https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-554-Nine-Transformations-Spirit-Mountain-Part-2-/12938157/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-556-The-Complete-Heavenly-Fire-Chart-Refining-the-Ziyang-Spirit-Flame/12938159/
Chapter 555: Within Unity City
Chapter 555: Within Unity City
Unity City, the largest cultivator city outside of Heaven's First Sect, bustled with activity every day.
And with the trading event organized by the city, these days became even livelier.
As the event drew near, various streaks of flying lights approached from afar, carrying Golden Core and Nascent Soul Cultivators, who were usually out of reach in the eyes of ordinary cultivators.
One after another, they appeared.
Heaven's First Sect also made some distinctions at this time.
Nascent Soul Cultivators could enter the city through the South Gate, the main entrance to Unity City.
Golden Core and Foundation Establishment Cultivators, on the other hand, could only enter through the West and East Gates, respectively.
Different levels of cultivators resided in separate areas, and the trading venues they attended were also different.
Nascent Soul and Golden Core Cultivators were allowed to bring one lower-level cultivator with them into the city.
So, while there were indeed Nascent Soul Cultivators entering the South Gate alone, there were also many who brought Golden Core Cultivators with them.
Jian Qingshan entered the city with Jian Man.
"Family Head, do you think that Daoist Chu will come to Unity City?" Jian Man couldn't help but scan the surroundings with her eyes as soon as they entered the city.
Jian Qingshan turned his head slightly towards Jian Man, a hint of a smile on his face, and said, "Young lady, what's this? I see you're quite interested in Daoist Chu's whereabouts."
Jian Man was quite poised at this moment, and she smiled as she replied, "I've met many Golden Core Cultivators of my age, but this is the first time I've seen a Nascent Soul Cultivator of my age. I truly admire Senior Chu."
Jian Qingshan laughed heartily upon hearing her words.
"Good, since you have this in mind, if Daoist Chu does come, I'll definitely play matchmaker."
The two had been communicating through sound transmission, and after a few exchanges, they stopped.
After entering the city, they noticed that there were fewer cultivators here compared to the other two areas.
However, it was still easy to spot quite a number of early and mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivators.
With Jian Man's current cultivation level, even sound transmission could be easily overheard by others.
Of course, another reason was that people frequently greeted Jian Qingshan.
Apparently, this mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator, the head of the Jian Family, had a wide social circle.
Jian Qingshan also took the opportunity to introduce some Nascent Soul Cultivators to Jian Man.
As they walked through the city, Jian Qingshan's face flickered with surprise when he saw two figures approaching them. He quickly led Jian Man forward and cupped his hands in greeting, "Daoist Tong, Daoist Dan!"
These two were none other than Tong Zhanghong and Dan Tianqi from the Starfeather Sect.
Tong Zhanghong glanced at Jian Qingshan and then at Jian Man, a smile on his face.
"So, it's Daoist Jian. I wonder if Daoist Yuan Lang is here this time?"
This person not only knew Jian Qingshan but was also aware of his good relationship with Yuan Lang.
"It's been months since I last saw Brother Yuan Lang. We did send messages, but he seemed to be in seclusion and didn't reply. I'm not sure if he'll come to the event or not."
Tong Zhanghong nodded slightly, and after a brief exchange of pleasantries, they went their separate ways.
However, a question arose in Jian Qingshan's mind at that moment.
"Nascent Soul Cultivators in the late stage who come to participate in the trading event organized by Heaven's First Sect receive special treatment.
Not only are they not restricted from flying, but they can also stay in the most central location in the city.
Tong Zhanghong and Dan Tianqi are late-stage Nascent Soul Grandmasters from the Starfeather Sect. Why are they here in the south of the city before the event has even started? The way they were scanning the area earlier seemed like they were searching for someone.
Could it be that cultivators from the Mystic Spirit Sect and other sects will also attend, and they've discovered our identities?"
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Jian Qingshan shook his head.
It was none of his business, so he decided to stay uninvolved.
The incident where the Spirit Feather Sect had driven out and killed cultivators from various sects in Beichuan years ago was not a secret among Nascent Soul Cultivators.
However, ordinary cultivators wouldn't inquire too much about it.
What Jian Qingshan didn't know was that these two weren't here because of the Mystic Spirit Sect cultivators.
"Old Tong, we've searched the entire south of the city, could it be that the kid didn't come after all?" Tong Zhanghong and Dan Tianqi, the two Starfeather Sect Grandmasters, had reached the entrance of the South Gate. Dan Tianqi couldn't help but send a sound transmission to Tong Zhanghong.
Tong Zhanghong maintained his usual expression, a smile on his face, but a hint of coldness flashed through his eyes.
"Perhaps he knew we would come to this trading event, so he dared not show up. However, it's unlikely for any Nascent Soul Cultivator to miss such a grand event unless there are special circumstances.
Another possibility is that he's already here but has changed his appearance."
Tong Zhanghong paused for a moment, and his voice took on a colder tone.
"Let's pay close attention to Nascent Soul Cultivators with unfamiliar faces. If he's here, we'll find him."
Dan Tianqi didn't respond at this point but merely nodded slightly.
The two then rose into the air without any attempt to conceal their actions and flew directly towards the center of the city.
