72: Trade Fair News

Time flew by, and almost a month had passed.

Lu Ming, who was Cultivating, was startled awake by fluctuations from the Formation Restriction.

Interrupted in his Cultivation, Lu Ming was slightly annoyed. Blood light swirled in his eyes as he looked outside his Immortal Cave.

Through the light and shadows reflected by the Immortal Cave's Restriction, he saw two people standing in front of his Immortal Cave.

One was Dong Pingan, and the other was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties, wearing a blue silk gown.

Lu Ming's gaze flickered, and he remembered who this person was: Wang Heng, the steward responsible for renting Immortal Caves in the Immortal City.

He calculated that a month had passed, and he had only paid one month's Spirit Stone. Was this a visit to collect rent?

'It's rare for me to Cultivate for so long; I completely forgot about the time.'

Lu Ming hadn't properly Cultivated much in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, and he had been too engrossed this time.

Without further delay, he took a deep breath, inhaling the surging blood mist around him into his mouth. He then cast several Qi Concealing Talismans that landed around the Immortal Cave.

Finally, he activated the Turtle Breath Qi Concealing Art to hide his Qi, then opened the Restriction and walked out of the Immortal Cave.

Seeing Lu Ming emerge, Dong Pingan quickly stepped forward, saying with some difficulty,

"Senior, I wanted to pay for you, but I don't have that many Spirit Stones on me. I apologize for disturbing your Cultivation."

Lu Ming waved his hand, not showing any blame, as it wasn't his fault.

He looked at the steward, took out some Spirit Stones, and said apologetically,

"My apologies, Steward Wang. This Daoist forgot the time while Cultivating. Here is the rent for the next three months."

He currently didn't have a specific status, so it wasn't suitable for him to rent Class A or B Immortal Caves.

Anyway, with the resources from the Poisonous Dragon Gang, his demand for Spiritual Qi wasn't as great now.

Staying here temporarily was quite good, but he still wanted to inquire about renting Class A and B Immortal Caves.

Lu Ming also wanted to patch things up for his future Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, to avoid people thinking he had obtained some Opportunity. Perhaps no one would care, but what needed to be done still had to be done.

He handed over the Spirit Stones and asked,

"Steward Wang, what are the requirements for this Daoist to rent a Class A Immortal Cave?"

Steward Wang cheerfully accepted the Spirit Stones, thinking to himself that this Fellow Daoist Li was truly considerate.

The pile of Spirit Stones was exactly one hundred and sixty. Aside from the rent, the extra ten were clearly for him. He didn't believe a Cultivator's spiritual sense would miscount.

However, having accepted the Spirit Stones, Steward Wang naturally wouldn't hold back.

He then leaned in and whispered to Lu Ming,

"Fellow Daoist Li Qing, Class A and B Immortal Caves require a certain status in the Immortal City to rent, such as an Immortal City Guest Elder, or a Cultivator skilled in alchemy, artifact forging, Talismans, or Formations."

"Class A Immortal Caves have a Spiritual Qi concentration from a Low Grade Second-Tier Spiritual Vein, and Class B has a Spiritual Qi concentration from a Top Grade First-Tier Spiritual Vein.

Moreover, these Immortal Caves are built precisely on the nodes of the Spiritual Vein branches. Every so often, these nodes experience a small Spiritual Qi tide.

Long-term Cultivation in such a place is of great benefit to one's practice. Although they cannot compare to the Heaven-Grade and Earth-Grade Immortal Caves in the inner city, they are still very good."

"Heaven-Grade Immortal Caves? Earth-Grade Immortal Caves?"

This was the first time Lu Ming had heard of them.

"Alas, speaking of those is too distant. These are Immortal Caves that only Foundation Establishment Cultivators are qualified to rent, Fellow Daoist, you need not concern yourself with them."

It wasn't that Steward Wang looked down on Lu Ming; it was incredibly difficult for a Loose Cultivator to achieve Foundation Establishment.

He didn't believe this Fellow Daoist Li would be a future Foundation Establishment Cultivator, so he didn't bother to explain too much.

Lu Ming understood the implied meaning but felt no displeasure.

He knew better than anyone if he could achieve a Breakthrough, so there was no need to care so much.

However, he also wasn't in a hurry to reveal his identity as a Talisman Master and rent Class A or B Immortal Caves.

He could send a Clone to scout things out first, perhaps even try opening a Talismans shop to test how deep the Immortal City's waters were.

Steward Wang, having collected the rent, didn't linger and bid farewell, departing.

Dong Pingan saw Lu Ming's silence and, thinking he was angry at being looked down upon, cautiously said,

"Senior, please don't be offended. The various key personnel of the Immortal City are always like this, but I believe Senior will definitely achieve Foundation Establishment successfully in the future!"

"Haha, if you have more good things to say, say them!"

Lu Ming hadn't cared, but who doesn't like to hear good words?

He looked at Dong Pingan and asked curiously,

"What did you come to see me for today?"

