Trading the heavens starting from immortality

All the heavens, the world of Zhuxian.

Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs. Since the beginning of time, humankind has witnessed many strange phenomena in the world, such as violent storms, thunderous lightning, and shifting landscapes—natural disasters beyond human control. Thus, the belief arose that gods shrouded the heavens above and that the underworld was the abode of the dead, giving rise to tales of immortals. Humans fear death, and the existence of immortals and gods further fuels this desire, leading generations of exceptionally intelligent individuals to painstakingly research the methods of achieving immortality.

Although immortality has yet to be achieved, some cultivators can wield powerful magical artifacts and possess earth-shattering power even in mortal form. Some highly accomplished elders, with their long lifespans, are believed by the world to have attained immortality, thus becoming increasingly obsessed and yearning for the path of cultivation, seeking eternal life. Intrigue, battles, and bloodshed are also common occurrences.

The land of China is vast and boundless, yet the borderlands in the southeast, northwest, and southwest are desolate and treacherous, inhabited by barbarian peoples, venomous snakes and ferocious beasts, and ancient species that hide in deep mountains and valleys, yet no one has ever seen them.

As for the Central Plains, it is the most fertile land, home to nine-tenths of the world's population, and countless extraordinary individuals. Although they have not yet discovered the secret to immortality, the distinctions between righteous and evil sects, and even the struggles between them, have existed since ancient times. In the present world, the Central Plains has been firmly occupied by the righteous faction, while the evil forces have retreated and gone into hiding. Among the righteous factions, the "Qingyun Sect," "Tianyin Temple," and "Fenxiang Valley" are the strongest and are regarded as the three great leaders.

The Qingyun Mountains stand majestically, dominating the Central Plains, stretching for hundreds of miles with undulating peaks. Seven of its highest peaks soar into the clouds, shrouded in mist, resembling the abode of immortals. Indeed, the Qingyun Sect, one of the three pillars of the righteous sects, is situated atop these mountains. To the south of the mountain flows the great river "Hongchuan," while to the south lies the vital town of "Heyang City," guarding the strategic pass of the realm.

At the foot of Qingyun Mountain, fifty li northwest of Heyang Town, lies a village named "Caomiao Village" (Grass Temple Village) because of a grass temple at its eastern end. The village is small, with only forty-odd households, and its people are known for their simple and honest character. One day, however, a tragedy struck Caomiao Village. More than two hundred people from all forty households, regardless of age or gender, were all reduced to stiff corpses. Only two boys, aged twelve or thirteen, escaped the calamity through a series of coincidences and were taken up the mountain by passing Qingyun Sect disciples.

The two boys were named Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu.

Qingyun Mountain, Tongtian Peak, an ordinary side room.

The side room had two windows, several pine wood tables and chairs, with teapots and cups on the chairs. Besides these, a large kang (heated brick bed) that could accommodate four people occupied half the room, with a large character "道" (Dao) suspended on the wall directly above it. There were four beds on the kang; two had their bedding neatly folded, one had its bedding disheveled, and the other had a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy lying asleep, his brow furrowed, as if he were dreaming of something unpleasant.

Zhang Xiaofan suddenly woke up from his dream. The scene full of evil spirits, blood, and white bones disappeared. At this moment, he was lying on a kang (a heated brick bed).

She sat up and stared blankly for a while, still unwilling to accept the fact.

"Everything last night, yes, it must have been a dream! My mother might be right outside the room."

I got up from the kang (a heated brick bed), put on my shoes, and saw that the door was ajar, with a cool breeze coming through the crack.

Opening the door, although the sunlight outside was extremely warm, Zhang Xiaofan's heart felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar. It was a small courtyard with several pine and cypress trees. On the steps in front of the door, a child sat alone, motionless, and his back looked very familiar.

Seemingly sensing the commotion in the yard, the child turned around. His eyes were red and swollen, clearly from crying.

Zhang Xiaofan recognized the child immediately; it was Lin Jingyu, his childhood playmate.

Could it be?!

Zhang Xiaofan's heart skipped a beat; his ominous premonition had finally become a reality.

He wanted to cry out loud, but found that he couldn't cry at all. Before he knew it, two lines of tears slid down his cheeks.

silence.