The actions of these two late-stage Nascent Soul Cultivators naturally attracted the attention of many cultivators.
However, most people could only look on with a hint of envy in their eyes.
On the Skylid Continent, the status of ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivators and late-stage Nascent Soul Grandmasters was completely different.
At that moment, in a corner of a street, a middle-aged cultivator dressed in a green robe with an ordinary appearance looked up.
He then calmly walked into a courtyard.
This person was Chu Ning, who had used Illusionary Transformation and his Yin Wood Spirit Body's natural talent to change his identity and enter the city.
At this moment, he had transformed his appearance and suppressed his cultivation to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
Under normal circumstances, no one on the Skylid Continent should be able to see through his disguise.
He had spotted two late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators from the Starfeather Sect earlier.
Seeing them wandering around the streets, it was clear they were searching for someone.
He could guess that they were either looking for a Mystic Spirit Sect cultivator or for him.
Since the Mystic Spirit Sect cultivators had remained undiscovered for so many years, it was more likely they were searching for him.
At this moment, the two late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators had left, but Chu Ning remained vigilant.
He continued to stay in the courtyard arranged by Heaven's First Sect in the southern district, occasionally going out but avoiding contact with other cultivators, waiting for the official start of the trading event.
During these days, he saw Xu Chenzi, Jian Qingshan, and others appear one after another.
He also spotted Chun Yu Zongji, the man he had encountered in the Yellow Wind Sandstorm, from the Sky Vault Palace.
Chu Ning didn't interact with any of them.
After five days, the trading event officially began.
The event organized by Heaven's First Sect was different from the ones Chu Ning had attended before.
Chu Ning had participated in numerous trading events, but most of them were small-scale.
Usually, they would start with auctions of extremely valuable treasures, followed by free trading among cultivators.
However, due to the large number of cultivators participating, Heaven's First Sect did not get involved in the free trading.
After the event began, the first three days were dedicated to specialized trading.
Forging materials, alchemy materials, various techniques, formation arts, and magic treasures were displayed in separate areas.
Cultivators could purchase items according to their needs.
The sellers were all arranged by Heaven's First Sect, and for the first two days, transactions were made through the exchange of equivalent treasures instead of Spirit Stones.
For example, if one needed forging materials, they could trade other forging materials, pills, or magic treasures.
Only on the last day were Spirit Stones allowed for transactions.
The purpose of this arrangement was to encourage the circulation of more treasures in the trading market.
After the three days of specialized trading, the grand auction would take place.
These rules were not cultivator-friendly for those with relatively modest wealth.
After the three days of trading, it was likely that by the time the auction arrived, they would have nothing left to trade.
In Chu Ning's opinion, these rules were designed to benefit Heaven's First Sect and other major sects during the final auction, as cultivators would spend heavily in the first three days and might offer their most prized possessions when they saw desirable items.
However, Chu Ning didn't pay much attention to these rules.
On the first day of the trading event, Chu Ning paid fifty thousand Spirit Stones and headed straight to the area selling forging materials.
His primary goal was to purchase Ash Gale Stones, and if possible, he also wanted to acquire other materials for refining the Beast Spirit Ring or the Thunder Fire Staff.
Additionally, he wanted to gather information about the Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire and the Nine Transformations Spirit Mountain.
As for Immortal-ranked techniques, Chu Ning believed it was unlikely to find them at such events.
After all, no sect would willingly trade away such valuable treasures.
Heaven's First Sect was evidently very experienced in organizing such trading events.
Upon entering a pavilion selling treasures, a middle-aged Core Formation cultivator quickly led Chu Ning to a small trading room.
Chu Ning took out a jade slip containing information about the five materials, including the Ash Gale Stone, and handed it over.
The middle-aged cultivator glanced at the jade slip and immediately smiled, "Senior, our pavilion currently has only the Ash Gale Stone and the Golden Essence Vine. We don't have the other materials for now. Do you want these two?"
"Yes!" Chu Ning replied without hesitation.
He was already delighted to find the Ash Gale Stone, and to his surprise, he also obtained one of the refining materials for the Beast Spirit Ring—the Golden Essence Vine.
This was an unexpected joy.
"Good, senior, please wait a moment. I'll get them for you right away!"
As he spoke, the middle-aged cultivator activated a small formation.
In about a hundred breaths, two boxes of different colors appeared in front of Chu Ning.
Chu Ning opened them to find a gray stone in one box and a golden vine with forward-reaching tendrils in the other.
Without saying much, Chu Ning took out two bottles of pills from his Spirit Bag and placed them in front of the cultivator.
The middle-aged cultivator examined the pills and smiled, "Senior, the quality of these pills is exceptionally high, and they are indeed sufficient for exchanging these two materials.
As for the other materials, senior, you can come back in half a day to check again.
We adjust our treasure repository every half a day, and it's possible that other seniors will offer materials for exchange."
"Good!"
Hearing the cultivator's suggestion, Chu Ning nodded and left immediately.
As he exited the pavilion, he saw Jian Man outside, looking around.
Her gaze swept past him, and she turned her attention elsewhere. Chu Ning didn't greet her either and left directly.
After taking less than a hundred steps, a voice suddenly called out.
"Hold on, fellow cultivator!"
(End of Chapter)
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