Immortality: Starting with the Fruit of Taiyin

Not long after, Wang Xuan passed through a layer of mist that blocked spiritual consciousness and entered the bamboo forest.

More than twenty people had already arrived at this place, each with different cultivation levels and backgrounds.

In the following hour, more than ten more people arrived.

Shortly after the last, fierce-looking, lame middle-aged man arrived, the Zhushan Small Gathering officially began.

Instead of rushing to take the lead, Wang Xuan quietly observed from the sidelines.

He had heard a little about the rules of this trade fair beforehand.

Soon, a short, stout man in the late stage of Qi Refining took the lead and took out a short spear that was obviously damaged.

"The superior-grade magic weapon 'Wind Spear' still retains 70% of its power."

"Prioritize exchanging for late-stage Qi Refining Breakthrough Pills; other spirit stone pills are also acceptable. Highest bidder wins..."

"A five-hundred-year-old Heavenly Spirit Fruit has ample medicinal power."

"Prioritize exchanging for Tier 2 Escape Talismans; other spirit stones and pills are acceptable, highest bidder wins..."

"A batch of low-grade, first-tier Qi-Nourishing Pills. Quality can be verified. Only spirit stones will be accepted for payment. Highest bidder wins..."

In the bamboo forest, transactions were quickly completed.

After observing for a while, Wang Xuan roughly figured out some clues.

The trade fair appeared to have forty or fifty cultivators, but in reality, they were roughly divided into two categories.

One type is the independent cultivators with remarkable skills. They mostly play the role of "sellers," selling many resources of dubious origin.

For example, that batch of low-grade pills was likely purchased in bulk by a family for their juniors in the early to mid-stages of Qi Refining, and the amount was not small.

The second-tier spiritual herb, the Heavenly Spirit Fruit, appeared to have been unearthed recently, and was likely a medicinal herb that had been 'damaged' in some herb garden.

Another type of cultivator acts as a buyer, spending spirit stones and resources to make purchases.

They don't really care about the source of resources that can be consumed internally.

In the back and forth, the independent cultivators sold their goods for a higher price than on the black market, while the small families spent resources at a price far below market value. The two sides hit it off immediately.

I understood now and basically grasped the situation here.

Although this made his act of pretending to be a cultivator from the Han family and selling his inheritance seem somewhat inappropriate.

But he never intended to attend this small gathering a second time, and even if others had doubts, it wouldn't affect him.

"...Everyone, I, Han, possess a complete first-order inheritance of array formations, which is of immense value."

A short while later, it was Wang Xuan's turn to sell.

He took out three replica jade slips from his storage bag, showing no intention of valuing them because of their rarity.

"There are three portions in total, and the highest bidder wins. Fellow Daoists, is anyone interested?"

"A first-tier array formation inheritance?"

In the bamboo forest, most of the cultivators looked surprised.

First-order inheritance is not something that is common.

Purchases made through large chambers of commerce often only grant "usage rights" and not "buyout rights."

It was only a few years ago, when the Chen Kingdom underwent a major upheaval and several powerful clans and sects were destroyed, that a considerable amount of unrestricted inheritance was released.

But not long after, their owners were approached by a large merchant guild, which bought them out at a high price to prevent them from exploiting the market and dumping their products at low prices.

"A first-tier inheritance is indeed very valuable."

"But how can you prove the completeness of the lineage if you only speak empty words?"

The questioner was a profound and insightful old man.

As he said, although first and second-order knowledge is not restricted by true meaning and can be copied at will, this also brings a problem.

That is, without the backing of a powerful force, almost no one can guarantee that the cultivation technique they buy has not been tampered with.

In the path of cultivating immortality, a slight deviation can lead to a vast error.

If someone actually buys it, and then something goes wrong during their practice and enlightenment...

Wasting time and effort is a small matter; what's a big deal is that it backfires on you.

"Hehe, fellow Daoist, you jest."

"If Han could prove it, why would he need to do business with you all here?"

