29: Chapter 29 Trade Fair

The twilight was like ink, the distant mountains like dark eyebrows, the evening glow spread out like golden silk, dyeing the layered forests, the setting sun melting into gold. Xiao Yun Mountain's spiritual energy was dense, the twilight mist heavy, a scene like a sacred land of immortals.

Because it was the qinghe rice harvest season, people were still busy in the Spirit Fields at this time. Cultivators, like Mortals, put the qinghe rice into threshing machines, a sight that seemed out of place with the immortal scenery.

Chen Jiancang tied up the last sack of qinghe rice and put it into his storage bag.

"Cang-ge, thank you for your trouble today. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know when I'd finish harvesting these two mu of qinghe rice."

Chen Jianyun's father, Qin Huai, had taken on the Chen Family's task of refining Qinghe Bigu Pills and had no time to come harvest the spiritual rice. As a Mortal, Chen Jianyun could not use a storage bag.

Without Chen Jiancang's help, the harvest would have had to be delayed by several days.

"It's fine. It's getting late. Let's hurry to the Market to sell the qinghe rice," Chen Jiancang said with a smile, wiping the fine sweat from his forehead.

After Chen Jiancang finished speaking, he reached out and gently held Chen Jianyun's wrist, pulling her closer.

Then, he chanted an incantation and activated his spiritual sword artifact.

"Hold on tight to me, don't be afraid." Chen Jiancang's voice was low and firm, carrying a reassuring strength.

Chen Jianyun's cheeks were slightly red, she nodded slightly, wrapped her arms tightly around Chen Jiancang's waist, and her body trembled slightly. After all, this was her first time flying on a sword.

Chen Jiancang lightly tapped his toes, bringing Chen Jianyun to land steadily on the spiritual sword.

In an instant, the spiritual sword shot up into the sky like an arrow released from a bowstring, speeding towards the direction of the Xiao Yun Mountain Market.

The wind whistled past their ears. Chen Jianyun closed her eyes in fear, burying her face deep into Chen Jiancang's back, and subconsciously clutched the corner of his clothes with both hands.

"Open your eyes, Chen Jianyun, look at this beautiful scenery."

Chen Jiancang's voice drifted gently on the wind, carrying a trace of spiritual power, entering Chen Jianyun's ears.

Chen Jianyun hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened her eyes. The scene before her instantly made her hold her breath.

Below, Xiao Yun Mountain, shrouded in twilight, appeared even more mysterious and magnificent. The continuous rolling mountains, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, seemed to be plated with a golden edge; the dense forest rustled in the evening breeze.

In the distance, a river meandered, its surface sparkling, like a silver ribbon connecting this dreamlike fairyland.

"So beautiful..." Chen Jianyun murmured softly, her eyes filled with shock and awe.

Chen Jiancang slightly turned his head, looking at the surprise and rapture on Chen Jianyun's face. His heart was full of tenderness, and as if possessed, he said, "In the future, I will take you to see even more beautiful scenery."

Chen Jianyun's face turned red upon hearing this.

As they spoke, the outline of the Market was already faintly visible ahead, and the lively sounds of commotion gradually reached their ears.

Chen Jiancang controlled the spiritual sword, slowly descending, and flew towards the entrance of the Market.

As it was the qinghe rice harvest season, the qinghe rice purchasing station was crowded with people.

Chen Jiancang landed with Chen Jianyun at the Market entrance. After putting away the spiritual sword, the two followed the bustling crowd towards the qinghe rice purchasing station.

Along the way, various stalls were dazzling, some selling rare spiritual plants, some displaying spiritual artifacts that shimmered with cold light, and there were also spiritual food shops emitting enticing aromas. But at this moment, both of them were focused on selling qinghe rice and had no mind to stop.

After finally squeezing their way to the purchasing station, they saw Ninth Uncle Chen Youming sitting behind a table, holding a spirit-testing jade, carefully inspecting every sack of qinghe rice handed to him.

Chen Jiancang waited patiently in line, occasionally looking back at Chen Jianyun to signal her to feel at ease.

Finally, it was their turn. Chen Jiancang poured out the qinghe rice from his storage bag. The qinghe rice grains were plump and emitted a faint spiritual light.

Chen Youming picked up the spirit-testing jade and brought it closer. Light flickered on the jade, and he nodded slightly. "The quality is good, but this year's qinghe rice harvest is abundant, so the price for this quality is a bit lower than in previous years. We can only purchase it at a price of five ling sand per jin. Chen Jianyun, are you willing?"

Chen Jiancang sighed slightly upon hearing this. His selling price two months ago was 7 ling sand per jin, and now qinghe rice of similar quality was only 5 ling sand per jin.

But this was already a fair price given by Chen Youming, so he nodded in agreement.

The transaction was completed. After paying two-tenths of the Spirit Field rent and two-tenths of the Chen Family tribute, they received approximately 60 spiritual stones.

The two of them, carrying the spiritual stones, were just about to leave the purchasing station when they heard a familiar voice call out, "Chen Jiancang, Chen Jianyun, what a coincidence to run into you!"

Chen Jiancang and Chen Jianyun turned around and saw Chen Jianyu walking towards them with a smiling face, accompanied by several other younger generation members of the Chen Family.

Chen Jianyu shook the storage bag in his hand and said excitedly, "The harvest is good this year, exchanged for quite a few spiritual stones. A few of us are planning to hold a small trade fair, why don't you two come join the fun!"

Chen Jiancang and Chen Jianyun exchanged glances, both of them feeling a bit tempted.

Although the small trade fairs held by the younger generation of the Chen Family on ordinary days were not as lively or prosperous as the Market, they had their own unique charm and allowed them to find many rare items.

At Chen Jianyu's enthusiastic invitation, the two followed the others to a relatively quiet corner of the Market.

A simple trading place had already been set up here using spiritual power, with sound insulation and concealment formations placed around to prevent information about the traded items from leaking.

As a Mortal, Chen Jianyun was participating in such a trade fair for the first time and looked around curiously.

After a short while, a few more people arrived one after another. Most of them were from the same generation of the Chen Family, and a few were rogue Cultivators invited by others of the same generation.

When most of the people had arrived, Chen Jianyu was the first to open his storage bag and took out an artifact emitting a soft blue light: "This is a Water Spirit Bead artifact that I obtained by chance. It can assist in cultivating water-attribute Cultivation Techniques and is very helpful for breaking through Bottlenecks. If anyone is interested, we can have a good talk."

The eyes of several Chen Family disciples who cultivated water-attribute techniques instantly lit up. They quickly gathered around to examine it carefully, and soon several people began to haggle and bid. Finally, one disciple successfully traded for it at a price of 50 spiritual stones.

Chen Jianyu put away the spiritual stones, beaming with joy, and turned his gaze to the others.

"Everyone, if you have anything you want to trade, please feel free to take it out. Don't be so reserved."

Everyone was infected by the lively atmosphere around them. A female rogue Cultivator carefully took out an exquisite wooden box from her storage bag: "This is a beauty cream I made from spiritual plants in my spare time. Although it's not a precious artifact or pill, if girls use it, it can make their skin moist and smooth and delay aging."

Upon hearing this, several female Cultivators immediately gathered around, curiously examining the beauty cream. One of the female Cultivators asked, "How do you want to trade for this beauty cream?"

"I want some pills suitable for Qi Refining stage Cultivators to improve their cultivation, or spiritual items that can enhance physical fitness."

Chen Jianyun also looked tempted nearby, but she was a Mortal and didn't have any spiritual items that could impress Cultivators. Chen Jiancang, standing nearby, also noticed this.