Immortal Road.

Upon hearing that cultivators at the Void Realm were cultivating pills, everyone's gaze turned fervent.

The Annihilation Avatar behind the crowd also felt a jolt in its heart!
I've never seen this at auctions, yet it's appearing at a trade fair. The price sounds pretty cheap; one chip can buy a bottle.

However, upon closer inspection, it is still quite extravagant.

A bottle of pills contains no more than ten pills. If you take one pill every half month, it will be finished in less than half a year. As an aid to cultivation, it only saves you half the effort.

For cultivators in the Void Transformation stage, making money is not as easy as they imagine.

Aside from extremely rare professions, most people spend about the same amount of time earning a seventh-tier spirit crystal as they do with the time saved by elixirs, and it might even be less. So this is something only the wealthy can afford; ordinary people should just meditate and cultivate normally.

Moreover, cultivators in the Void Realm usually stay in their caves in seclusion. When they occasionally go out to earn money, there are only a few options. Those with skills spend a lot of time saving up for their hard work, while those without skills travel around to dangerous mountains and rivers to collect spiritual items, which is a gamble. The risks and rewards are not commensurate.

As for hunting a seventh-tier beast king, unless you are highly skilled and daring, most people don't have the guts!
So, looking at it this way, most people don't have much money in their pockets.

Saving up a small amount over hundreds of years, you come to the market to buy what you need, spend it all, and leave. Who would leave their savings to gather dust when their pockets are empty?
But it's a different story for the wealthy members of powerful clans and those within the official system!

Because the powerful force behind them owns mineral resources and provides them with a monthly salary, their income is continuous. Over a long period of time, they have accumulated considerable wealth, and their purchasing power is definitely far greater than that of ordinary cultivators.

So there were quite a few people there, but only those in the front row spoke up.

"I'll take these pills; the price is negotiable."

"Fellow Daoist, I'll offer double the price for your pills, as many as you have!"

"Hmph, double? I'll offer triple!"

"I'm sorry, I don't want any bargaining chips, I only want spiritual items with mixed metal and wood attributes."

This master alchemist comes from the Pill Pavilion, a neutral force, and enjoys a high reputation in the Cloud Wind Immortal Domain. He seems to be quite wealthy, and if it weren't for collecting specific materials, he probably wouldn't even bother to come to this trade fair.

Those Void Transformation stage cultivators, realizing they couldn't win the bid, could only sigh with regret, saying that if they couldn't obtain the materials, they were still willing to spend money to buy pills.

After asking everyone around the room, no one could produce a spirit item that met the criteria!

"Well then, since that's the case, I'll take my leave now."

The first Dan Pavilion cultivator to go on stage left his seat and walked out of the trade fair without saying a word, as if no one else was there.

A murmur of dismay rippled through the crowd.

Everyone wants to cultivate elixirs, but unfortunately, they don't meet the requirements.

The telepathic message from Xing Shuzi rang in the ear of the Annihilation Avatar:

"Hmph, I am also a Supreme Master. If I had the pill formulas and materials on hand, would he be the one selling the pills for the Void Realm cultivation stage?"

The annihilation clone inadvertently turned its head and saw a person dressed in black robes, completely covered up, sitting quietly in the distance. From the outside, nothing seemed amiss, but in reality, the person was extremely unwilling.

You're just a heretical cultivator who only knows how to refine Chaolingshe Pills. Who would dare to eat the pills you make?

The second person has come up on stage, not to sell treasures, but to place a bag of chips on the table.

"Here are twenty purple chips to buy seventh-grade water iron ore. We'll take as much as you have, and the price is negotiable."

Few people responded, and the atmosphere fell silent again.

It's impossible that so many Void Transformation stage cultivators didn't have any of them. Either they kept them for their own use, or they sold them off early on. It's impossible that they kept them until now.

So after waiting for a while without any results, the person had no choice but to leave the stage dejectedly and return to his seat to wait, probably wanting to spend his chips before leaving.

The third person stepped onto the stage and immediately produced three seventh-tier spiritual items: a bead, a sheepskin, and a piece of jade.

After being appraised by the Supreme Master, they were found to be three relatively ordinary spiritual materials, not particularly rare, and their prices were kept very low, around one chip each.

"I want to exchange for cultivation resources for the Void Transformation stage, or treasures related to the domain."

Upon hearing this, no one in the room responded.

Who wouldn't want cultivation resources? And forget about even dreaming of domain treasures!
After a while, someone offered to buy it with purple chips, but the person on stage refused. The auction was over, and there was no point in exchanging chips or keeping spirit crystals in hand.

The fourth person then went on stage, also bringing out two treasures to exchange for what they wanted, but still no one paid any attention.
The trade fair continued indefinitely.

