The strongest intermediary in all realms

After Lin Xiaowan left, the office became quiet again.

Zhou Ming put the picture of the Green Wave Sword on the table and looked at it with Xiao Qi.

The photo is very clear, and the dark green patterns on the scabbard are indeed exquisite, resembling a variant of some kind of vine plant, or even a variation of ancient seal script.

"Can the system parse this rune?" Zhou Ming asked.

Xiaoqi floats above the photo, her hands outstretched, and two beams of blue light shoot from her palms, scanning the surface of the photo back and forth.

Data streams surged on the screen. After about half a minute, she withdrew her hand, her expression somewhat subtle.

"We've deciphered about 60% of it. These runes do indeed originate from a fantasy world, specifically the sword inscriptions of the 'Shenxiao Sect'—an ancient technique used to seal or store divine soul information."

"Storing soul information? Does that mean there's something hidden inside this sword?"

"Hmm. Judging from the structure of the runes, there is a tiny 'divine consciousness space' inside the scabbard, containing a sealed message—it could be a message, a diagram, or even the seed of some kind of power."

Xiao Qi tilted her head. "But the problem is that the activation threshold for this rune is quite high. It requires the infusion of spiritual power from at least the Foundation Establishment stage to unlock it. The spiritual energy on Blue Star is scarce, and people who can cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage are extremely rare."

Zhou Ming stroked his chin: "It's normal that Lin Xiaowan's family has been tinkering with it for so many years without success. She doesn't even know the origin of this sword."

"So how are you going to investigate?" Xiao Qi crossed her arms. "You don't know how to cultivate immortality. Even if you did, you can't practice it yourself—the system won't allow it."

Zhou Ming pondered for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up as if he had just remembered something: "You just said that the system has unlocked the 'customer information retrieval' function, so what about the reverse? If I input a picture of this sword and its rune characteristics, can the system find 'highly matching Xianxia worlds'?"

Xiao Qi blinked, and a new interface popped up on the system panel under her conscious control. She dragged the photo of the Green Wave Sword into the search box, and after a few seconds of calculation, a result appeared on the screen:

Search complete

[Matching Dimension: Azure Sky Realm (Xianxia Dimension)]

Match rate: 78%

[Related Faction: Shenxiao Sect (now destroyed)]

[Key Information: The Shenxiao Sect was wiped out three hundred years ago, and its legacy was scattered far and wide. The Green Wave Sword is the token of the last sect leader, and the message sealed within is believed to be the 'Key to the Shenxiao Legacy'.]

Zhou Ming stared at the screen for a long time.

"A vanquished sect... the key to its inheritance..." he said slowly, "If the Administration found out about this, the entire department would be in an uproar. Even a tiny leak from the inheritance of a vanquished immortal sect would be enough to make the entire cultivation world of Blue Star fight tooth and nail."

Xiao Qi nodded: "Then Lin Xiaowan has picked up a hot potato. As an intern, holding something of this level could very well bring her death upon herself."

"So she's anxious to find out its origins, but doesn't dare go through the official procedures." Zhou Ming put the photo away in the drawer. "This case is more difficult than I expected. I have to go to the 'Azure Sky Realm' to find the ruins of the Divine Sky Sect and see what this sword corresponds to. But the Xianxia world is different from the Wuxia world; there, cultivators can fly and teleport all the time. If I, a mortal, go there, it'll be like delivering food to someone."

He looked at Xiao Qi: "Does the system have a survival plan?"

Xiaoqi brought up the online store interface, scrolled through a few pages, and stopped in a corner.

"Yes. 'Mortal Disguise Talisman,' priced at 500 Universal Points. Effect: In the Xianxia world, it automatically generates a layer of simulated low-level cultivator's spiritual energy fluctuations. As long as you don't actively provoke experts above the Golden Core stage, it's basically undetectable. However—" She held up one finger, "Your Universal Points balance is currently zero. You just finished your first order and haven't settled your commission yet, because free services don't count towards performance."

"..."

Zhou Ming remained silent for three seconds.

"Then you can keep it on credit for now."

"The system does not offer overdraft services." Xiaoqi flashed a standard, smug, sweet smile.

"I'm going to find Chen Jianguo to collect that envelope. He's got the medicine now, so his financial situation will definitely improve—"

System notification: A service fee of 1000 Blue Star Coins has been collected, which cannot be reversed and exchanged for Universal Points.

Zhou Ming's lips twitched. He made money on his first transmigration deal but couldn't spend it; this was probably the most frustrating experience for a real estate agent.

