Chapter 136: Chapter 137: The Deal
In the room, Ye Haiyi looked at Ye Jingcheng, with a jade talisman appearing in his hand as well.
"Jingcheng, this is a bit of my recent cultivation insights!"
After speaking, the jade talisman was directly placed on Ye Jingcheng’s forehead, allowing Ye Jingcheng to view it.
Ye Jingcheng was soon surprised; inside was not some cultivation insight, but a portrait. He had seen this figure before; it was precisely the senior brother that Ye Jingteng once brought back.
Clearly, at that time, aside from selling the stolen goods, there was also a discussion about this transaction.
This so-called senior brother was indeed a cultivator from the Ye Family or an undercover person from the Ye Family.
Thinking about this, Ye Jingcheng could no longer control the thoughts spreading in his mind.
Considering the current situation of the Ye Family, there are many at the late stage of Qi Cultivation, and their ages are not particularly high. Logically, even without the Foundation Establishment Pill, there should be quite a few cultivators breaking through before sixty.
After all, the Ye Family has the Beast Communication Pattern, and there are even a few Tier Two Spirit Beasts available, as far as he knew.
It should logically be quite plentiful to reach Foundation Establishment.
But Ye Jingcheng couldn’t figure out what the family’s deeply hidden secret was.
Beneath the portrait in the jade talisman, there was a line of words inscribed.
"Hand over this Storage Bag to him, and just get another Storage Bag back!"
Ye Jingcheng was immediately startled but then came to a sudden realization.
He finally understood why Ye Haiyi was so certain there would be no danger from the start.
All transactions were actually completed before the auction.
The person responsible for purchasing the Tier Three Spirit Gathering Array and Tier Three Spirit-Attracting Stone was neither a member of the Ye Family nor participated in the auction, but at the alchemy exchange meeting.
Therefore, at the auction, regardless of what Ye Jingcheng and Ye Haiyi purchased, as long as they didn’t buy the Purple Mansion Jade Liquid or Foundation Establishment Pill, there would actually be no attention or danger.
Nobody knew the Ye Family had been there!
Moreover, the two could secretly raise prices for several major families.
After looking at the jade talisman, Ye Jingcheng also inserted his Divine Sense into the Storage Bag, which was an unclaimed Storage Bag.
However, there was a layer of Forbidden Array on it to prevent outsiders from easily extending their Divine Sense into it.
This layer of Forbidden Array was taught in the Ye Family’s clan studies, very simple, but Ye Jingcheng already guessed what was inside and didn’t break the Forbidden Array.
The Spirit Beast Bag gave Ye Jingcheng a sense of peace of mind.
This Spirit Beast Bag, from its exterior, showed exquisite craftsmanship, and the materials used were extraordinary, though different from the previous Spirit Beast Bag.
But Ye Jingcheng knew that it contained the Turtle Ancestor.
Now that Turtle Ancestor was contracted by Ye Haicheng, it was free as he was making a breakthrough.
Of course, Ye Jingcheng could refrain from checking the Storage Bag, but the Spirit Beast Bag had to be refined, so he sat quietly by the side, using his Divine Sense to refine the Spirit Beast Bag.
After half an hour, the Spirit Beast Bag formed a connection with him, and he felt a massive surge of Blood Qi inside the Spirit Beast Bag.
Through his Divine Sense in the Spirit Beast Bag, he also saw the silhouette of a giant turtle resembling a mountain peak.
Ye Jingcheng quickly withdrew his Divine Sense, as this was the Ye Family’s Turtle Ancestor and required certain respect.
Nevertheless, the Purple Mansion Spirit Beast’s might also gave Ye Jingcheng a tremendous shock.
But the shock did not stop there; he saw his Treasure Book emitting light again, revealing a new page.
This time, there was a gigantic blue and white Spirit Turtle in the book, with white whiskers, and its shell was marked with densely packed Spirit Patterns.
It was a Tai Cang Turtle.
Moreover, its aura had reached the level of a Tier Three Spirit Turtle.
The Treasure Book began to evolve gradually, and the next moment, the figure of the Profound Turtle became even larger, with more intricate Spirit Patterns appearing on its shell, and its tail elongating like a snake...
Ye Jingcheng was even more astonished; this old turtle seemed not yet at maturity.
However, considering the lifespan of a Tai Cang Turtle, it was not so exceptional.
What puzzled him was why the Treasure Book did not react at the bottom of the Jade Dragon Pool last time.
He could only speculate that facing powerful Spirit Beasts required closer proximity.
With the Tai Cang Turtle, Ye Jingcheng gained more confidence, took out several Pill Formulas, and began to study them.
This time it was an alchemy exchange, and he couldn’t use the Crimson Flame Fox. He estimated that he was only a Tier One High-grade Alchemist.
And since he was a Loose Cultivator with many restrictions, preparing in advance was very necessary.
Three days passed slowly.
With a crisp bell chime, Ye Jingcheng awakened from cultivation.
Due to the presence of Crimson Flame in the sky, there was virtually no night here. Only when the Chixia Array was deactivated did the sky darken for three hours.
The rest of the time passed according to the Big Bell in the market.
"Haobo!" A transmission came; it was from Meng Xuan at the door.
Today was also the day the Alchemy Master’s exchange meeting was held.
Meng Xuan was the one taking Ye Jingcheng there.
"You’re in for a treat this time, even some disciples from the Taiyi Sect’s Taiyi Magic Peak are here, and their alchemy skills are extraordinary!" Meng Xuan introduced alongside.