With an indifferent smile, Wang Xuan wasn't afraid that no one would buy into it.

"Without a cultivation level of at least Foundation Establishment, who could afford a complete inheritance bearing the jade seals of a merchant guild or sect?"

"If you have any doubts, you are free not to buy it. I will not force you."

"If the price were truly too low, Han Mouquan would not have come here today."

"I suppose there are always people in this world who can appreciate good things."

The old man remained silent upon hearing this, and to be honest, he hadn't expected Wang Xuan to offer any guarantees.

The so-called questioning is nothing more than a common tactic to drive down prices.

After all, even if there are fake inheritances, they must be modified from genuine inheritances and have sufficient reference value.

As for fabricating a completely fake inheritance out of thin air... even a second-tier high-grade array master might not have that level of skill, let alone a trade fair that doesn't even have Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Three hundred spirit stones."

"Three hundred and twenty spirit stones."

"Three hundred and fifty spirit stones."

The silence didn't last long; soon, one of the cultivators couldn't help but speak up.

However, compared to the fair inheritance price offered by major powers, their offer was less than half of the latter's.

Fortunately, there were quite a few family cultivators present, and Wang Xuan only sold three portions.

A moment later, the first two inheritances were sold for a bargain price of 1,700 spirit stones.

Compared to the prices within the Chamber of Commerce, this is incredibly low.

However, Wang Xuan was not dissatisfied with this, because this was the value of fame.

If he were a renowned second-tier array master at this moment, his name could serve to verify the authenticity of the inheritance.

A first-tier inheritance document containing his notes would have an unknown starting bid.

But at this moment, as an unknown nobody, naturally no one will pay for his name.

Time passed slowly, and soon it was time for the final bid for the inheritance.

Somewhat surprisingly, before it even started, Wang Xuan received a special request.

"Hmm? What do you mean by that, fellow Daoist?"

"Nothing more than bartering."

With a smile, the short, stout cultivator handed over a jade slip and explained:

"Since you can auction off your array formation inheritance, I can naturally offer my cultivation techniques and secret arts as collateral."

"This is a rare spiritual eye technique, a secret passed down in my Mu family, and several fellow Daoists in the vicinity are aware of it."

"If it weren't for the passing of our ancestor and the resulting generational gap, I wouldn't be in this situation... I wonder if you'd be interested in this, fellow traveler?"

"The Art of Spiritual Eyes?"

Wang Xuan was somewhat surprised to hear this, as he had not expected to see such a secret technique here.

The so-called "spiritual eye technique" is a well-known type of secret art.

Its essence is either cultivating the "divine soul," called the "spiritual eye," but in reality, it is a special method of divine perception.

It either involves some kind of physical transformation, allowing cultivators to acquire certain supernatural abilities and cultivate unique spiritual characteristics.

Regardless of the type, they are all basically secret techniques of the near-third rank or above, with the complete version involving the inheritance of true meaning and the application of the divine sense of the Core Formation stage.

If this is true, then such a legacy is no less valuable than the legacy of formations, and may even be more valuable to independent cultivators.

However, without much hesitation, Wang Xuan decisively refused:

"No need, I only accept transactions in kind."

"this……"

His smile froze slightly, and the short, stout monk looked embarrassed.

However, he didn't argue further, but instead simply took a step back.

Soon, the third jade slip was sold for eight hundred spirit stones.

After carefully storing the spirit stones, Wang Xuan purchased several rare, low-priced spiritual herbs.

As for the source, he did not investigate further.

"Powerful forces secretly set up special black markets for certain ruthless independent cultivators to sell their stolen goods and earn the difference in price."

"Isolated cultivators and small factions secretly hold similar small meetings to refuse middlemen from taking a cut and to deal directly with both parties in the transaction."

"This applies to mortals as well as cultivators."

"This is probably what the ways of the mortal world are all about..."

Feeling a pang of emotion, Wang Xuan tried to comprehend it, but he couldn't grasp anything.

This is normal; obviously, for him at this point, comprehending the mortal world is still a bit too advanced.