As he racked his brains for a solution, his phone on the table suddenly vibrated. He picked it up and saw a text message from an unknown number:

"Hello Mr. Zhou, this is Lin Xiaowan. I found the term you requested. The internal system does indeed have a record of 'All Heavens Purgers,' but there's only one entry, marked 'High Risk, Sealed, Access Requires Level A or Higher.' I can't access it. Also, is there any progress on the sword matter?"

Zhou Ming stared at the words "high risk" and "sealed" for several seconds. He vaguely felt that he had stepped into a murky pool as soon as he opened his business, but there was no use thinking about it now. His most urgent task was to save up enough universal points to buy a disguise talisman and then go into the Azure Sky Realm to investigate Jian's background.

"Xiao Qi, do you have any other quick-money-making businesses?" he asked.

Xiaoqi made a face: "Do you think business is like cabbages at a wholesale market? The last deal was something you stumbled upon, this one came to you. The most important things in the real estate brokerage business are 'waiting' and 'finding,' and you've only been open for two days—"

Before he could finish speaking, the handwritten "GG" sticker on the window rustled loudly in the wind.

Zhou Ming turned his head and saw that something was pressing down on the outside of his window—it was a takeout flyer, taped to his glass, with the words "A Xiang Mala Tang" printed in large red letters. It was probably put up by the guy from the restaurant next door.

But as Zhou Ming stared at the takeout order, a brilliant idea suddenly flashed into his mind.

"Xiao Qi."

"what?"

"You just said the system doesn't allow me to cultivate or fight on my own," Zhou Ming turned around, his eyes shining. "Then, does the system allow me to 'resell' Blue Star goods? For example, I could open an online store, list a batch of 'daily necessities' needed in the cultivation world, and then deliver them after an order is placed?"

Xiao Qi paused for a moment: "Theoretically speaking... it's possible. But what would you sell? Our office is practically bare."

Zhou Ming began searching the room. He pulled out half a box of Yong Sheng Trading Company's inventory samples from the bottom of the cardboard box—mostly cheap daily necessities: plastic water cups, nail clipper sets, several packs of disposable lighters (cheaper than the one he used), a box of ballpoint pens, and two LED flashlights. There were also several expired magazines with covers featuring cityscapes of Blue Star at night and pictures of high-speed trains.

He put them all on the table.

"I buy a pack of nail clippers for 2.5 yuan, sell them in the cultivation world to exchange for a low-level spirit talisman. Then I resell the talisman to cultivators on Earth for universal points or Earth coins. That's arbitrage."

Xiao Qi tilted her head and pondered for a while, her expression gradually changing from disdain to thoughtfulness: "Theoretically, it's feasible. But the problem is, you first need to find a 'buyer' in a fantasy world, and the other party must be interested in exchanging talismans for nail clippers."

"So we need to market it." Zhou Ming tore off the covers of those expired magazines. "Look at these magazine covers, city nightscapes of Blue Star—none of the cultivators in the entire Azure Sky Realm have ever seen brightly lit skyscrapers, right? This is prime material. I'll take these pictures near the ruins of the Divine Firmament Sect, find an opportunity to approach the lower-level rogue cultivators, show them the 'spectacles' of Blue Star, and pique their curiosity. Then I'll sell them everyday goods in exchange for low-level spirit talismans."

Xiaoqi was silent for a few seconds, then a notification popped up on the system panel:

[Temporary Quest Generated: Cross-Dimensional Trade Trial - Complete at least one transaction in the Azure Sky Realm involving the exchange of Blue Star goods for spirit talismans]

[Task Reward: 300 Universal Points]

【Is it accepted? 】

Without saying a word, Zhou Ming nodded "Yes".

"We still can't afford that disguise talisman," Xiao Qi reminded her.

"First, complete trade missions to accumulate 300 points, then save up another 200 points to buy it." Zhou Ming put the sample into a backpack. "But going to the Azure Sky Realm requires opening a passage, and opening the passage consumes your energy. Have you recovered after crossing the Condor Heroes World yesterday?"

Xiao Qi snorted, "I've recovered. But opening a passage to a Xianxia (fantasy martial arts) world is more difficult than to a Wuxia (martial arts) world because the dimensional barriers are thicker. I suggest you go to the 'transfer station' first—there's a 'rift zone' between the Divine Condor World and the Azure Sky Realm, similar to a buffer zone where two rivers meet. Going from there to the Azure Sky Realm will consume much less energy."

"Fracture zone?"

"Yes, many adjacent planes have these interlayers. The space inside is unstable, but it can serve as a 'stepping stone.' The newly unlocked system features include 'plane navigation,' which can plan the shortest path."

Zhou Ming glanced at the samples in his backpack, then at the clock on the wall—9:30 in the morning. There was plenty of time.

