Cultivating immortality begins with discerning the secrets of heaven.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. During these two days, Lin Yun and Lin Yang exchanged the contents of the "Illustrated Compendium of Spiritual Materials" that they had memorized.

He spent the rest of his time cultivating in the courtyard, practicing the Blood Transporting Technique during the day and meditating to refine his Qi at night, leading a fulfilling life.

There hasn't been any interesting information these past two days. Lin Yun opened his eyes from his deep meditation and exhaled a long breath.

"Let's take a look at today's intelligence."

With a slight thought, the ancient book in his mind opened.

The earth's vein fire in the Cangxuan Domain is flourishing, and metal and wood elements are sprouting, making it ideal for alchemy and weapon crafting.

[Today, the earth's energy in Fire Cloud Valley is waning, and the spiritual energy of the earth is mild. The next few months will be suitable for refining earth-based and metal-based magical artifacts.]

In the Cangxuan Western Regions, the Heavenly Poison Sect, while searching for the ruins of an ancient Taoist temple, discovered a sealed, colorful, exotic egg—the Seven-Death Heavenly Silkworm, an ancient and wondrous insect.

In Woniu Town of the Song Dynasty, the wealthy Wang family had a son late in life, a big, healthy boy.

At the Fire Cloud Valley Trade Fair, puppeteer Zhao Qing, facing financial difficulties and needing spirit stones urgently, decided to sell a batch of puppets at a bargain price.

[The Taiyuan Sect, Elder Tieluo of Lingxu Peak, rejected Lin Hongye's request for the mining rights to the Purple-Veined Copper Mother Vein on behalf of her family.]

"Miss Hongye is truly going to great lengths for her family. She has already begun preparing for Foundation Establishment and has not forgotten to seek the mining rights for a mineral vein for the family."

Lin Yun couldn't help but sigh. All the spirit stone or spirit gold veins discovered in the Cangxuan Southern Region belonged to the Taiyuan Sect.

However, the Taiyuan Sect's behavior wasn't too bad; they were willing to share mining rights with the cultivation families under their command.

  

The family that owns the mining rights is required to hand over 70% of the harvest.

The yield may seem unacceptably high, but even a mere 30% of the harvest would be enough to make those families eat their fill.

To date, the families that have the right to mine spirit mines in the Cangxuan Southern Region are basically ancient families with a history of thousands of years, with only a few Foundation Establishment families able to get involved.

The vein that produces purple-veined copper ore is located east of Xiangnan Ridge. If the Lin family could obtain the mining rights and get a share of the profits, the benefits would be unimaginable.

"The Lin family still has too little say in the Taiyuan Sect. Ultimately, it's because the sect doesn't have any Foundation Establishment elders from the family."

There's nothing we can do about it; after all, the Lin family's foundation is still too shallow.

After reading the information provided by the Book of Insight for today, Lin Yun stood up and prepared to go out to attend the trade fair in Fire Cloud Valley.

But soon, he felt as if he had missed something.

"Puppeteer Zhao Qing...selling puppets at a bargain price?"

"Wait, if we're going to control a puppet... it seems like we might have a chance to get our hands on the Fire Marrow Heart."

Lin Yun's eyes lit up slightly. He had originally planned to look for cultivators selling talismans at the trade fair to see if he could buy an earth-escape talisman at a low price.

"Let's go and take a look."

...

The trade fair in Fire Cloud Valley is held every six months, and the venue is located on a barren hill next to Fire Cloud Valley.

The reason for setting it up here is twofold: firstly, it is convenient to attract independent cultivators from outside Fire Cloud Valley; secondly, it is not subject to the control of the Zhong family.

Because it was a spontaneously formed trade fair, anyone could set up a stall and sell some items without paying any fees.

This couldn't be more favorable for independent cultivators who are always short of money.

The Zhong family turned a blind eye to this and chose to let it go, since the cultivators who set up stalls were all customers renting rooms in their Fire Cloud Valley.

"Qi-Boosting Pills can enhance the magical power of cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining. Ten spirit stones per bottle, that's really the least we can offer."

"It's too expensive. Qi-boosting pills already have more toxicity than spirit-nourishing pills, and the quality of your Qi-boosting pills is also average, with more impurities, so their medicinal effects are probably weaker."

