Daojun, start from Penglai foundation building

Seeing Jiang Sheng's eagerness to leave, Lin Fan was immediately alarmed, realizing that Tu Shan Lian was definitely a big problem.

But Jiang Sheng had already vanished without a trace. Before Lin Fan could think of any excuse to refuse, Tu Shanlian bowed slightly and said, "No need for Lingzhao Zhenjun to take care of me. I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

Tu Shanlian turned and left without hesitation. Lin Fan was speechless as he watched this scene, but Tu Shanlian had already disappeared.

In an instant, only Lin Fan remained; Jiang Sheng and Tu Shan Lian were nowhere to be seen. After a long while, Lin Fan finally realized, "I was tricked by Yuan Chen and that Tu Shan Lian together. Really!"

Shaking his head helplessly, Lin Fan thought that he would eventually get to tease Jiang Sheng, but he didn't expect that he would be teased by Jiang Sheng in the end: "Never mind, that's fine. Senior Sister Lingyu must be getting impatient."

With that, Lin Fan headed towards where Ling Yu and Ling Qiu were.

Although there were quite a few Upper Three Realms cultivators from Penglai attending this trade fair, they all had their own circles of fellow cultivators. Although Lin Fan could establish some connections with his senior uncles and masters, he wouldn't rashly disturb them at this time.

After all, Lin Fan also has some secret opportunities that he needs to take care of himself.

Meanwhile, Jiang Sheng, having left Lin Fan, was wandering around the island.

This island, though only 80,000 li in circumference, has already been developed into many areas, including markets for private trade and stalls, streets and alleys for pleasure-seeking that cater to both refined and vulgar tastes, and even some True Lords who have established their own shops, forming a street dedicated to refining pills, arrays, and talismans.
These markets and streets, though seemingly distinct, are subtly connected. Even while walking through them, Jiang Sheng could sense that the layout of these markets and streets was absolutely based on the Bagua and Nine Palaces, and that they were inscribed with array patterns, spirit marks, and other restrictions.

The core building for this transaction is located in the center of these markets and streets, which is also the heart of the island.

It was a palace spanning a thousand miles, clearly visible from all parts of the island. Its foundation was a thousand feet high, with over ten thousand stone steps. There were main gates in the four directions: east, west, south, and north. The east and south gates were respectively managed by the Eastern Heavenly Daoist School and Chixiao and Yaochi. The west gate was managed by Jinchan Temple and Tianlong Temple, and the north gate was managed by the Demon Emperor's Palace.

When Jiang Sheng arrived at the trading hall, he saw that the Daoist soldiers and disciples from various families were on duty here. In fact, these Daoist soldiers and disciples were just putting on a show. Whether they were guarding the trading hall or patrolling the streets and markets, they didn't even have the right to mediate if a conflict broke out, especially when facing True Monarchs who were at the Upper Three Realms level.

For this reason, the immortals and gods of the upper three realms are even more cautious, lest their anger affect these juniors.

"The Cangyuan Palace houses the Heavenly Origin Gold and Jade, and the Abyss of Resonant Gold."

"Xiaohe Talisman Shop sells Fire Virtue Immortal Talismans and collects Phoenix Perching on Wutong Trees."

"Moonflower Shop sells Jade Pool Qionghua (a type of jade flower) and Jade Pool Golden and Silver Carp, and buys Heavenly Clarity Sword Heart Bamboo."

Jiang Sheng looked up and saw that each shop had a puppet standing in front of it, playing a loop of the shop's sales and purchase information. Inside the shops, three or five juniors of the lower-middle level were diligently looking after the shops.

Jiang Sheng recognized a few of these younger people, and he was even more familiar with the owners of these shops. It was just a pity that they were not there, and had only left their disciples to take care of them.

Continuing on, a shop caught Jiang Sheng's attention: "Zhu Ming's Shop sells Taiyin Jade Marrow, Guanghan Bamboo, and Hanyuan Ice Fruit. We also buy Great Sun Geng Metal, Sun Fire Essence Metal, Innate Fire Essence, and Ninth-Order Fire Feathers."

Zhu Ming's shop sells items of the Yin element and collects treasures of the Yang element. It's obvious that this shop is run by the crested ibis.

What caught Jiang Sheng's attention was that the crested ibis was actually in the shop at that moment.

