Born with immortal seed

Chapter 151 Grassroots Trade Fair

"The Fire Dragon Returning to Origin Scripture is extremely suitable for me, except for one drawback: after practicing it, my lungs and internal organs are filled with fire poison, as if I have a mouthful of flame in my throat, which is extremely uncomfortable..."

Bai Zichen coughed lightly, causing a sharp pain in his throat and chest.

The Fire Dragon Returning to Origin Scripture is powerful and fast to cultivate. In the later stages, one can even transform into a fire dragon. It is already the most advanced technique in the Qingfeng Sect.

There are only two major drawbacks: first, it produces fire poison during cultivation; and second, it is difficult to break through to higher realms.

The latter wasn't a flaw for Bai Zichen, but the former was something that genuinely troubled him.

After taking one Zhu Guo Jing Xin Wan (a traditional Chinese medicine), a cool and refreshing energy circulated throughout my body, slightly relieving my symptoms.

"Counting the days, it's almost time to meet with Senior Brother Dai. I need to go back to the mountain gate to retrieve my sword."

The dual swords combination that I've been longing for can't be achieved with one second-tier flying sword and the other a first-tier flying sword, can it?

Only with the Tianxin Sword in hand can one achieve true perfection.

With anticipation in his heart, Bai Zichen didn't even bother to sit on the colorful white cloud robe. He directly transformed into a white sword light and returned to the mountain gate in less than three hours.

"Junior Brother Bai, you really timed your arrival perfectly. I finished refining my sword only two days ago and you've already come. I didn't even have time to send you a message."

Dai Hui, dressed in loose casual clothes, waved his hand and threw a flying sword over.

I wonder if he can still maintain this noble and elegant demeanor when he is forging weapons.

"It's all because I admire Senior Brother Dai's weapon-refining skills and want to see the abilities of a third-tier weapon refiner..."

Bai Zichen smiled and raised the Tianxin Sword. The sword was long and slender, with dark red patterns running from tip to tip.

With a flick of the finger, the Tianxin Sword wobbled elastically.

"Thank you for your help, Senior Brother Dai. You have given me another flying sword."

"I also want to thank my junior brother for always giving me the opportunity to forge a flying sword at crucial moments... The Sound Bamboo Sword allowed me to officially enter the door of a third-tier weapon refiner, and this time the Heavenly Xin Sword gave me the inspiration to forge a magic weapon."

A third-tier weapon refiner means that their weapon refining skills are already sufficient to reach the first tier of magic weapons.

However, due to his cultivation level, without the blessing of the alchemical fire, Dai Hui's difficulty in refining magic weapons is several times higher than that of a Core Formation True Person who is also a third-level weapon refiner.

This is why cultivators who are one level ahead of their own cultivation level in the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation often experience a significant improvement in their Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation after they have advanced to that level.

In reality, even when his cultivation level was low, he had already accumulated enough foundational knowledge and skills.

Once one's cultivation level is high enough, one will have sufficient strength to demonstrate it.

Dai Hui had previously collaborated with Master Ge Cang to refine magical artifacts, but he had never refined one independently before.

"On behalf of my senior brother, I wish you continued success in reaching even greater heights!"

"Haha, that's just a thought... Creating an original magic weapon is too difficult. Let's follow the existing methods and forge one first."

Dai Hui waved his hand, indicating that he had the inspiration, but his skills were not yet up to par.

"The Acquired Thunder God Pearl that I helped Elder Ge refine last time was quite good. With that experience, the success rate of refining it was much higher."

Being able to independently and successfully refine a magic weapon basically means that Dai Hui has established himself on the path of a third-tier weapon refiner.

Their actual strength is much greater than what they appear to be.

"That little girl who offered the Heavenly Thunder God Pearl has finally reached the ninth level of Qi Refining. I heard that Elder Ge promised her a Foundation Establishment Pill. No matter when she reaches the Qi Refining stage, she can receive it directly without having to wait in line."