"I'll buy it for six spirit stones!"

"Eight spirit stones, no bargaining."

"..."

To be honest, the trade fair was quite lively, with many cultivators from the surrounding areas coming to participate.

Lin Yun didn't rush to look at the puppets, but instead strolled around leisurely, looking left and right, and memorizing the prices of the items on the stalls.

"Including the eight spirit stones my grandfather gave me before I left, I have a total of thirty-two spirit stones, which is almost ten years' worth of savings."

Now that he is no longer a member of the main branch of the family and has no family resources to support him, these spirit stones are becoming increasingly scarce.

Before he learned the art of weapon crafting and had a stable income, he wished he could split a spirit stone in two to use it.

"Long-haired wild boar meat, the flesh and blood of a first-tier early-stage demon beast, freshly hunted just a few days ago, selling cheap!"

"Fellow Daoist, these artifacts of yours are too fake. They were probably dug up from some mortal's tomb, weren't they? They have no spiritual energy at all."

"The finest Lingyun rice, we only earn a small delivery fee..."

Shouts could be heard everywhere at the trade fair, but these people were all rogue cultivators with average cultivation levels, and the items they sold were of average value, hence the need for them to shout.

However, a small number of stall owners simply displayed their wares without saying a word, sitting in front of their stalls with their eyes closed, seemingly resting.

After strolling around for a while, Lin Yun came to the stall of a mature and voluptuous female cultivator.

He wasn't after her body, but rather the talismans she was selling. Yes, she was a female talisman master.

"Senior, how many spirit stones does this Still Water Talisman cost?"

The beautiful woman, who had been resting with her eyes closed, opened them, her gaze sparkling, and said with a light smile, "This first-grade, low-level defensive talisman is priced at three spirit stones."

The price is reasonable. Normally, a low-grade first-tier talisman costs around five spirit stones.

A mid-grade first-tier talisman can sell for around twenty or thirty spirit stones, with the price varying depending on the type of talisman.

Although he was new to the workforce, Lin Yun was not a clueless novice.

He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Senior, do you have any talismans for earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magical escape technique) for sale?"

The mature and beautiful woman spoke up: "I know how to inscribe earth element talismans, but this is a mid-grade first-level talisman, and my success rate is not high."

"As for a high-grade first-tier talisman like the Earth Escape Talisman, you'll probably have to go to Zhongling Market to buy it."

"How about it? If you need it, you can pay five spirit stones as a deposit, and I will go to the cave to draw it later. You can pay the remaining twenty spirit stones afterwards."

Twenty-five spirit stones!

A mid-grade first-tier talisman is priced like this. Once activated, this talisman allows one to travel through the earth and also provides a certain speed boost, making it a life-saving talisman.

However, Lin Yun was still a little reluctant. He chuckled and said, "Forget it, even if you sold me, I couldn't afford it. Let's just get a Still Water Talisman instead."

However, the still charming mature woman chuckled softly, "Hehehe, if you're willing, young friend, you can come to my cave tonight to discuss the price. A discount of two spirit stones wouldn't be out of the question."

As she spoke, the mature and beautiful woman intentionally or unintentionally lifted her skirt, revealing a glimpse of her fair and delicate skin.

Lin Yun's heart skipped a beat, and he wanted this witch to help him cultivate.

But he quickly calmed down; there were indeed people in the cultivation world who were proficient in the art of sexual cultivation.

If he really went, his hard-earned cultivation at the second level of Qi Refining would probably be completely drained.

"Hehe, you jest, senior. If my elders knew that I had released my virginity, I would be in for a good scolding."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Yun took out three spirit stones and placed them on the table.

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in the beautiful woman's eyes.

It turns out he's a member of a powerful family...

"Young friend, please keep this. Once activated, this Still Water Talisman will grant you a layer of water elemental energy to protect your body. Its defensive capabilities are quite strong, and it can withstand an attack from a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator who cultivates the Fire Path."

The beautiful woman handed over the talisman with a serious expression. After hearing that Lin Yun might be a member of a powerful family, she did not try to entice him further.

"Thank you, senior." Lin Yun took the talisman, his fingers brushing against the back of her hand.

"You little rascal," the beautiful woman said coquettishly, giving Lin Yun a sidelong glance.

...