’t have level 9 Yin Fire here, but I do have a piece of Nirvana Divine Wood. If the price is right, I’ll sell it to you.”
“Nirvana Divine Wood?”
After a brief thought, Zixiao replied, “Thank you, Brother Ge Qiu. If we can’t get ready-made level 9 Yin Fire, we can discuss the price of this divine wood.”
“Good,” the man nodded in agreement.
Then, Zixiao transmitted a message to Su Che: “The Nirvana Divine Wood is a level 9 spiritual wood. Besides its inherent wood-related effects, it can also raise the level of spiritual flames. In other words, it can elevate any spiritual flame below level 10 by one tier…”
Upon hearing this, Su Che understood. Any spiritual flame below level 10 could be upgraded by one tier when burned in the Nirvana Divine Wood, akin to a phoenix rising from ashes, being reborn and refined in the process.
If Su Che obtained this Nirvana Divine Wood and used his existing level 8 Yin Fire to burn it for a while, he would get upgraded level 9 Yin Fire, which could be considered a mutated spiritual flame.
However, since it was a level 9 divine wood, it had no effect on level 10 spiritual flames. Moreover, the cultivation world did not allow the existence of spiritual flames above level 10—just as one must ascend to the spiritual realm at the Huashen stage, heaven did not permit any invincible force that could disrupt balance to remain in a realm.
“Speaking of which, things are going quite smoothly,” Su Che thought with joy. “Even if we can’t get ready-made level 9 Yin Fire, this Nirvana Divine Wood alone can solve the problem. These Yuan Ying ancestors truly possess many treasures.”
At that moment, both Su Che and Zixiao received a message from Ji E Old Ancestor: “I do have level 9 Ghost Emperor Extreme Yin Fire here, but I certainly won’t sell it to you. Hehehe…”
A terribly unpleasant ghostly laugh followed.
“That old bastard is really despicable!” Zixiao cursed under his breath.
Su Che also knew that Ji E Old Ancestor might not actually have the level 9 Yin Fire he mentioned, but his words were purely meant to disgust people.
There was a brief silence in the venue—waiting to see if anyone would produce level 9 Yin Fire, as well as out of respect for Zixiao, the organizer of the trade fair.
Unfortunately, after waiting for a while, no one else showed any intention, proving just how rare spiritual flames above level 9 were.
Peacock Lord nodded and said, “Very well. Please show your treasures one by one. Who will go first?”
“I’ll go first, to set the example!”

A robust Yuan Ying ancestor bowed to everyone as a greeting. Seeing no objections, he took out over a dozen top-grade materials from his storage ring and placed them on the lotus platform, introducing them one by one: “This is Grade 7 Tian Lian Gold, Grade 8 Pure Yang Hao Stone, Eternal Life Jade, Green Tide Stone, Land of Ultimate Bliss…”

This ancestor specialized in earth elements, and the treasures he presented were either gold or earth, indicating his great skill in uncovering various rare minerals deep within the earth.

“Each of these materials is worth the average price of ten top-grade spirit stones, or equivalent genius treasures that can pique my interest,” the ancestor said with a smile.

Immediately, someone replied, “Brother Pan Shi, how about I exchange this three-thousand-year-old Dragon Beard Root for your Eternal Life Jade?”

“Brother Pan Shi, I’ll trade my thousand-year-old Colorful Orchid for yours…”

Subsequently, several other ancestors also expressed their own exchange intentions.

Through barter transactions, everyone aimed to exchange what they had for what others needed, benefiting mutually. What others didn’t use might just be what they lacked; if the values were similar, they could exchange them. Even if they suffered a slight loss, these Yuan Ying ancestors wouldn’t mind too much.

Su Che wasn’t good at alchemy or crafting, nor was he interested in various materials. Apart from his need for Grade 9 Yin Fire, he watched the exchanges between these Yuan Ying ancestors with great interest, mainly to broaden his horizons.

Yin Ling shared the same mindset, often explaining to Su Che in amazement just how rare a certain treasure was, its value, and its specific uses… Her eloquence made her an excellent commentator.

After about twenty minutes, a combat puppet displayed by a Yuan Ying ancestor from the demonic sect, the Holy Demon Sect, sparked Su Che’s intense interest.