Dong Pingan then remembered the purpose of his visit; encountering Steward Wang was purely an accident.

"Reporting to Senior, I have recently collected many strange stories and oddities, some of which I believe Senior should be very interested in."

He took out a beast skin scroll from his in arms, handed it over, and explained.

Lu Ming took it, opened the scroll, and began to read. It contained some information that Dong Pingan had transcribed.

Miscellaneous matters were meticulously listed, from trivial gossip to Cultivator duels.

He also saw some intelligence about the Poisonous Dragon Gang.

'Many Cultivators of the Poisonous Dragon Gang died mysteriously, and their leader is also suspected to be cursed, remaining in seclusion.'

Lu Ming's lips curved into a smile when he read this, but he quickly hid it.

In the past month of Cultivation, he had tormented many Cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage, including several Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Now, Liu Yunlong was still holding strong. It had to be said that Foundation Establishment Cultivators were powerful; even a newly Breakthrough Foundation Establishment Cultivator had much greater endurance than others.

However, with the Poisonous Dragon Gang Cultivators preoccupied, his Clone no longer needed to hide and could come out to move around.

It was evident that Dong Pingan had collected the information diligently. Not knowing Lu Ming's specific purpose, he simply wrote down everything he found.

Lu Ming read quickly, and then he was attracted by two matters.

"Loose Cultivator Trade Fair and Auction?"

Lu Ming raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.

Dong Pingan explained,

"The Loose Cultivator Trade Fair is organized by a Senior in the Late-Stage Qi Refinement, where people exchange what they need. The location is in the Juxian Pavilion in the outer city. If Senior is interested, I can lead the way."

Lu Ming was somewhat interested. Loose Cultivator Trade Fairs were common, but high-level Cultivators didn't often organize them. He had heard of them before but never attended, and now he wanted to experience one.

However, he didn't rush to agree. If he were to go, his Clone would go; his main body needed to be cautious.

He then asked, "What about the Auction?"

"That is a large-scale Auction held by the Immortal City every twenty years. The time is two years from now.

It is said that this time, a Foundation Establishment Cultivation Technique and a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Item will be auctioned. There are even rumors that a Foundation Establishment Pill will appear."

Foundation Establishment Pill!

Lu Ming's eyes lit up at the mention.

A good item indeed.

He didn't expect a Foundation Establishment Pill to appear at the Auction.

After all, Foundation Establishment Pills were usually in short supply and could even be called strategic materials.

No Qi Refining Cultivator could resist its temptation; once it appeared, it would surely be contended for by many Cultivators.

If one missed it this time, who knew how long they would have to wait for the next batch of Medicinal Pills.

However, it wasn't impossible to achieve a Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment without a Foundation Establishment Pill; this was just a common misconception.

In ancient times, before the Foundation Establishment Pill was created, weren't there any Cultivators who could achieve Foundation Establishment?

Foundation Establishment, as the first major hurdle in the immortal Dao, meant truly becoming non-Mortal once successfully achieved.

In fact, as long as one's Foundation was solid, and their Essence, Qi, and Spirit reached Perfection, they could attempt to Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.

The assistance of a Foundation Establishment Pill merely provided some help during the Breakthrough process.

After all, during the 'Hundred Days of Foundation Establishment,' spiritual power would convert into magical power.

If any accident occurred, the Foundation Establishment Pill could protect the Meridians, thus preserving the Cultivator's future Dao path.

Although the difficulty of a second Foundation Establishment would increase exponentially, Foundation Establishment Pills still attracted countless people.

Lu Ming didn't feel much psychological pressure regarding Foundation Establishment; his desire for a Foundation Establishment Pill was simply for an extra layer of assurance.

Even if he couldn't get a Foundation Establishment Pill, wasn't there still a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Item?

Foundation Establishment Spiritual Items were the first choice for many Cultivators at Qi Refining Stage Great Perfection when no Foundation Establishment Pill was available.

Different Foundation Establishment Spiritual Items had different functions, but all could increase a Cultivator's success rate in Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.

However, his interest in Foundation Establishment Spiritual Items was not as great as his interest in that Foundation Establishment Cultivation Technique.

He made up his mind that he would attend this Auction. Two years would be enough time for him to Breakthrough to Qi Refining Stage Ninth Level before the Auction.

By then, with his strength increased, his Clone in the open and his main body in the shadows, he could largely avoid most dangers.

Putting down the scroll, Lu Ming looked at Dong Pingan with satisfaction. This young man had the potential of Zhou Yang!

"Well done. This information is very useful. Here is your reward for this time."

Throwing five Spirit Stones to Dong Pingan, Lu Ming did not stint on praise.

Dong Pingan happily accepted the Spirit Stones.

Five Spirit Stones!

Although for those great Cultivators, they might not even bother to bend down to pick them up if they fell on the ground, for him, it was a considerable sum of wealth.

He felt that a month's hard work was well worth it.