Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 170 - 168: Underground Exchange Meeting (Part 2)

Underground Meeting Hall.

When Zhouyang saw Jia Yunzhen simultaneously negotiating with three people, including himself, his heart immediately jumped.

Clearly, Jia Yunzhen is casting multiple nets, aiming to select the most suitable secret technique for his cultivation.

This left Zhouyang and the other two offering secret techniques uneasy, not knowing which one he would ultimately choose.

As for taking all of them, that was impossible.

Besides, if he were to take all, he would need to pay three hefty rewards, and his Blood Evil Qi, if spread across three secret techniques for cultivation, would definitely not yield good results. Why would he make such an unwise decision!

On the stage, Jia Yunzhen was looking at each Jade Scroll carefully, and by the time he finished reviewing the three Jade Scrolls, nearly a quarter of an hour had passed.

Then he closed his eyes in brief contemplation before suddenly tossing two Jade Scrolls back to their original owners, saying, "Thank you for your secret techniques, gentlemen, but Jia has made a better choice in his heart. My apologies!"

After speaking, he looked at Zhouyang, who had an expression of surprise and joy, and transmitted, "Your secret technique, though originating from the Demon Dao, indeed solves Jia’s urgent need. What treasure do you wish to exchange for it?" free𝑤ebnovel.com

What treasure do you want to exchange for?

Zhouyang was stunned upon hearing this.

He hadn’t really given this matter much thought.

From Jia Yunzhen’s tone, it seemed like he could bring any treasure Zhouyang desired.

Of course, this was impossible!

The principles of exchange meetings are mutual needs being met, but it doesn’t allow someone to exchange a Tier Three Spiritual Object for a Tier Five Spiritual Object.

Jia Yunzhen asked him what treasure he wanted to exchange for; if Zhouyang was unreasonable and aimed too high, the transaction would certainly fall through, greatly offending the other party.

Therefore, the true meaning behind Jia Yunzhen’s words must be that if Zhouyang proposes a treasure of similar value to the "Bloodthirsty Demon Saber" secret technique, be it an elixir, magical artifact, spirit talisman, cultivation technique, or other treasures, Jia Yunzhen would be able to get it for him.

So, after much thought, Zhouyang’s mind suddenly sparked, and he tentatively transmitted, "Junior once witnessed Senior’s majestic display of sword control on the city walls and longed for your sword control skills. Might you teach me a move or two?"

"Oh, you want to learn my sword control skill?"

Jia Yunzhen squinted, gazing sharply at Zhouyang as if to see through the guise hidden under his conical hat.

Under such scrutiny, Zhouyang felt as though needles pricked his back; this sharp gaze was something he’d never encountered before.

Anxious, Zhouyang quickly replied, "If Senior is unwilling, I can choose another condition."

Unexpectedly, Jia Yunzhen, after hearing this, collected his gaze and said calmly, "No need for that, although my sword technique is impressive, it is merely a fragment. If you truly wish to learn, exchanging with you doesn’t put me at a loss!"

"However, I must remind you that this sword technique, while powerful, is very challenging to master. Whether you can learn it thoroughly will ultimately depend on your own comprehension!"

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior, I understand," Zhouyang said, immediately tossing the Jade Scroll recording the "Bloodthirsty Demon Saber" to Jia Yunzhen, who then returned a Jade Scroll detailing his sword technique.

Seeing Zhouyang first exchange Earth Dragon Worm Relics for a Foundation Establishment Pill with a Purple Mansion Stage Alchemist, and then the secret technique that utilizes Blood Evil Qi with an unknown secret technique from Jia Yunzhen, many cultivators in the underground hall couldn’t help but take an interest in him.

This was evidently not a good thing for Zhouyang, leading him to be much more low-key in the subsequent exchange meetings.

He still had quite a few good things on hand, but had plans for them and wouldn’t easily bring them out for exchange unless he encountered treasures that utterly fascinated him.

The succeeding Foundation Establishment Cultivators who went on stage often sought to exchange for spirit pills and magical artifacts, though Zhouyang had a couple of artifacts he had refined himself, clearly they were not interested in his Tier Three Lower Grade Spiritual Artifacts.

As time flowed on, after eighty percent of the cultivators in the underground hall had exchanged items, Zhouyang finally encountered something interesting.

"Three Yin Soul Stones, the main material for refining Tier Three Puppet Beasts, seeking to exchange for a Tier Three High-Grade Water Attribute Defense Spiritual Artifact!"

A slightly hoarse female voice slowly spoke from a cultivator in a conical hat on stage, then she waved her jade hand, and on the stone table before her appeared three gray-black stones the size of eggs.

The Yin Soul Stone is an essential material for refining a Tier Three Puppet Beast. Without it, the most critical function, the autonomous combat system, cannot be formed.

Back when Zhouyang and the old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan refined a Tier Two High-Grade Puppet Beast, they were troubled by the absence of this spiritual object, leading to a cessation in their research on Puppetry. In the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm, these spiritual objects were essentially monopolized by the Yellow Sand Sect, making them impossible to purchase.

Therefore, now upon seeing such a spiritual object appear, he was immediately moved.