“As everyone knows, the Holy Demon Puppets of our sect possess extremely formidable combat power…” the ancestor of the Holy Demon Sect explained. “It took me a whole year and numerous precious materials to create this combat puppet. It requires top-grade spirit stones of the gold element to supply energy—the more spirit stones you provide, the stronger its destructive power. In its strongest state, it can rival those in the later stages of the Golden Dan realm.”

The Holy Demon Puppet standing beside him was enormous, over ten feet tall. Though human-shaped, it had sharp fangs and claws, a terrifying appearance, and its green-black skin resembled that of a demon—truly a terrifying creation of a demonic sect.

From Su Che’s gaze, Yin Ling guessed that he was highly interested in this puppet, so she took the initiative to explain, “Brother Tianyu, even advanced puppets have their shortcomings. Not only do they consume a huge amount of spirit stones, but the core soul required to control them also has extremely strict requirements.” “If a soul with incomplete intelligence is implanted, although loyalty is high, there will be deficiencies such as lack of agility, slow reactions, and rigid thinking. On the other hand, if a soul with higher intelligence is used, there’s a high chance of rebellion. This is a defect that’s difficult to overcome in puppet-type magical artifacts.” Yin Ling whispered sweetly in Su Che’s ear, “Of course, if Brother Tianyu happens to have a soul that’s already extremely loyal to you, then this defect can be perfectly solved.” Su Che nodded slowly, thinking to himself, “Indeed, your words are spot on. I do have such a perfect soul.” Not long ago, Lao He had been complaining every day that he didn’t have a powerful vessel to help him fight against enemies for Su Che out of the Immortal Prison. The puppet he saw now could just meet Lao He’s wish. In his Heavenly Demon form, Lao He could control this puppet flexibly. As for the cost of spirit stones, with the financial support of the entire Tianxuan Sect, Su Che didn’t need to worry at all. So, Su Che sent a message asking, “Yin Ling, how many spirit stones are needed to obtain such a puppet?” “If it’s really as he says and can rival those at the later stage of the Golden Dan realm, at least two hundred top-quality spirit stones are required.” As she spoke, Yin Ling glanced at the Patriarch of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sect, Ji E: “If someone deliberately tries to cause trouble for you, you might have to pay double, or even more.” Yin Ling had seen too many despicable tactics in business, so she already guessed that if Su Che showed interest in buying that puppet, Patriarch Ji E would definitely try to drive up the price just to make Su Che pay dearly. “Yes, it’s really disgusting to have such an annoying guy around,” Su Che agreed in his mind. At this moment, someone in the crowd loudly asked about the price of the combat puppet. The Patriarch of the Sacred Demon Sect replied it was 220 spirit stones, which was not much different from Yin Ling’s estimate. Ten thousand years ago in the cultivation world, the exchange rate between different grades of spirit stones was 100:1—that is, 100 lower-quality spirit stones were needed to exchange for one medium-quality one, and 100 medium-quality spirit stones for one top-quality one. But in today’s cultivation world, due to scarcity, top-quality spirit stones are extremely rare. It’s no problem to exchange one top-quality spirit stone for 50,000 lower-quality ones.

In other words, 220 top-quality spirit stones, if converted into lower-quality spirit stones, amount to an astronomical figure of over ten million. Of course, even if one offered more than ten million lower-quality spirit stones, the other party still wouldn’t sell that puppet to you.
In the eyes of the Yuan Ying ancestors, lower-quality spirit stones are no different from dirt and are essentially useless.
Although Su Che really wanted to obtain this puppet, he remained calm and unhurried, not rushing to make a decision. Instead, he observed quietly for a while. Noticing that the other Yuan Ying ancestors weren’t very interested in it, he then said to Zi Xiao, “Master, I want to get this puppet.”
Zi Xiao gave a low hum; he already had an idea. If Yin Ling could see through it, how could he not? He had already guessed Su Che’s intentions earlier.
Not far away, Ji E ancient ancestor curled his lips into a sinister smile. His divine sense had been keeping an eye on Su Che and Zi Xiao, and now he too saw through Su Che’s strong interest in this puppet.