Chapter 109
The moment Du Fengyao finished speaking, someone immediately called out, his voice brimming with flattery.
"Anything crafted by Master Du is guaranteed quality! Three thousand spirit stones—I'll take it!"
A scoff sounded from somewhere in the crowd.
"Trying to snatch it up at the starting price? Dream on. Three thousand five hundred spirit stones. Master Du, sell it to me."
The first cultivator shot him an irritated glare.
"Three thousand six hundred!"
"Three thousand seven hundred!"
The bidding escalated almost immediately. More and more cultivators joined the competition, driving the price steadily higher. It broke four thousand spirit stones in the blink of an eye before finally settling at five thousand two hundred.
The successful bidder accepted the Mind-Control Bell with undisguised delight, looking as though he'd struck a fortune.
Then, before anyone could stop him, he eagerly poured spiritual energy into the artifact to test its effects.
A hazy white glow rippled outward.
Several nearby cultivators were caught completely off guard and instantly fell under the bell's influence.
"Hiss..." Lou Yuqing inhaled sharply.
This guy was either incredibly brave... or incredibly stupid.
Either way, she could already picture the beating he was about to receive.
"Fellow Daoist, stop!"
Du Fengyao reacted at once. She leapt down from the platform and appeared beside the buyer in a flash, grabbing his wrist before he could ring the bell a second time. A flicker of anger crossed her face.
She had spent years building this trade fair. There was no way she was going to let someone ruin it.
Only then did the buyer realize what he'd done.
His expression stiffened as he hurriedly apologized.
"Boss Du, please forgive me. I was so excited after obtaining the treasure that I acted without thinking. I never intended to disrupt the trade fair."
Du Fengyao's expression softened slightly, though her tone remained cool.
"Explaining that to me is pointless."
She gestured toward the surrounding cultivators.
"They're the ones affected. Go apologize to them."
The buyer swallowed hard.
A terrible premonition crept into his heart.
As soon as he turned around, he found himself facing a sea of unfriendly stares. His scalp tingled, especially when he noticed one cultivator already rolling up his sleeves.
It was the very first bidder.
Losing the artifact he'd set his heart on had already left him in a foul mood. Then the buyer had used it on him as a test subject.
Old resentment piled on top of new.
How could he not want to beat someone up?
"Fellow Daoists, please don't be rash!"
Seeing the situation deteriorate, the buyer immediately unleashed his ultimate move.
"I'll compensate everyone! I guarantee the amount will satisfy you!"
The irresistible temptation of spirit stones.
The crowd instantly fell silent.
Even the cultivator who had been preparing to throw a punch calmly rolled his sleeves back down.
"Fine."
He held out his hand.
"Pay up."
Against the overwhelming power of spirit stones, no one lasted even a single exchange.
The buyer had barely finished speaking before the victims unanimously accepted the proposal. One after another, they cheerfully collected their compensation and returned to their seats.
Just like that, the disturbance disappeared as quickly as it had begun.
The surrounding spectators nearly burst into tears.
If someone's handing out spirit stones, let me be the one who gets hit next time!
Had they known there was money to be made so easily, they would have sat closer to the buyer so they'd be caught within the bell's range as well.
Seeing that no fight was going to break out after all, Lou Yuqing reluctantly looked away.
What a pity.
The show was over.
Beside her, Ling Yunxiao quietly nibbled on his spirit fruit. No one knew what he was thinking, but every now and then, the corners of his lips curved into a faint smile.
Once the disturbance had been resolved, Du Fengyao returned to the trading platform with her usual smile.
"Any fellow Daoist who wishes to trade may now come forward. Simply introduce your item, explain its effects, and state what you wish to exchange it for."
She swept her gaze across the hall before adding warmly, "I, Du Fengyao, wish every fellow cultivator success in finding what you seek."
With that, she stepped aside.
Almost immediately, three or four black-robed cultivators shot to their feet and landed on the platform at the same time.
None of them showed the slightest intention of giving way, and as their gazes met, invisible sparks seemed to crackle through the air.
Fortunately, Du Fengyao had seen scenes like this countless times.
Before anyone could speak, she smiled and suggested, "Since there's no set order for trading, why don't we simply go from left to right?"
The cultivators exchanged glances before silently agreeing.