Coincidentally, the Profound Water Shield that he was currently using was a Tier Three High-Grade Water-Attribute Defense Spiritual Artifact. This artifact had saved his life multiple times during the recent "Beast Tide," making it a rare quality piece among defensive spiritual artifacts.

However, the cultivation technique he practiced was in direct conflict with this artifact, making it impossible for him to fully unleash the power of this artifact. Thus, he had no reluctance to exchange it for the Yin Soul Stone now.

But just three pieces of the Yin Soul Stone are insufficient to exchange for a high-quality artifact like the Profound Water Shield.

Therefore, after some thought, Zhouyang transmitted a message saying, "I have in my possession a Tier Three High-Grade Water Element Spiritual Artifact with exceptionally strong defensive capabilities. If you wish to exchange for this artifact, I fear you might need to add something else."

"Oh, could you let this old one have a look at the artifact? If it indeed satisfies me, I can raise the price."

The person on stage glanced at Zhouyang but did not oppose his proposal.

"Of course."

Zhouyang immediately walked to the stage under the curious stares of many, then took out the Profound Water Shield, erased his Spiritual Mark, and handed it to the person on stage.

The person on stage was not polite with him. Immediately, they cast a blue magical power into the Profound Water Shield, and instantly, a blue water shield emerged from the Profound Water Shield, forming a double-layered protection with one virtual and one real shield.

"Not bad, not bad, indeed a rare quality piece!"

The person on stage nodded appreciatively and immediately took out another fist-sized piece of the Yin Soul Stone, placed it on the table, and said to Zhouyang, "Add this high-quality Yin Soul Stone to it. What do you think?"

"Deal."

An delighted expression appeared on Zhouyang’s face as he swiftly reached out, storing the four pieces of Yin Soul Stone in his storage bag, even more impatient than the other party.

After completing the transaction, it wasn’t long before everyone else finished their turns on stage, leaving only Zhouyang yet to go up.

Given that he had attracted too much attention earlier, Zhouyang suppressed his original idea of exchanging some valuable items, opting instead to symbolically take out two artifacts he had refined, intending to exchange them for some spirit stones.

The result was that nobody wanted to trade with him because the prices he demanded were similar to those in shops like the Divine Weapon Workshop. In such circumstances, cultivators genuinely interested in buying magical artifacts would rather go to shops like Divine Weapon Workshop for their purchases.

Thus, this illustrates the advantage of the advanced cultivation civilization in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm. Various major forces can achieve low-cost mass production of intermediate treasures suitable for Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, driving the prices of finished products down to a low point, preventing market value inflation.

For example, when refining Foundation Establishment Pills with the same materials, a Tier Four High-Grade Alchemist like the Chen Family Ancestor can exceptionally produce six pills, but when done by Tier Five Top Grade Alchemists from major forces, six pills are the minimum standard, seven pills are normal, and in exceptional cases, they can reach eight pills!

Given these circumstances, it is not difficult to understand why the price of Foundation Establishment Pills in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm is lower than in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm.

For Artifact Refiners like Zhouyang who are Tier Three Lower Grade, looking to earn spirit stones through artifact refining in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, the viable option is to create Tier Two High-Grade Magical Artifacts for Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators, while adopting a low-margin and high-volume sales strategy to succeed.

After Zhouyang’s artifacts received no interest, the underground exchange meeting effectively came to an end.

Thus, after stepping down, the elder named Tian Wenxuan immediately stood up and cupped his hands toward the crowd, saying, "Thank you, fellow Daoists, for attending this underground exchange meeting. Next, please exit in groups. Our beast vehicles will transport you to different locations in the city one by one. When you disembark, please return the magical artifacts we distributed."

Following his cue, Jia Yunzhen and other Purple Mansion Stage cultivators left the underground hall first, followed by Zhouyang and other Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Zhouyang, along with a dozen other Foundation Establishment cultivators, boarded a beast vehicle, and then, keeping ahead of everyone, got off at the first drop-off point.

Tian Wenxuan had previously mentioned that to protect the privacy and safety of participants, only one person was allowed to disembark at each drop-off point. Once Zhouyang got off first, it was not easy for others to follow, as doing so would not only clearly intend to harm him but would also offend Tian Wenxuan and the faction backing the exchange meeting.

After Zhouyang disembarked, regardless of what the remaining passengers in the vehicle thought, they could only watch as the carriage door closed, completely losing the opportunity to discover his true identity.

Upon getting off, Zhouyang promptly removed his conical hat and cloak, handed them to the coachman, and cupped his fists in thanks, "Thank you, fellow Daoist, for the ride. Zhou expresses his utmost gratitude!"

The coachman responded only with a faint "Safe travels, fellow Daoist," before cracking the whip and driving the beast vehicle toward the next drop-off point.

Meanwhile, in front of a shop in Zhenyue Immortal City, an elderly man with white hair but a youthful face, stood with a cold gaze directed toward a certain direction in the city, muttering to himself, "Hmph, hmph, hmph, do you think my Foundation Establishment Pills are so easy to take? Let that junior live a few more years for now. Once the beast tide subsides, I’ll teach him the consequence of threatening me!"

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