The bored crested ibis was fiddling with a piece of Sunfire Refined Gold in its shop, resting its chin on its hand. Sensing Jiang Sheng's presence, it looked up and immediately beamed with joy: "It's Ling Yuan! Come quickly, come have some tea here."

Jiang Sheng smiled and nodded as they arrived at the crested ibis shop.

While the crested ibis was brewing tea, Jiang Sheng looked around and said, "Why is your shop so simple? Apart from the puppet at the door, you don't even have a servant in the shop?"

The crested ibis presented Jiang Sheng with a cup of the unique Fire Mist Cypress Tea from the Zhu Ming Realm, then sighed, looking helpless: "You're new here, you don't know the situation here."

"I've already spent a lot of money to set up this shop. Apart from the puppet, which was a freebie, the staff and shop renovations all cost money!"

"Those guys from the Demon Emperor's Palace and the Buddhist sect are simply obsessed with money. They should be squeezed dry. Do you know how much this shop cost me?"

"Thirty thousand Starfall Gold! Luckily, those guys from the Demon Emperor's Palace didn't insist on the Demon Source Jade, and the Buddhist sect didn't only want the Buddha Source Golden Lotus, otherwise I would have had to go and exchange it, and they would have charged me another handling fee!"

Listening to the crested ibis's grumbling, Jiang Sheng couldn't help but admire the two people at Jinchan Temple for their intelligence.

Guangwen and Guanghui's proposal to hold this trade fair is truly a win-win situation. It not only provides a trading platform for everyone to make money, but also allows them to acquire additional funds and resources they need. This is more than just a triple win.
"Lingyuan, why is it that there isn't a universal currency in all the myriad realms?"

As the crested ibis grumbled, Jiang Sheng laughed and said, "Crested ibis, what good things are you thinking about?"

"If we were to give the Immortal Source Jade used by our Xuanmen cultivators to your demon race, would your demon race be able to use the Immortal Source Power within it?"

"Similarly, your demon race's Demon Source Jade is a convergence of demonic power, while the Buddhist sect's Buddha Source Golden Lotus is Buddhist magic power. The Heavenly Court does have something that combines the spiritual energy of immortals, gods, demons, and Buddhas, which can be called the primordial energy of chaos. But how many of you can produce the Heavenly Court's Heavenly Flower?"

Upon hearing this, the crested ibis also pouted in resentment.

As Jiang Sheng said, there is no universal currency in all the heavens and myriad realms. It's alright for the lower and middle realms, as spirit stones exist.

Spirit stones are born from blessed lands and earth veins, containing spiritual energy. They have no attribute distinctions and are universally applicable in the lower and middle realms.

However, once you reach the middle three realms, which is the Golden Core realm, spirit stones are not actually that useful anymore. True cultivators in the middle three realms prefer to barter for other things, and even when they collect spirit stones, they only collect spirit stones that are compatible with their own cultivation.

Spirit stones with attributes are much harder to mine than those without. For example, fire-attribute spirit stones can only be formed in volcanoes, underground lava, and other places rich in fire-attribute natural treasures, where they are nurtured in a large amount of fire essence.

In the myriad realms, spirit stones with the five elements are quite common, and spirit stones with the wind, ice, and lightning attributes are also relatively common. However, spirit stones with other strange and unusual attributes are truly hard to find. It's no wonder that cultivators prefer to trade with rare and precious materials. After all, everyone gets what they need, and carrying a few rare and precious materials is much more convenient than carrying a bunch of spirit stones.

Upon reaching the upper three realms, immortals, gods, demons, and Buddhas all cultivate the Great Dao and accumulate their origins. Immortals have their immortal origins, and demons have their demon origins. To create veins with immortal or demon origins, even Mahayana Immortal Lords and Mahayana Demon Venerables need to be immersed in the aura for many years, sometimes more than ten thousand years, before a batch can be born in their own caves. Large quantities can only be obtained by mining from the caves of Dao Lords and Great Sages.

Therefore, in all the myriad realms, Immortal Jade and Demon Jade are basically produced by various Taoist sects and holy lands of the demon race. They are either newly mined in this era or left over from the previous era.

In addition to the golden lotus of Buddhism and the divine source of the gods, there is truly no universally applicable commodity for trade in all the myriad realms.

Fortunately, the myriad realms and even the chaotic universe are full of stars, which can be mined to obtain Starfall Gold, a rare and precious material commonly used in the upper three realms, as a commodity for trade.