As he introduced, his body wobbled with excitement.
Perhaps having spent too long in Taichang Market, Meng Xuan clearly enjoyed bragging like a common market vendor.
"Thank you, Master Meng!" Ye Jingcheng smiled with anticipation.
In the Ye Family, no one among the younger generation was better at alchemy than him. This time, he truly wanted to experience the young alchemists of the sect.
Following that, Meng Xuan handed Ye Jingcheng a token.
The front of the token was inscribed with the number thirty-six, and the back had the word "Hidden" on it.
"This time you’re going to Hidden Dragon Pavilion, which is part of the Taiyi Sect, set up specifically for young cultivators under fifty!"
"Inside, there are periodic exchange meetings for alchemists, artifact refiners, and even spirit talisman masters and spirit plant masters!"
"Of course, alchemists are the most common. This Hidden Dragon Order is your entry pass, and it took quite a bit of effort on your grandfather’s part, so don’t let him down!" Meng Xuan began to nag again.
Ye Jingcheng nodded repeatedly.
They walked through the streets lined with one-story houses and arrived at the commercial street.
There were even more shops here, along with several four-story pavilions!
This represented Golden Core influences or clans.
Seeing this made Ye Jingcheng feel a bit envious!
Currently, the Ye Family could only open a two-story building here, even if they were to open one.
Past the shops was a slightly smaller alleyway, and the walls of the alley were engraved with numerous vivid depictions of pill furnaces, as if they were real.
"Haobo, these frescoes are the spirit shadows of pill furnaces left by the cultivators who won at Hidden Dragon Hall, a great honor!"
"The owner of that central Mountain Bird Cyan Flying Furnace is rumored to have refined a Tier Two Spirit Pill that no one has surpassed to this day!" As Meng Xuan spoke, they arrived at the front of the actual Hidden Dragon Hall.
Hidden Dragon Hall was a three-story building, with an impressively grand entrance, and two guarding cultivators wore expressions of pride.
"Show your Hidden Dragon Order!"
Ye Jingcheng fished out the token and handed it over to them, while Meng Xuan spoke up:
"Haobo, I’ll wait for you here; just send me a message when you’re done!"
Meng Xuan himself didn’t have a Hidden Dragon Order, nor was he within the age requirement.
So he went into a nearby three-story restaurant, choosing a seat by the window.
Ye Jingcheng also entered the hall, and past the door was a staircase guarded by two beautiful female cultivators.
"Young master, do you require a Spirit-Blocking Clothing?" The two female cultivators gave a gentle and elegant smile, as charming as lotus flowers in summer.
"Yes, please!" Ye Jingcheng nodded.
Though he was in disguise, with a human-skin mask as a magical artifact, unnoticeable unless closely inspected.
But he feared special cultivators who might see through it.
Wearing a Spirit-Blocking Gauze made him feel clearly safer.
The Spirit-Blocking Gauze from Hidden Dragon Hall was extremely light and had a cool, refreshing aura.
"Please, Young Master, ascend the stairs?" The two female cultivators gestured politely after seeing Ye Jingcheng had put it on.
Ye Jingcheng hesitated briefly and caught a glimpse of snowy white, then quickly followed the gesture and headed toward the second floor.
Entering the second floor, Ye Jingcheng found it to be another hall, where many young people had already gathered.
They were seated in two rows.
The young cultivators there were either dressed splendidly or, like him, in ordinary clothes. The simpler ones were clearly loose cultivators, whom the Taiyi Sect was targeting.
All the ordinary cultivators shared one trait—they wore Spirit-Blocking Gauze.
The ones in lavish attire were clan disciples, none of whom wore Spirit-Blocking Gauze.
They came to the exchange meeting not just for alchemical exchanges, but also to network, paving the way for future family development.
Sitting at the top were three sect disciples in Taiyi Daoist Robes; Ye Jingcheng did not see his elder brother’s senior brother among them.
However, he was not anxious, as the alchemist exchange meeting was lengthy, starting with theoretical discussions and then progressing to refining a batch of pills, to be judged on grade, appearance, and quantity.
"To the new friend who just joined, feel free to choose any seat!" said the leading Taiyi Sect disciple with a calm and dignified manner, speaking with grace and warmth, giving a great impression.
Ye Jingcheng found an inconspicuous seat and quietly waited for the exchange meeting to begin.
At the next moment, two more people entered.
Ye Jingcheng’s expression changed slightly at the sight—these two were none other than Li Xiangfei and Li Xiangyu from the Li Family.
They walked in side by side, heading straight to salute the three disciples above with a familiarity that was evident.
The Li Family’s backing was Taiyi Dharma Peak, something Ye Jingcheng wasn’t surprised by.
Beyond the two Li Family cultivators, some time later, a cultivator from the Xu Family also appeared.
Ye Jingcheng sensed something amiss, as if someone had learned of this alchemist exchange meeting.
In fact, he even considered leaving the place quietly.
The appearance of the Li and Xu Families suggested that cultivators from the Mo Family and Chen Family could also be lurking!
Ye Haiyi’s Red Thousand Rat had detected that other families also sent members to the Taichang Market.
"Everyone, now that most are here, the exchange meeting is about to start!"
"I’m Xu Haoyi from Taiyi Dharma Peak, you may call me Senior Brother Xu. This exchange meeting still adheres to the confidentiality agreement, with nothing learned here being leaked elsewhere to ensure that everyone’s gains today aren’t diminished. Please understand!"