Chapter 368
Pang Shishu chuckled, a hint of self-satisfaction on his face as he replied, “It’s just an investigation, seeing who mingles more with the disciples of the Baixian Alliance. My ‘Dongxu Lingyan’ is precisely for this purpose, isn’t it?”
Zheng Fa nodded slightly.
The cultivators from the Baixian Alliance entering the Jiushan Realm naturally wouldn’t be without security measures—let’s not even mention the top-secret laboratories on University Island.
The Jiushan Realm has always maintained a loose exterior but a tight interior, and Pang Shishu’s lineage is constantly vigilant regarding these cultivators.
Identifying a few individuals familiar with the Baixian disciples is hardly a challenge.
“Their arrival isn’t really my doing,” Pang Shishu added.
Zheng Fa turned to see a genuine smile on Pang Shishu’s face as he continued, “These Huashen or Yuanying cultivators can’t be swayed by mere rumors. It’s just that our Jiushan Sect has birthed fourteen Jindan in the past half month, with half of them being top-grade… Even if they don’t believe it, they have to.”
Zheng Fa nodded lightly.
Rumors may be mere whispers, but facts are undeniable.
“Though they no longer need to form Jindan, what about their disciples? What about the younger generation? To them, what’s an external pill worth?” Pang Shishu watched as the Yuanying cultivators entered one by one, his smile growing wider, and there was even a hint of pride in his tone. “Besides, does our Jiushan Sect have a single lie?”
“That external pill contains the secrets of the ‘Jindan Project.’”
“It’s just a matter of whether they can comprehend it.”
Zheng Fa became intrigued and asked, “What do you think, Pang Shishu? Do you believe they can glean the secrets of the ‘Jindan Project’ from it?”
Pang Shishu glanced at him, seemingly finding the question foolish. “Do you think I’ve mastered the ‘Jindan Project’?”
“...Ahem.”
Zheng Fa nodded silently. The ‘Jindan Project’ seemed simple, but the knowledge required for its integration was vast; even he wouldn’t dare claim to understand it all.
Not to mention, the knowledge systems of cultivators outside the Jiushan Realm are entirely different.
As they spoke, the hall was already filled with people. On the high platform, Senior Sister Yuan stepped out from backstage, her face adorned with a warm and gracious smile.
She bowed to the VIP box and addressed the gathered cultivators, “Dear guests…”
Watching Senior Sister Yuan speak confidently on stage, Pang Shishu sighed with a smile, “You really are something, making the most of your talents… Who would have thought of her?”
Zheng Fa also smiled as he watched her. Senior Sister Yuan was effortlessly hosting the auction. She often appeared a bit silly, but now she exuded a special sense of trust among the attendees.
Even though everyone knew she was hoping to rake in some money from their storage bags.
But looking at her round, somewhat innocent smile, one couldn’t help but feel that this Yuan Xianzi probably didn’t have a scheming bone in her body…
“Senior Sister Yuan volunteered for this,” Zheng Fa explained to Pang Shishu. “She said she’s gained quite a bit of experience from the news, and she’s not the same as before.”
It was like the saying, “A bird that has been away for three days should be viewed with new eyes.”
Indeed, with Senior Sister Yuan on stage, there were some people… who were like birds.
Pang Shishu, upon hearing this, actually pondered for a moment before suddenly laughing, “That’s quite true. Although Yuan Shizhi previously managed the market, we all knew she didn’t have that talent… Zhang Shizhi gave her this position more out of faith in her pure heart.”
“Who would have thought she’d excel in this area?”
“Not just me, even your master thought this little one was a bit foolish, just hoping she wouldn’t cause any trouble. Who knew she’d have such fortune?”
Zheng Fa agreed with Pang Shishu’s assessment. Previously, the profits in the market were too great, and Zhang Shizhi used Yuan Shizhi because she valued her simple love for food over a greed for spirit stones.
Anything else was just wishful thinking.
“Yuan Shizhi has never been this happy before,” Pang Shishu suddenly sighed.
Watching the somewhat awkward yet increasingly confident Senior Sister Yuan on stage, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but smile gently—she was usually cheerful, her simple nature allowing her to forget many worries with just a bite to eat; she was a true joy-bringer.
But finding her own talent, showcasing her intelligence, and being loved by everyone was a different kind of happiness.
…
After the auction, Tongming Shangren held an external pill in his hand, frowning as he said, “That so-called ‘Jindan Project’ business, isn’t it just a rumor deliberately spread by the Jiushan Sect to entice us into buying these external pills?”
He spoke with a somewhat indignant expression.
The Jiushan Sect had sold fifteen external pills, but the buyers far exceeded that number.
The prices were naturally a bit inflated.