The Golden Emperor discovered this problem and created the Heavenly Flower, which contains the primordial energy of chaos. It can be used by immortals, gods, demons, Buddhas, and monsters alike. It is the most common currency among the upper three realms in the Three Realms. Even outside the Three Realms, many upper three realms like to collect the Heavenly Flower.

To some extent, the Heavenly Flower created by the Golden Palace Heavenly Emperor is the most readily available and reliable currency among the three realms of the myriad worlds. This also proves the Golden Palace Heavenly Emperor's great ambition. If it weren't for the purpose of unifying the thirty-six heavens, and if it weren't for the purpose of bringing immortals, gods, demons, and Buddhas under his command, why would he have bothered to enter the Chaos Source Gathering Machine to create this Heavenly Flower that encompasses all schools of thought?
After feeling frustrated for a while, the crested ibis perked up again: "Lingyuan, you have quite a few rare Sunfire treasures, right? Can you trade some with me?"

Jiang Sheng thought for a moment, then took out some of the things he had brought down from the Sun Star in the Xuanhuang Realm: "Take a look and see which ones you can use."

The crested ibis gazed at the rare and precious materials imbued with the rich aura of fire and the spiritual energy of the sun, its eyes shining: "I can use them all, I want them all!"

Jiang Sheng laughed and said, "Alright, I have no taboos. I'll take whatever you have, whether it's Demon Source Jade, Immortal Source Jade, Buddha Source Golden Lotus, or Heavenly Court Heavenly Flower. It just depends on how much you can buy."

Upon hearing this, the crested ibis hurriedly took out the Immortal Jade and Demon Jade she had stored: "That's all. Do you want the Starfall Gold?"

Jiang Sheng shook his head: "I don't need that stuff."

The crested ibis was unaware of Jiang Sheng's wealth. Not to mention the products of Xiao Penglai, the Penglai Dao Sect sent a large amount of meteorite gold to Xiao Penglai every sixty years. Furthermore, every hundred years, the two continents of Dongdi Xuanzhou and Dongling Huazhou, which had close ties with Jiang Sheng, also sent a batch of meteorite gold and various other natural treasures to Jiang Sheng.

The amount of meteorite gold piled up in Xiaopenglai today cannot be described as just a few warehouses; it is enough to melt down into a celestial star if all of it were piled up in one place.

After exchanging the Demon Source Jade and Immortal Source Jade on hand with Jiang Sheng for a batch of Sun Treasures, the Crested Ibis slumped back down listlessly: "This shop has been open for several days, and you are the first person to trade with me. The others simply cannot produce Sun Fire Treasures and are only willing to exchange other things for my Lunar Spiritual Materials."

"It seems we can only wait until the trade fair starts to look for people to trade with."

Upon hearing the crested ibis mention the trade fair, Jiang Sheng asked, "You arrived earlier than me, so tell me about the rules and regulations of this trade fair."

The crested ibis said, “There’s no special procedure. See that trading hall? It’s divided into five sections: east, west, south, north, and center. Each section conducts its own transactions. People either go up on stage to display their rare and precious materials or enter the items they need or are selling into their trading jade discs from their own positions. Everyone can see it.”

"Those who need it will come to you to trade, it's very simple."

As she spoke, the crested ibis suddenly looked at Jiang Sheng with a strange expression: "Isn't this just a perfectly normal transaction process?"

"Lingyuan, you haven't participated in any trade fairs or auctions before, have you?"

"From Qi Refining to the current Body Integration Realm, have you never participated in a single auction?"

Don't you ever travel?

Looking at the strange look in the crested ibis's eyes, Jiang Sheng said irritably, "I participated once. At that time, I was in the Purple Mansion Realm. I participated that one time and was mistaken for a fat sheep by the Tribulation Cultivator."

Upon hearing this, the crested ibis couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Lingyuan, Lingyuan, no one would believe your story if you told them! Hahaha, who would have thought that the renowned Penglai Lingyuan True Lord, who is so famous throughout the myriad realms, would have such a past?"

Seeing the crested ibis laughing heartily, Jiang Sheng felt even more helpless and could only pick up his teacup and take a sip of tea.

A few days later, Lin Fan's voice came through Jiang Sheng's communication jade pendant: "Yuan Chen, the trade fair is about to begin. Come to the East Branch Hall quickly. Senior Sister Ling Yu, Junior Sister Ling Qiu, and I are waiting for you here."

