CHAPTER 197: CHAPTER 196: THE FISH IS ALREADY HOOKED (FOURTH UPDATE, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE)

After the items were laid out, the cultivators began exchanging divine thoughts, negotiating and trading items.

Divine thought communication is safer and more confidential than verbal communication.

"Friend, I want that ice attribute technique! And that Third Grade ice element spiritual artifact too!" Lu Xuanji transmitted through divine thought, "The price is six hundred thousand spirit stones, but I only have one Purple Mansion Pill. Can I substitute it with Pure Yang Pills?"

"Sure!"

The cultivator nodded.

"One Purple Mansion Pill, two Pure Yang Pills!"

"No way, at least three Pure Yang Pills!"

"But with three Pure Yang Pills, I suffer a loss!"

"I can add one hundred thousand spirit stones!"

"I don’t need spirit stones!"

"How about this, I’ll add a cultivation technique, and you add one Pure Yang Pill!"

"Deal!"

Thus, through bargaining, the deal was struck.

One Purple Mansion Pill and four Pure Yang Pills were traded for an ice element Nascent Soul technique, a fire element Nascent Soul technique, and a Third Grade ice element spiritual artifact.

In this trade, the opposing cultivator was pleased because he made a significant profit, buying the techniques multiple times and earning repeatedly; Lu Xuanji was also pleased because Ye Wanyi’s technique was secured, ensuring there would be no trouble with techniques before reaching the Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul.

While you gain greatly, the other person doesn’t lose either.

The trade of techniques has a lot of hidden factors.

If you lack connections and channels when your cultivation is low, obtaining a technique is not only hard but also expensive. Yet when you reach the Purple Mansion Golden Core, with higher cultivation and more channels, the price of techniques not only decreases but their quantity increases.

Selling techniques for profit often cuts at the grassroots level cultivators.

Once your cultivation reaches a certain level, techniques become less important, and resources are the priority.

Without resources, even with an immortal technique, let alone becoming immortal, forming a Golden Core is difficult.

It’s ridiculous and pitiful to believe that holding top-tier techniques can make a cultivator invincible.

Swipe! Swipe!

Both nodded!

The person tossed over three boxes.

Lu Xuanji also tossed over a box.

Opening the box, Lu Xuanji checked the cultivation techniques inside, confirming their correctness without mistakes or omissions.

The opposing cultivator also checked, ensuring the efficacy was suitable.

After completing the first wave of trade, Lu Xuanji let out a sigh of relief, the goal of the trade meeting achieved.

Next, it was much more relaxed.

"Friend, All Things Soil, Longevity Technique, and two Pure Yang Pills!"

"Three, no, I don’t have them either; at most, add one hundred thousand spirit stones, no more!"

"Alright, let’s do that!"

"The Third Grade Spirit Gourd, needs five Pure Yang Pills; you’re robbing me, at most three Pure Yang Pills!"

"Alright then, four Pure Yang Pills plus one hundred thousand spirit stones!"

Divine thoughts were exchanged, and the trading continued.

It was as if he was back in the past haggling, buying, buying.

Everything seemed great; everything seemed worth buying. He bought and bought until his pockets were empty.

This barter conference primarily used bartering with spirit stones for supplementation.

In the end, he spent three Purple Sun Pills, eight Pure Yang Pills, and four hundred thousand spirit stones.

In this trade conference, Pure Yang Pills and Purple Mansion Pills were highly valuable currency.

As long as you used pills to influence others, many cultivators, after a moment of hesitation, would agree.

This expenditure was extravagant, and if the Grand Elder knew, he would surely scold him for being wasteful.

Such extravagance was possible, partly because he accelerated the maturation of spirit medicine, shortening its growth cycle for multiple furnace openings; partly because, with the aid of the Heaven-Swallowing Cauldron, he could produce nine pills per batch, with a high pill formation rate.

The small money in his pocket was increasing, allowing him to splurge like a prodigal son.

Having gathered his things, Lu Xuanji left the barter conference.

Back in the room, he removed his clothes and resumed his original appearance.

He walked directly through a secret passage, leaving Treasures Pavilion, disappearing into the distance.

...

At the barter conference, a black-robed cultivator quietly left and went to an inn to meet a white-robed man.

"Is everything done?"

"It’s done!"

"How did it go?"

"The fish has taken the bait. A mark was left in the All Things Soil, and his whereabouts can be tracked with the compass!" the black-robed man said, handing over a compass.

Some time ago, it was learned that the Lu Family was seeking an ice element technique, and someone obtained this information.

The specific reason is unknown.

Upon receiving this information, the person devised a small plan, using this trade conference and the ice element technique to fish.

If the fish didn’t bite, it would be fine!

If the fish did bite, it would be a perfect opportunity to eliminate a formidable enemy for the family.

This plan had uncertainties, but after reporting to that big shot, the directive was clear: proceed.

So, the operation began.

To ensure the plan’s success, they even added some All Things Soil into the mix.

The ice element technique and All Things Soil were exchanged separately to eliminate suspicion.

The white-robed man accepted the compass, nodded, and said, "Good, I’ll remember your contribution!"

The black-robed cultivator stated, "Senior, I could only hide the mark thanks to the All Things Soil, but exactly how long it can remain hidden is uncertain!"

It’s challenging, even impossible, to leave a mark on pills, artifacts, or clothes.

Purple Mansion cultivators possess acute senses, able to detect the slightest changes in their bodies, making it easy to discover any left marks.

But All Things Soil is an exception; with over two pounds of soil, a mark can be buried within, and without careful scrutiny, it might indeed be overlooked.

"Understood!" the white-robed man replied.

The black-robed cultivator nodded and departed.

Taking out a token, the white-robed man sensed with divine thought, transmitting the message: "Make your move! The location is here!"

At that moment, in a mountain hollow, a cave mansion opened, and a black-robed cultivator emerged with a blood-red token in his hand, engraved with the character "Kill."

Sensing the message from the token, he transformed into a streak of light, disappearing.

In a mortal village, an elder lay in a rocking chair, eyes half-closed, basking in the sun, suddenly sensed something.

In his pocket, there was a blood-red token.

The token bore the character "Kill."

Sensing the message from the token, the elder’s hunched figure straightened, and his aging face rapidly transformed into that of a middle-aged man. His joints cracked audibly as his body grew taller, reaching about 1.7 meters. He stood up, flickered a few times, and vanished from the mortal village.

Crack!

Crack!

At that moment, the village behind him turned into ruins.

Inside was empty and devoid of life.

It was a ghost village.

...

Swipe! Swipe!

In the wilderness, Lu Xuanji rode his flying sword, speeding low across the ground.

Suddenly, a figure in black appeared ahead.

"Friend, why do you block my way?"

Lu Xuanji asked.

"I am here to claim your life!"

The black-robed figure said, his aura surging violently, unleashing his Ninth-Layer of the Purple Mansion cultivation. A blood-red treasure sword appeared in his hand, adorned with a blood-colored rose.

Swipe! Swipe!

The sword light flashed, charging towards Lu Xuanji.

...

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