The cultivator standing on the far left stepped forward and produced a jade box. Calmly lifting the lid, he said, "I have a Heavenly Heart Pill here. I wish to exchange it for a spiritual herb that's at least ten thousand years old."
The hall erupted in an instant.
Even Lou Yuqing couldn't help staring.
The Heavenly Heart Pill.
A miraculous elixir capable of allowing a Foundation Establishment cultivator to leap an entire realm.
Its allure was irresistible.
Thinking back to the Heavenly Heart Pill she'd purchased during the trial, Lou Yuqing felt a pang of regret. She checked her storage ring, and sure enough, the pill was gone.
Items obtained inside the trial world couldn't be brought back into reality.
Fortunately, the spirit stones she'd spent had all been refunded.
Otherwise, she'd really have cried.
The appearance of the Heavenly Heart Pill pushed the atmosphere of the trade fair to its peak.
Before long, a cultivator carrying a ten-thousand-year spiritual herb successfully completed the exchange.
Judging by the way he carefully cradled the pill afterward, it was obviously of tremendous value to him.
After that, cultivator after cultivator stepped onto the platform, displaying their treasures and announcing what they hoped to trade for.
Some exchanges were completed successfully, while others fell through, but nothing caused the same sensation as the Heavenly Heart Pill.
By the time the final trade concluded, night had already fallen. A pale moon hung high above, with only a scattering of stars dotting the sky.
Lou Yuqing and Ling Yunxiao left the trade fair together. As the teleportation array activated beneath their feet, the scenery blurred for an instant.
When it settled again, they found themselves standing in a quiet alley outside the pavilion.
The black robes disguising them had vanished without a trace.
No one would ever know they had attended the trade fair.
The meticulous secrecy of the entire operation left Lou Yuqing genuinely impressed.
"Yuqing."
Ling Yunxiao finally gathered his courage.
For the first time, he dropped the words Junior Sister and simply called her by name.
The single word left his lips so naturally that even he was caught off guard, his heartbeat quickening almost immediately.
"Let me walk you back to your peak."
Lou Yuqing didn't notice the quiet test hidden in those words. Her thoughts were still lingering on everything she'd seen at the trade fair—spirit beast eggs, Heavenly Fire Seeds, Dragon Beard Fungus... one rare treasure after another, the kind she would almost never encounter in everyday life.
"Mm," she replied absentmindedly.
A moment later, she finally processed what he'd actually said. Looking up at him, she pointed out with complete sincerity, "But Xuantian Peak and Cangtian Peak aren't even on the same route."
Ling Yunxiao's fingers curled slightly inside his sleeves, though his expression remained perfectly composed.
"We're... friends, aren't we?"
After a brief pause, he continued, "Besides, I happen to have some free time tonight. I can stop by your cave dwelling. Another day, you can come visit mine on Xuantian Peak."
Only he knew how much meaning was hidden beneath those seemingly casual words.
Under the moonlight, Lou Yuqing only looked at him in silence. As the quiet lingered, Ling Yunxiao couldn't help growing nervous, his heart slowly rising into his throat.
Did she figure it out?
Just as panic began creeping into his mind, she suddenly smiled.
"Alright."
Ling Yunxiao really was clever.
Now they each had a perfectly reasonable excuse to visit the other's cave dwelling in the future.
The sound of her laughter drew a smile from him as well. Moonlight stretched their shadows across the ground until the two silhouettes overlapped, and before he knew it, his gaze kept drifting back to them again and again.
He didn't look away until they rose into the night sky together, leaving their shadows behind.
Meanwhile, cultivators continued emerging from hidden teleportation arrays all across the market, appearing in different corners of the district.
In a quiet side street, Su Zhile patted his storage pouch, a satisfied smile tugging at his lips.
Although he hadn't managed to buy one of Master Du's artifacts tonight, he'd still come away with an unexpected windfall of spirit stones.
He was just considering trying his luck at a few other artifact shops when a gentle voice suddenly called out behind him.
"Fellow Daoist, please wait."
Su Zhile jumped before immediately shouting, "Who's hiding there trying to scare people? Come out!"
A figure stepped calmly from the shadows. A mask concealed his face, but the faint smile beneath it was unmistakable.
"What do you think of Master Du's artifacts, Fellow Daoist? If I could obtain one of her works, would you be interested in making a trade?"