“The rumors are definitely intentional,” Chengkong Shangren shot him a glance and chuckled, “Otherwise, how could such a top-secret matter be discussed so openly?”
Tongming Shangren nodded; he had thought of that.
“However, this thing is related to the Jiushan Sect’s Jindan secret method… that much is true.”
Chengkong Shangren suddenly added.
Tongming Shangren was taken aback, and he listened as Chengkong Shangren explained, “The quality of most external pills in the world is generally equivalent to low-grade Jindan, or even the worst of them.”
He took out a Shenxiao external pill and pointed at it, saying, “But this one actually has the quality of a mid-grade Jindan.”
“Clearly, the so-called ‘Jindan Project’ isn’t just a lie.”
Upon hearing this, Tongming Shangren was convinced. He thought for a moment and even felt that the Jiushan Sect was being generous: “So, even if we can’t uncover the secret of that Jindan method, this high-quality external pill is actually worth the price.”
Chengkong Shangren smiled and suddenly added, “Don’t forget, there’s also the Da Zizai Demon Sect.”
Tongming Shangren felt a pang of discomfort, realizing the underlying message in Chengkong Shangren’s words—despite not being able to discern the secrets of the ‘Jindan Project,’ this external pill was still a formidable artifact.
A fully realized foundation cultivator wielding it could almost contend with a weaker Jindan…
Thinking this way, he found himself not minding the high price of the external pill, even feeling it was a bit scarce.
With the Jiushan Sect’s external pills of such quality, they would likely become quite popular!
“Jiushan Sect…” Tongming Shangren sighed.
He only uttered three words, but Chengkong Shangren seemed to understand his meaning: “The Jiushan Sect has its own clever designs. Not to mention the external pills, there are also those spirit plants…”
As he spoke, his tone gradually lowered.
Tongming Shangren didn’t mind his silence but instead looked at the market before him.
The building where the auction was held was located on Jingkai Island, and as they stepped outside, they walked just a few steps to reach the newly established market of the Jiushan Sect—
The market wasn’t large, just a square area.
Three horizontal and three vertical streets divided the market into sixteen blocks.
Each block contained shops, which were naturally newly built, with a simple style, some even lacking decorations.
The goods in the shops were quite uniform.
In fact, there were only three representative products:
Spirit talismans, mostly thunder-type and soul-type talismans.
Qianhe Valley and Thunder Pepper, crops newly developed by Zheng Fa and the others.
And some thunder-type spiritual materials, which were naturally exchanged by disciples in the herb garden, either too precious to use or temporarily unused, sold here.
There were also some scattered shops selling artifacts or pills, most of which were opened by the previous batch of Baixian Alliance disciples.
Aside from spirit talismans, surprisingly, the most popular item was Thunder Pepper.
This market was still somewhat crude; Tongming Mountain’s own Tongming Market was much livelier and richer than this one.
But…
As he strolled through the market, buying nothing, he simply turned to look around.
The faces of the Jiushan Sect’s shopkeepers wore peaceful and warm smiles.
The disciples he brought along were happily and freely weaving through the shops.
The ease on their faces was something he hadn’t seen in a long time.
Indeed, no matter how bustling Tongming Market was, the threat of the Da Zizai Demon Sect kept everyone on edge.
He also saw the leader of the Baicao Sect, Yu Menzh主, wandering around, seemingly inspecting the shops, likely intending to open a store here: he thought it was a good choice, as the Baixian Alliance was currently impoverished, and if they could do some business and earn some spirit stones, it would be a small boon for the sect.
Now that the Jiushan Sect had made a name for itself with its external pills and was extremely safe.
Opening a shop here was indeed very tempting.
Thinking of this, he blinked, feeling a bit downcast.
Chengkong Shangren glanced at him, seemingly curious about his expression.
“I was just thinking… no wonder Zheng Fa looks down on my Baixian Alliance.”
“Hmm?”
Tongming Shangren explained:
“Our Baixian Alliance, not to mention recruiting new disciples, our current disciples are barely hanging on, while the Jiushan Sect has hundreds of disciples entering every year.”
“Many of our Baixian Alliance’s Jindan disciples have also perished recently, while the Jiushan Sect has an abundance of top-grade Jindan…”
“Now that this market has opened, its future prosperity is easy to foresee.”
“Given time, one will thrive while the other will wither…”
Chengkong Shangren listened, feeling a pang of sympathy, and spoke up, “He’s also relying on the Jiushan Realm…”
“The Jiushan Realm… used to be called the Tianbei Realm. My Tongming Mountain has had disciples enter this small world before; it’s just that Zheng Fa is more skilled, and that’s how it became the Jiushan Realm.”
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