Chapter 42: The Divine Trade Association

Translator: Asuka

Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys

Lu Ye watched the light surrounding the bodies of the cultivators coming and going in front of him for a while. Then, he studied the light around himself. Using himself as a comparison, he managed to roughly estimate the cultivation of these cultivators.

Generally speaking, there were more cultivators in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm and the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. On the contrary, there were fewer of those in the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm, and most of them were rogue cultivators.

It was said that anybody was eligible to cultivate in the battlefield as long as they could achieve the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Even so, most Sects would wait until their disciples were a little stronger before letting their disciples leave the base, under the prerequisite that they had the spare capacity to afford doing so. In that way, their disciples would have a higher chance of survival.

On the other hand, rogue cultivators had nobody to rely on. The battlefield might be dangerous, but it was filled with opportunities at every corner. They had to start working as soon as possible if they wanted to live in comfort. That was similar to the disparity between a child from a poor family and a child from a rich family.

There were also some in the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm, but their numbers were not large. There were usually only one or two out of dozens of cultivators.

Lu Ye even saw somebody who seemed to be in the Fifth-Order Spirit Creek Realm. That person’s perception was very keen. He turned to glare at Lu Ye the moment Lu Ye laid eyes on him. Those scarlet eyes of his looked like a pair of beastly eyes, and they gave off an extremely oppressive feeling that gave Lu Ye chills all over his body.

After a series of observations, Lu Ye formed a rough spectrum in his mind. He thought back to Manager Yang and Zhou Cheng, whom he had killed back in the mines. At the time, he only knew that their cultivation was not that great. He did not know their exact cultivation level.

Looking at it now, Manager Yang was probably in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. Zhou Cheng, on the other hand, was in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm at most. The first had been affected by the Yuan Metal Force Field and could not bring out his Spiritual Power as a result. The other had been severely injured, which gave Lu Ye an advantage. Both their graves were probably overgrown with weeds by now.

Lu Ye did not know if it was merely his imagination. Nevertheless, he had the feeling that the light around his body seemed much clearer than most in the First-Order Spirit Creek Realm.

While he was absorbed in his observations, somebody suddenly crouched down in front of him. That person picked up one of the mineral ores he had placed on display and asked, “How much are you selling this for?”

How could he know the market price of this item? He had simply placed these ores on display to gain an understanding of their value. Therefore, he had prepared his speech in advance. “Name your price. I’ll sell it to you if the price is suitable.”

At the same time, Lu Ye checked the other party’s cultivation. Judging by the light around that person’s body, he seemed to be in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. However, his aura seemed to be much more turbid compared to the others.

Then, the realization abruptly dawned on Lu Ye. [Could this be what the Sect Master mentioned before regarding the Spiritual Power turning cloudy? If that’s the case, that means this person in front of me has consumed too many Spirit Pills recently and accumulated too much Pill Poison as a result.]

That person came up with a number. “2 Spirit Stones!”

“Scram!” Lu Ye did not know the worth of his mineral ores, but he was certain that this person only approached him with the intention to try and take advantage of him. Therefore, there was no need for him to think too much about it.

That person wasn’t annoyed either. He only came to see if he could take advantage of the situation after seeing how airheaded Lu Ye looked. He did not want to make enemies with Lu Ye for no reason. Thus, he placed the mineral ore back down and left upon confirming with his own eyes that Lu Ye was not somebody he could take advantage of.

Afterward, a number of people approached Lu Ye in succession to ask about the price. Lu Ye asked all of them to name their price, but there was no successful transaction. What bothered him was that the Yuan Metal ore received the most queries. The price offered for the Yuan Metal ore was also the highest. The highest price offered was 20 Spirit Stones. Moreover, it was offered by a cultivator in the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm.

[Looks like these items are pretty valuable after all. No wonder both Manager Yang and Zhou Cheng had abused their authority to secretly keep some for themselves. Items of such value are considerably significant assets for cultivators of their level after all.]

Although Lu Ye did not carry out any transactions, the items sold at the female cultivator’s stall next to him kept dwindling. She was selling the herbs that she had harvested from Green Cloud Mountain herself. It was very well-received, so it sold out in just half a day. As she packed up her things and prepared to leave, she asked him a question. “Are you trying to figure out the value of these mineral ores?”

She had been watching him for half a day. How could she not have guessed his intentions by now?

“Yes.” He nodded. “Do you know the value of these items, Senior Sister?”

She shook her head. “I don’t have much knowledge regarding mineral ores. I don’t even recognize these stones of yours, so I don’t know how much these are worth. You should head to the Divine Trade Association if you really want to sell them. Their purchase price might be slightly lower than the normal price, but they are generally considered quite fair. The main reason is that the cultivators here are not wealthy. It’s not a problem if you are only selling some smaller items. Unfortunately, not many people have the means to purchase that Yuan Metal ore of yours. The price they can offer won’t get much higher than that.”

Lu Ye had also noticed this problem. It was just that he had no real plans to sell his mineral ores in this place. Thus, he readily accepted her good advice after listening to what she said. “Thank you for your guidance, Senior Sister.”

“I wish you the best of luck!” The female cultivator smiled gently at Lu Ye. Then, she took a few steps and disappeared into the crowd. ????????????????????????????xt.????????????

Not long after the female cultivator, Lu Ye packed up his stall. He did not set up a stall here to sell anything. His main purpose had been to observe the passing cultivators in a more convenient manner and figure out a way to judge their cultivation. Now that he had achieved his purpose under the guidance of that female cultivator, there was no need for him to waste his time here any longer.

15 minutes later, he stood outside a huge circular building and looked up. A building like this definitely stood out as an eye-catching symbol amidst the chaotic and disordered structure of the city.

This was the Divine Trade Association. Just the building itself revealed its deep heritage and extensive financial resources. The Trade Association’s plague hung above the main door. The open doors looked like the mouth of a beast with countless cultivators coming and going through those doors. A pair of golden couplets hung on both sides of the door. The words ‘All customers from Jiu Zhou are welcomed’ were written on the left, and the words ‘Happy to accept all kinds of wealth’ were written on the right. Meanwhile, a horizontal scroll with the words ‘A home away from home’ hung between the two couplets!

He followed the moving crowd and entered the hall. Strangely, the hall was extremely quiet even though many cultivators came and went through the doors. A good-looking and slim-bodied female cultivator immediately walked up to him and gave a polite bow in greeting. “Hello, Senior Brother.”

He returned the bow but couldn’t stop himself from glancing up at the furry pair of ears sticking out of the top of her head. This was another Demon cultivator. Moreover, she was a Demon cultivator who had yet to complete her transformation.

According to the chubby cultivator from before, the Spirit Beasts’ characteristics would gradually disappear as the cultivation of these Demon cultivators became more advanced. They would eventually look no different from ordinary people. Therefore, it wasn’t surprising to see many Demon cultivators sporting the characteristics of Spirit Beasts in this place since the cultivators here did not have very high cultivation.

Despite noticing Lu Ye’s gaze, the female Demon cultivator seemed used to it and did not react strangely to his gaze. She simply asked in a gentle voice, “Senior Brother, are you here to buy or sell? Or, perhaps to browse around?”

[Seems like each choice will be received differently.] He calmed down and said, “To sell.”

She smiled brilliantly and stretched out her hand in a certain direction. “Senior Brother, please come this way.”

He walked in the direction she indicated. There seemed to be many separated compartments in that direction, and he could vaguely see people sitting inside of those compartments while carrying out business negotiations.