High in the sky, the sun shines brightly, and clouds drift and swirl. A gentle breeze blows, and the sunlight is warm. Heaven and earth are indifferent, treating all things as straw dogs, coldly observing and understanding all the joys and sorrows of humankind.

Seeing Zhang Xiaofan looking at him, Lin Jingyu said in a hoarse voice, "I woke up a little earlier than you. I learned from the disciples of Qingyun Sect that Grass Temple Village... We were found by a passing Qingyun disciple at the back of the village and taken up the mountain."

"Jingyu, what are we going to do now?"

Zhang Xiaofan felt lost and confused.

Closing his eyes, the events of last night vaguely surfaced before him. Last night, he was searching for Lin Jingyu when he arrived at the thatched temple at the village entrance and stumbled upon a monk and a demon locked in combat. Both were severely injured, and Lin Jingyu was already unconscious not far away. The demon was defeated, but the "Tianyin Temple" monk was powerless to reverse the situation. Before dying, he took him as his disciple, taught him a thousand-character mantra, and gave him a deep purple bead.

When the two woke up and returned to Caomiao Village, they found that the village had been massacred. The sight of such horror shocked them so much that they fainted. When they woke up again, they were on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the room.

Zhang Xiaofan was in a state of utter confusion, unsure of what to do next or where to go from here.

"Ding! A qualified group member has been detected. Do you wish to join the All-Heavens Trading Group? 10, 9, 8..."

Just then, a voice devoid of any emotion rang in Zhang Xiaofan's heart.

"Ding! The target did not refuse, and has automatically applied to join the All-Heavens Trading Group..."

In a daze, Zhang Xiaofan saw a panel radiating light in his mind, with the words "All Heavens Trading Group 2.0" on it, as if it were a divine intervention.

"Trading Mall," "Enlightenment Space," "Photography," "Videography," "Trading Points"... one term after another left Zhang Xiaofan completely bewildered.

This sudden appearance was so mysterious that Zhang Xiaofan was at a loss, and could only silently observe the chat of the "group members". Among them, the words of "ordinary immortal sect disciple" also caught his attention. This person seemed to be called "group owner". Could he be the owner of this "All Heavens Trading Group" in his mind?

"I wonder if any of these people are immortals?... Father, Mother, I miss you so much!"

Zhang Xiaofan cried out in his heart.

......

The world of immortality.

Yuhua Immortal Mountain, a residence within the Qianxian Academy.

After chatting with "Han Paopao", Fang Han began to look forward to the pills that would be available in the trading shop.

Sure enough, not long after, Fang Han found the newly listed "products" in the "Pills Section". There were four kinds of pills in total, with descriptions, effects and sample pictures.

In addition to the three types of pills, namely "Huanglong Dan", "Jinsui Wan", and "Yangjing Dan", there is another one called "Qingling San", which is described as "able to cure hundreds of kinds of deadly poisons in the world".

As for the three types of pills mentioned earlier, the "Yellow Dragon Pill" and the "Golden Marrow Pill" have the effect of increasing internal strength and undergoing a complete transformation. The "Nourishing Essence Pill" can treat internal and external injuries and nourish vital energy.

These four kinds of pills are all about the size of longan, and they look very appealing.

The rank of pills on the trading market is categorized by Fang Han according to the rank of pills in the Eternal Life World.

The pills sold by "Han Paopao" are priced according to the "low-grade human level" pills, with each pill costing a full 50 points.

Of course, this is considered extremely cheap. Nowadays, 1 point is only 100 jin of grain, and 50 points is only 5000 jin of grain.

Things are valued for their rarity. You should know that the medicinal herbs used to refine these pills are hundreds of years old and are priceless.

This time, Han Li only sold two each of "Yellow Dragon Pill", "Golden Marrow Pill" and "Nourishing Essence Pill" and one "Clear Spirit Powder" in the trading mall.

When Han Li was selling these pills, Fang Han immediately bought them all.

"I wonder how effective these pills are? If possible, I could buy more from Han Li in the future!"

Looking at the pill called "Yellow Dragon Pill" in his hand, Fang Han thought to himself.

All items purchased in the trading marketplace are placed in your personal "trading space" by default, and can be retrieved at any time, which is very convenient. However, you cannot actively store items in the "trading space". (ps: patch)