When Peng Chong, who was accompanying him, heard about the Thunder God Pearl falling the day after tomorrow, he gave Bai Zichen a deep look.

Back then, as the leader of the elders, he led a group of disciples and family cultivators to study the inheritance stele in the Five Sacred Mountains Temple.

At that time, Bai Zichen was just a young boy. Together with Su Li and Chen Wei, he triggered the strange phenomenon of the inheritance stone tablet, which left a deep impression on Peng Chong.

In just a few years, Su Li, who was already regarded as a genius of the sect's talismanic arts, naturally succeeded in establishing his foundation.

Chen Wei, who rose to prominence unexpectedly, received the care of the patriarch and became a true disciple, but she is still struggling in the Qi Refining stage.

On the contrary, Bai Zichen, who was the least noticeable one back then, has now become the most sought-after young elder in the Qingfeng Sect.

He was already able to chat and laugh with high-ranking officials at the level of the Palace Master.

"In the past two years, the sect has gained two Foundation Establishment elders, Junior Brother Jiang and Junior Brother Long. You San from my Weapon Refining Hall has also reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining and is preparing to break through to Foundation Establishment within five years..."

Dai Hui was quite pleased that the sect had gained a large number of new members.

Junior Brother Jiang is a long-time steward who successfully completed the Foundation Establishment stage at nearly sixty years old, which is truly inspiring.

As a true disciple, Junior Brother Long failed to establish his foundation several years ago, but he stopped in time, so the aftereffects were not significant.

After cultivating back to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining in the past few years, he achieved Foundation Establishment in one fell swoop with just one Foundation Establishment spiritual item.

Bai Zichen left the weapon-refining hall, intending to return directly to Feiyue Lake, but suddenly remembered something and walked up the bluestone steps towards the front mountain.

From the moment he entered the sect, he started as an inner disciple.

Having never experienced the trials of being a menial disciple or an outer disciple, he knew little about the lower-level cultivators who made up the largest proportion of the Qingfeng Sect disciples.

It wasn't until we reached Lonely Goose Peak that we realized how many disciples the Azure Maple Sect had.

In recent years, more than a thousand new disciples have been added, including those serving as menial laborers, and most of the promising talents recommended by the disciples stationed in various places have also been accepted.

Unlike the Five Finger Peak, the disciples here are always in a hurry, never having a moment to spare.

Disciples who perform menial tasks generally do not receive any resources or benefits; they must earn what they want through their own efforts.

Outer disciples have a slightly better chance, but if they want to rank among the top in the sect's small competitions, given similar talent levels, the competition comes down to who invests more cultivation resources.

"Nobody here recognizes me..."

Bai Zichen's youthful appearance, coupled with the fact that he didn't usually wear elder's robes, made him stand out among the outer disciples.

"Senior brother, would you be interested in visiting our trade fair? This year, Senior Brother Mingtian, who is the top contestant, is hosting it. Dozens of people are participating, and everyone has brought good items to exchange with each other."

An outer disciple blocked the way, warmly greeting his fellow disciple.

"Especially after the trade fair, Senior Brother Tian will also teach us the secrets to becoming an inner disciple, which we can't miss!"

A trading fair for outer sect disciples?

Bai Zichen became curious.

Lonely Goose Peak only has a mid-grade second-level spiritual energy. It is inhabited by outer sect disciples, and occasional menial disciples also come to visit.

With higher-grade cave dwellings available for inner disciples to choose from, they certainly wouldn't return to Lone Goose Peak.

Even if something happens, they will only send a message to the outer disciples to go there.

He had heard of the trading fairs that existed among the lower-level disciples back when he was still an inner disciple.

Placing goods on consignment in shops in the market is inconvenient and time-consuming, not to mention the market taking a cut.

It would be best to be able to complete transactions directly among fellow disciples to obtain useful cultivation resources.

Trade fairs came into being based on this demand.

There is no fixed time or location for the event; it is held roughly every six months, and the organizers are all outer disciples with considerable influence.

"Then let's go take a look, and while we're at it, let's find out where Jiang Shu is."