Su Zhile's eyes lit up. For a brief moment, it felt as though treasure had fallen straight from the heavens.
Then suspicion quickly crept in.
"Really?"
Could this guy be a swindler?
"Of course." The masked man spoke with practiced ease. "Every artifact Master Du creates bears unique rune markings that ordinary people simply can't imitate. I'm sure you already know that."
Su Zhile nodded. Any regular customer was well aware of that.
With a casual wave of his hand, the masked man produced three magical artifacts—a meteor hammer, a spear, and a wooden bowl-shaped defensive artifact.
"I happen to have three of Master Du's works. Take a closer look first, then decide whether you'd like to buy them."
The moment Su Zhile confirmed the rune markings were indeed Master Du's signature, most of his remaining caution melted away. He eagerly picked up the artifacts.
"How many spirit stones?"
The masked man smiled as though he'd anticipated the question.
"You're probably wondering why I have Master Du's artifacts. Most outsiders only know that she produces very few, and that every piece is a masterpiece."
He continued smoothly, "The truth is, Master Du's artifact-refining skills have improved considerably lately.
She's crafted quite a number of new artifacts, but releasing them all at once would drive down their value, so she's been keeping them in reserve.
She asked me to privately help find buyers, and naturally, I thought of her regular customers first."
The explanation sounded perfectly reasonable.
Su Zhile immediately tested each artifact.
The meteor hammer possessed tremendous destructive power, the spear excelled in offense, and the wooden bowl provided exceptional defense.
Every single one looked outstanding.
His heart instantly wavered.
He wanted all three.
Unfortunately, judging by Master Du's usual prices, he probably had enough spirit stones for only one.
"Worried about the price?" the masked man asked with a knowing smile. "I've already spoken with Master Du. If you're sincerely interested, I can offer you a special discount."
Su Zhile's eyes immediately changed.
For a split second, the masked man thought the scam had been exposed.
Instead, Su Zhile suddenly lunged forward and grabbed both of his hands.
"Senior Brother!" he exclaimed emotionally. "You have to believe me, my sincerity couldn't be any greater! If I could, I'd tear open my chest and let you see my heart!"
The masked man's scalp instantly went numb.
Goosebumps erupted all over his body as he hurriedly yanked his hands free.
"Alright, alright! There's no need to go that far. I'll give you the discount."
What kind of person is this?! Why is he grabbing my hands?!
Completely oblivious to the psychological damage he'd just inflicted, Su Zhile happily bought two artifacts at the discounted price. As for the third, he simply couldn't afford it.
Noticing the reluctant look in his eyes, the masked man paused while putting the artifact away and let out a sigh.
"Considering how pleasant this transaction has been, I'll let you have this artifact—"
Su Zhile's eyes immediately shone.
"Give it to me?"
"...No."
The masked man's expression stiffened.
"You can pawn something instead. Pills that improve cultivation, for example."
Su Zhile looked disappointed.
For about half a heartbeat, he almost lost interest in the artifact.
Only half a heartbeat.
After rummaging through his storage pouch, he discovered that everything valuable had already been pawned.
He was completely broke.
Even so, he wasn't discouraged in the slightest. If anything, he became even more excited.
Watching the masked man's departing figure, he silently calculated that reselling just one of Master Du's artifacts would let him recover his costs immediately and earn a handsome profit besides.
This middleman is far too soft-hearted.
At this rate, he'll lose all his money sooner or later.
Meanwhile, the middleman who had just been labeled a fool strode confidently into an artifact-refining shop.
Magical artifacts were scattered throughout the room, several of them looking identical to the ones Su Zhile had just purchased, as though they had all come from the same batch.
"Brother Min, how did it go?" the shopkeeper asked, rising to greet him.
Min Daode smiled knowingly.
"It's done."
For years, he had painstakingly studied Du Fengyao's distinctive rune markings, and only recently had his efforts finally borne fruit.
Every artifact Su Zhile had purchased tonight had been forged by Min Daode himself—not Du Fengyao.
Throughout the entire transaction, he'd kept his face hidden beneath a mask, leaving him completely unconcerned about being exposed.
Even if that foolish cultivator eventually realized something was amiss, there would be no way to track him down.
Both men walked away convinced they'd made a tremendous profit.
And each firmly believed the other was the fool.