Upon receiving the message, Jiang Sheng bid farewell to the crested ibis: "The sect is looking for me. Crested ibis, where are you going?"

The crested ibis said, "I have discussed it with the White-haired Underworld Lord and the Four Seas True Lord. We will go to the Central Hall, where people from all directions are gathered, which is a good place to trade."

Jiang Sheng arranged to contact the crested ibis and the others at the Zhongfen Hall and then left.

Jiang Sheng left the shop and flew through the air. Looking around, he saw figures from the Upper Three Realms everywhere.

Those True Monarchs and Demon Monarchs at the Refinement and Integration Realms, as well as Venerable Kings and Bright Kings, were rushing towards the Trading Hall from all directions. All the Immortals were riding on clouds and mist; no one was foolish enough to release their mounts or set up ceremonial cloud chariots. Therefore, the Immortals were very harmonious. Whether they were familiar with each other or not, they would nod and greet each other before continuing on their way.

Jiang Sheng encountered many acquaintances along the way. Many cultivators at the Refinement and Integration Realms from the Eastern Heaven Daoist School, the Crimson Cloud Daoist Sect, the Demon Emperor's Palace, and the Buddhist sect recognized him. Jiang Sheng had no choice but to greet them one by one. This scene attracted the attention of many people, but they nodded with smiles after recognizing Jiang Sheng.

They greeted the immortals all the way to the East Branch Hall. Before Jiang Sheng could even land, Ling Qiu hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Senior Brother Ling Yuan, we've been waiting for you."

Jiang Sheng nodded and joined Lin Fan and Ling Yu with Ling Qiu. Looking around, Jiang Sheng asked curiously, "Where is Senior Brother?"

Lingyu said, "My senior brother can't come this time, so he entrusted all his things to me. I'll make the transaction on his behalf."

“Ling Xuan couldn’t come either, as his soul injury hadn’t healed yet, so he entrusted Ling Zhao to help him trade and collect a batch of rare and precious materials for healing the soul.”

A rare and precious herb for healing the soul?
Jiang Sheng thought for a moment: "Could he be planning to build a soul-nourishing coffin?"

Lingyu said, "That's what he was thinking. He wanted to use the Soul-Nourishing Coffin to nurture his soul, so that it would be perfect and flawless, and avoid affecting his future path in cultivation."

"He consulted Master Xuanming about this matter. Master Xuanming promised to personally tailor-make a soul-nourishing coffin for him after he collected all the materials, one that would match his soul energy. Once his soul was properly nourished, it would be time for him to break through to the next realm."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Sheng asked no further questions and entered the trading hall with the three of them.

Upon entering the trading hall, one is greeted by a dome woven with gold and silver, illuminated by starlight and traversed by rivers of cold jade, creating a magnificent and vast starry sea. Below this starry sea is a nine-tiered platform with twelve tables, each representing one of the twelve earthly branches, where twelve immortals can ascend at once to propose a trade.

Beyond the high platform are rows of independent rooms arranged in nine tiers. Each room has its own array and communication jade pendant, allowing users to view all the items registered for trading at this trade fair. Users can actively trade or secretly bid, catering to everyone's needs.

Jiang Sheng and the others were not gathered in one room. Jiang Sheng and Lin Fan were in one room, and Ling Yu and Ling Qiu were in another. The four of them split into two rooms, entered the items they were selling into their communication jade pendants, and checked if there were any items they needed.

Not long after the inspection, someone had already climbed onto the central trading platform. A veiled female immortal placed a spirit-containing jade box on the table in front of her: "A three-thousand-year-old Dragon and Phoenix Blood Jade Fruit in exchange for a Taiyin Jade Seedling or a Guanghan Jade Osmanthus."

The Taiyin Jade Seedling and the Guanghan Jade Ganoderma are both unique to the Taiyin star and are top-grade natural treasures for female cultivators of the Yin and Water elements.

The Dragon-Phoenix Blood Jade Fruit that this female immortal took out was also extraordinary. It was a three-thousand-year-old Dragon-Phoenix Blood Jade Fruit, which was definitely mature. It was an excellent choice for body tempering, cultivating demon race supernatural powers, tempering the true spirit, and refining breakthrough medicine.

Especially after the masked female immortal took out the Dragon and Phoenix Blood Jade Fruit, Jiang Sheng clearly sensed that his good brother Lin Fan beside him was breathing rapidly.

"Yuan Chen, I must get my hands on this!" (End of Chapter)