Bai Zichen came to Lonely Goose Peak purely on a whim, wanting to see how Jiang Shu was doing after joining the Green Maple Sect.

He made arrangements with the Transmission Hall to make Jiang Shu an outer disciple, and then they never met again.

Jiang Shu would send her a handwritten letter every six months, recording her recent situation and some interesting things that happened during her cultivation process.

Upon arriving at Lonely Goose Peak, they became interested in the so-called trading industry.

Perhaps it was because he hadn't experienced this period during his own upbringing that he wanted to understand the lives of lower-ranking disciples.

Upon seeing Bai Zichen nod, the outer disciple excitedly led him around the forest twice.

"My name is Lin Yong. This senior brother looks unfamiliar; I don't think I've seen him before?"

Disciples like Lin Yong, who are specifically responsible for recruiting new members, receive a reward for each person they successfully recruit.

Moreover, the host this time is a newly recruited inner disciple, so they need to perform well and try to leave a good impression on Senior Brother Tian.

"I usually cultivate at home and rarely go out."

Bai Zichen glanced at the man casually and could tell that this dark-skinned, thin outer disciple only had the cultivation level of the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Subconsciously, he adjusted his Qi Concealing Technique, controlling the fluctuations of his magical power on his body surface to around the sixth level of Qi Refining.

The trade fair was set up on a covered walkway in the woods, with more than a dozen disciples setting up stalls along the stone steps.

At the head of the veranda, there was a long table with several people sitting in it.

He must have a high status, as many outer disciples were gathered around him.

Bai Zichen glanced at it and then turned his attention back to the stall.

The stall setup is similar to that of the outer square of the market, but the stall owners and customers are all fellow apprentices, so the quality of their goods is relatively more reliable.

At the very least, you won't find people at market stalls who casually pick up a couple of unknown items and then boast about them being the relics of a Core Formation cultivator.

They tore off a piece of rag and claimed it was a treasure map from an ancient secret realm.

Bai Zichen strolled around with great interest. The items were mostly first-tier goods, various spiritual materials, talismans, and discarded magical artifacts.

Occasionally, a few bottles of pills that could enhance cultivation would appear, only to be surrounded by a large crowd and quickly sold out.

'This ring looks quite interesting...'

As Bai Zichen passed a stall, he sensed a faint sword aura and squatted down to pick up a brass ring.

The brass ring is engraved with the shape of two flying swords, which contain a sword aura.

"Senior brother, are you interested in the sword energy ring?"

The stall owner was a pretty young female disciple, who looked to be no more than 28 years old, still a budding, unripe fruit.

He put on a stern face, trying to appear calm and collected, and began hawking his goods.

"This is a mid-grade magic weapon passed down in my family. As long as I inject magic power, a sword aura will appear. It is indestructible and its destructive power is almost comparable to that of a high-grade magic weapon... It only costs one hundred and twenty spirit stones, which is not expensive at all."

Bai Zichen slipped the brass ring onto his index finger, and a sharp sword aura flashed past.

After playing with it for a while, I discovered the trick.

With continuous infusion of magic power without activating sword energy, the two flying swords on the brass ring slowly rotated, transforming into two streaks of light that leaped up and clashed with each other, moving with lightning speed.

Who was the original owner of this magical artifact?

Bai Zichen took off the brass ring, tossed it twice in his palm, and asked the young girl.

“He is my grandfather. He was an inner disciple of the Qingfeng Sect. He was seriously injured during a failed sect mission and returned home to marry and have children.”

The young girl stared intently at the brass ring, her eyes wide and unblinking.

"Before my grandfather passed away, he passed on the brass ring to me... If you want to buy it, senior brother, I can give you a discount of ten spirit stones. This is the lowest price I can offer."

“My grandfather was a master of the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. He always wore his brass ring close to his body, it was definitely not an ordinary item. I would not have taken it out to exchange for spirit stones if I was not really short of spirit stones to buy pills.”

(End of this chapter)