Good items are sold at auctions, while the less desirable ones just rot in our hands. We don't want them to be converted into cash, but we're unwilling to lower our standards.

This is the current state of trade fairs, and many people are used to it.

The Nirvana Avatar participated for the first time and found that without the organizer, it was difficult for cultivators to accurately exchange goods. The previous model was completely unworkable!
This is precisely the terrifying aspect of the current state of the immortal realm.

High-quality resources are controlled by large capital, while individuals have nothing but piles of garbage. So-called chips and coins are nothing but worthless paper. You can't buy what you want at all!
It wasn't until the eighth person went on stage that they finally came up with something useful.

"I am a supreme talisman-making master, and I have some seventh-tier spirit talismans in stock. If any of you fellow Daoists still have some chips to play, you might as well exchange them for some for self-defense."

As the other party unfolded the items, stacks of talismans appeared in abundance.

There are eight types in total, adding up to over a hundred!
Everyone couldn't help but exclaim in amazement:

"Brother, you have excellent skills! The success rate of making seventh-tier spirit talismans is not high, yet you've managed to stock up on so many!"

"Sigh~ The talisman-making industry is in a downturn now. Business is tough, and nobody has any spare money. Who would buy such disposable items? I have hundreds of spirit talismans stuck in my hands, and the cost is a huge amount. So I'm hoping to break even at the trade fair."

This talisman master was honest and probably also had the intention of selling them cheaply, so he directly explained the uses and effects of each talisman to them.

Interestingly, this person specializes in thunder magic, so all eight of their spells are thunder talismans, covering attack, defense, exorcism, and movement techniques.

Everyone looked closely and saw the following talismans: Thunder Swiftness Talisman, Thunderous Evil Suppression Talisman, Five Thunderbolts Talisman, Thunderous Body Protection Talisman, Myriad Thunder Soul Locking Talisman, Profound Thunder Magic Breaking Talisman, and Thunder Shadow Clone Talisman.
In theory, seventh-order talismans are already comparable in strength to supreme divine powers.

However, the results vary depending on the skill of the talisman maker, the quality of the materials used, the amount of spiritual power infused into the talisman, the power of the technique itself, and the execution of the talisman making process.

"One purple chip for one card, everyone please decide what to do."

"Brother Dao, your price is too high. One chip should be worth at least three talismans. At this price, you definitely won't be able to sell them!"

Everyone tried to bargain, urging him to lower the price.

But the seller could only smile wryly, insisting that there was no profit margin at all, and that lowering the price would mean losing money.

"Everyone, each talisman we make requires a sheet of seventh-grade talisman paper. This paper is genuine leather talisman paper that has undergone triple fire-refining certification according to the specific industry standards of the Talisman Making Bureau. The cost is what it is."

The Annihilation Avatar was slightly surprised by the scene, which resembled a bustling market, but it had no interest in it.

At least in the realm of domains, the strength of such one-time talismans is limited, unless they can create a numerical advantage to overwhelm the opponent.

The price isn't cheap either. Using it as a consumable in combat is just burning money. It hurts to think about it!

But since he didn't make a move, there were plenty of people with money to burn, and they quickly snapped up all the hundreds of thunder talismans! Elder Huang, in particular, was so wealthy that he bought thirty of them!
At the price of one chip per token, this round consumed thirty chips.

Xing Shuzi, sitting in the back, was greatly alarmed and couldn't help but send a telepathic message to the Silent Extinction clone:

"Brother, Elder Huang bought so many talismans; he's clearly going to use them on us. We'll be struck by lightning!"

"."

Even the Annihilation Avatar was no longer calm.

He wasn't interested in this item at first, but his opponent was buying it like crazy. When they went out of the city to fight, thirty seventh-order thunder talismans would fall at once, which would be equivalent to activating thirty supreme divine abilities simultaneously. Which Void Realm cultivator could withstand that?
This is a qualitative change caused by quantitative change!
"Does anyone still want them? I still have some in stock."

The talisman-making master smiled and pulled out another stack from his pocket. This time, he stopped pretending and treated the trade fair like his own stall, starting a big sale!

"I want to buy one too."

Before he could react, Xing Shuzi, out of fear, was forced into the arms race and reluctantly took out twenty chips to exchange for twenty talismans for self-defense.

This immediately caught Elder Huang's attention!

Others would buy a couple as a token, or at most five to try it out, or for their disciples to use for self-defense.

But some people are deliberately imitating me and making large-scale acquisitions, clearly sensing the crisis and attempting to fight back!
"Got you!"

Xing Shuzi's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly realized that he had been tricked out of his body.

Although no action will be taken within the market, once his identity is exposed, Elder Huang can target him at the upcoming trade fair, ensuring he won't be able to bid on anything!

“Xing Shuzi or Zhong Shenxiu, this person must be one of the two.”