"Let's go, let's set off."

He zipped up his backpack. This time, the backpack was much bulging than before, stuffed full of nail clippers, plastic cups, a flashlight, and expired magazine covers. Zhou Ming felt that he was increasingly resembling a "street vendor from another world," but it didn't matter, as long as he could earn Universal Points.

Xiao Qi flew to the center of the office, formed a hand seal, and blue ripples spread again. This time, the cracks were narrower than before, silvery-gray in color, with tiny dark blue lightning bolts flickering along the edges.

"The entrance to the Rift Zone in the outer perimeter of Zhongnan Mountain in the Condor Heroes world is not far from the old location of the Valley of Heartbreak. Let's go there first; I sense a stable gap in the Rift Zone nearby."

Zhou Ming took a deep breath and stepped inside.

The familiar dizzying sensation returned, but this time there was a strange feeling—like passing through a layer of viscous, transparent jelly. When he regained his footing, he was no longer facing the barren slope from before, but rather the entrance to a canyon shrouded in a pale purple mist. The air was filled with a smell similar to a mixture of ozone and post-rain earth.

The sky overhead was dark, the sun was nowhere to be seen, but it wasn't night either. It was like the chaotic moment between dusk and dawn, where the outlines of everything were blurred, and the edges seemed to melt into water.

"This is... the fissure zone?" Zhou Ming looked around.

Xiao Qi's voice came from the system, much clearer than before: "Yes. You are currently standing in the interlayer between the Divine Condor World and the Azure Sky Realm. Walk forward about three miles, and you will see a vortex-shaped ball of light—that is the exit to the Azure Sky Realm. There should be some independent cultivators along the way; keep an eye out for anyone you can strike up a conversation with."

Zhou Ming gripped the backpack straps tightly and walked into the depths of the pale purple mist.

The ground beneath his feet was soft stone, making no sound as he stepped on it. After walking about a mile, the fog thinned slightly ahead, and he could vaguely see a figure sitting on a roadside stone. The person was wearing a drab, coarse cloth robe, with disheveled hair, and was chewing on a tattered book while muttering incantations.

Zhou Ming adjusted his expression, put on a standard, friendly, salesman-like smile, and walked over.

"Greetings, fellow Daoist. I am a traveling merchant passing through, new to this area, and I would like to ask you about something."

The rogue cultivator looked up; he was a thin-faced boy, no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, with a look of bewilderment and wariness in his eyes as he entered the martial world for the first time. He was clearly taken aback when he saw Zhou Ming's attire—a T-shirt and jeans certainly seemed out of place in a fantasy world.

"You... what sect or faction are you from? Why are you dressed like that?"

Zhou Ming's smile widened: "I come from a very remote place, where the clothing and customs are different from here. I see you're studying cultivation techniques, so you must be a cultivator. Coincidentally, I have some 'rare items' here that I'd like to exchange for some basic spirit talismans or something. I wonder if you'd be interested?"

He took out torn pages from the covers of several expired magazines from his backpack and handed the one with the blue star night view to the boy.

The boy looked down and his pupils dilated suddenly.

The image shows an aerial view of a major city on Earth at night—thousands of lights stretch out like a galaxy, skyscrapers rise from the ground, and flowing ribbons of light are reflected on the glass curtain walls. To the native inhabitants of a fantasy world who have never seen electricity, this scene is nothing short of a miracle.

The boy swallowed hard. "Where...where is this?"

"My hometown city has many more wonders. If you have any low-level spirit talismans you'd like to exchange, shall we sit down and chat?"

The boy hesitated for less than three seconds before taking out a yellowed talisman from his sleeve and slapping it onto the stone.

"I only have this one 'Heart-Cleansing Talisman,' it's worthless, but it's somewhat useful for driving away inner demons. You...you show me that picture from before, and I'll look at the others."

Zhou Ming handed over the stack of magazine covers.

The first interdimensional trade has been completed.

His mind was racing with calculations—the Cleansing Talisman was worth at least 3000 coins if he resold it to Blue Star cultivators, and according to the system's exchange rate, 3000 Blue Star coins could be exchanged for… Forget it, he shouldn't think about that now. The most urgent thing was to save up 500 Universal Points to buy a Disguise Talisman to enter the Azure Sky Realm and investigate the sword.

The boy clutched the stack of expired magazine covers as if they were priceless treasures. Zhou Ming carefully put away the calming talisman and patted the boy on the shoulder.

"If you have any good stuff in the future, I'll come back to you."

He walked toward the swirling ball of light ahead.

The Azure Sky Realm is just ahead.