Elder Huang was indeed shrewd and had a keen eye for people. With a casual gesture, he uncovered his enemy.

The talisman-making master wasn't finished yet; he pulled out another one from his pocket.

"I still have some in stock, does anyone want some?"

"."

Everyone was speechless. If they had known you had so much left, they should have let it rot in your hands.

The other party made a fortune, reaped a wave of profits, and then gracefully stepped down, a smirk playing on their lips, clearly indicating they were no pushover.

The next few people went on stage, and it was another embarrassing moment of no sales. The items they brought out were completely unacceptable, and no audience member was willing to buy them.

When it was the turn of the twentieth person, an old man stepped onto the stage. His identity was even more shocking; he was actually the Supreme Puppet Master!
These days, all sorts of monsters and demons are coming out.

"My ancestors came from the Heavenly Court's Puppet Bureau, and we had a group of genuine Yellow Turban Warriors, all of them large seventh-order puppets. They were excellent at guarding homes and building cave dwellings. If we had enough crystals to power them, they could also be Void Realm fighters!"

As they were talking, five little figures were placed on the table.

Seventh-rank Yellow Turban Warrior!

In exchange, they needed to provide various puppet-related materials. The other party provided a list of items they needed, all of which were unheard of.

The Annihilation Avatar was immediately tempted; he really wanted the puppet!

Having experienced the benefits of a sixth-tier Yellow Turban Warrior in the lower realm, he knew what he needed most now. Regardless of whether this puppet was suitable for combat, its thick skin and tough flesh could at least block damage in critical moments, making it far more reliable than talismans.

But the list of materials the other party presented poured cold water on his enthusiasm.

None of them were ones I had ever heard of.

The group, who had previously remained silent, suddenly had three people step forward one after another, producing the spiritual materials needed from the list!

It's clear that these people aren't lacking in good things; they're just waiting for something worth exchanging.

"A single piece of material might not be enough; it's a bit too little."

The supreme puppet master shook his head, comparing the value of both sides, and the three cultivators were quite decisive.

"How about I add some more purple chips for you?"

"also."

So everyone emptied their pockets of the remaining chips, each adding about ten extra materials to win, as the organizer's appraiser kindly reminded them.

These puppets were made using techniques from the Heavenly Court's Puppet Bureau, without authorization from the imperial court or relevant documentation. They may face accountability risks in the future, which is why they were not included in the auction.

But who among us cares about that?

The world is in chaos right now, and the Heavenly Court is too busy to take care of itself. I'm just a carefree hermit. After the trade fair ends, I'll just disappear into the deep mountains and forests. Who has nothing better to do than come looking for trouble with me?
There are two Yellow Turban Warriors left on the stage.

"Fellow Daoist, how about I offer thirty chips to buy one of your bodies?"

Elder Huang's domineering words instantly stirred the tense nerves of Xing Shuzi and the Jiemie clone. This old man is really going all out!

Is this how you build military equipment?
"Okay."

Seeing that no one could afford the materials, the master puppeteer decided to secure the funds first and then sell one to Elder Huang.

Xing Shuzi couldn't help but transmit his voice:

“Brother, I don’t have enough money on hand. Let’s chip in and buy the last one to exchange with him, otherwise the scales will tip dramatically.”

The Annihilation Avatar had no choice but to step forward, even though it seemed precarious.

"I'll bet thirty chips on the last puppet!"

Oh?
Elder Huang turned around again, locked onto him instantly, and finally forced the second one to show himself, his eyes revealing a cunning glint.

The supreme puppet master nodded, accepted the chips, handed over the last Yellow Turban Warrior to him, clapped his hands, and left the stage.

The Annihilation Avatar reluctantly accepted it, finding it quite heavy in its hand.

Elder Huang is playing his cards openly again, resorting to his old tricks. His open scheme has no way to be countered. He and Xing Shuzi can only passively step in. If you don't follow, you'll suffer the consequences!
No one expected that a mere trade fair would once again put them at a disadvantage.

After several rounds of introductions, it was finally the 40th person in the middle, Elder Izumo from the Law Enforcement Hall!
The other party was incredibly audacious from the start:
"I'm offering twenty chips as a prize pool to solicit information from everyone. If you have any clues about these individuals, what they've been doing recently, or who they've been in contact with, please contact me privately later. Please see below."

Everyone looked up and saw that the spiritual light had transformed into a screen, which clearly listed the characteristics of Lin Shan, Xing Shuzi, Ji Mie Daoren, and Huang Yue Laodao, detailing everything in great detail.

The Annihilation Avatar was stunned, and Xing Shuzi was instantly terrified!
"Brother, I've left too many traces in the black market. Quite a few people know me. Once they figure out our backgrounds, they'll probably make their move soon, before the trade fair even ends." (End of Chapter)