I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

After a while.

With a creak, the wooden door opened a crack, revealing half of a woman's face—a plain-looking woman with a wary expression—it was none other than "Madam Zhang," the one who had led the way last time.

Her cultivation level was still only around the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining, but when her gaze fell on Zhou Yuan and she sensed the spiritual pressure of the Foundation Establishment stage, the formulaic indifference on her face immediately disappeared.

He adopted a calm and even slightly respectful expression.

"Sir, the auction will be held in three days. If you wish to participate, please come back then."

Madam Zhang spoke in a gentle tone, a stark contrast to her previous treatment of "Li Feiyu," who was in the Qi Refining stage.

Clearly, working in such a secret shop, one is accustomed to seeing high-level cultivators and knows that Foundation Establishment cultivators are guests who cannot be neglected.

Zhou Yuan lowered his voice and said in a hoarse tone enhanced by magic, "Hehe, I'm not here to buy anything."

Madam Zhang was slightly taken aback: "Then who is this senior...?"

"I'm here to do some business with you," Zhou Yuan said succinctly.

A knowing glint flashed in Madam Zhang's eyes: "Are you asking us to auction off the items? The auction will have to wait until next time, and we'll be taking 10%..."

"No." Zhou Yuan interrupted her, stating his purpose directly, "That would be too slow. I have a batch of goods that I'll sell to you as a package. You just need to offer a fair price. Cash on delivery, settle the transaction immediately."

Upon hearing "package deal" and "cash on delivery," Mrs. Zhang immediately understood.

These types of customers often have items that are not of legitimate origin, or they are eager to cash out and do not want to leave a trace or delay the auction process.

Her expression became even more solemn, and she stepped aside to clear the doorway: "Please come in, senior, so we can discuss this further."

Zhou Yuan stepped into the simply furnished outer room, which contained only a table and a few chairs.

Without saying a word, Madam Zhang walked straight to the corner of the room and, just as before, pressed her hand, which glowed with a yellow light, onto the ground. The ground rippled and cracked like water, revealing stone steps leading underground.

The two walked down one after the other.

At the end of the stone steps, the heavy stone door remained, but today the two masked Foundation Establishment cultivators guarding the door were nowhere to be seen.

Madam Zhang took out a token and waved it at the stone door, which then slid open silently.

Behind the door was not the oval-shaped auction hall from last time, but a slightly dimly lit corridor with several closed stone chambers on both sides.

Madam Zhang led Zhou Yuan to the door of one of the stone chambers and bowed, saying, "Senior, please wait here for a moment. The steward in charge of the appraisal will be here shortly."

After saying that, she turned and left, disappearing at the other end of the corridor.

Zhou Yuan pushed open the door and entered.

The stone chamber was small, with a stone table in the middle and a stone chair on each side. The walls were inlaid with moonstones that emitted a soft white light, and there was nothing else there.

He had barely sat down when the stone door opened again, and a monk shrouded in a wide black cloak, wearing a black metal mask that only revealed his eyes, walked in.

This person possessed a solid and profound aura, clearly indicating that he was a cultivator in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

"I've kept you waiting, fellow Daoist."

The black-robed monk's voice came through the mask, sounding somewhat muffled, but his tone was still polite.

He sat down opposite Zhou Yuan and got straight to the point, "I'm in charge of buying and selling items here. Since you've come here, you must know our rules—we buy anything, no matter how shady, as long as it's valuable enough. We also strive for fair prices, after all, we want to do business for the long term."

Zhou Yuan nodded, and without saying a word, patted the storage bag.

slam-la-

With a flash of spiritual light, more than thirty magical artifacts fell onto the stone table like spilled beans, instantly piling up into a small mountain.

These magical artifacts come in various styles, including knives, swords, shields, rings, mirrors, and ribbons... and their quality ranges from ordinary mid-grade and high-grade to exquisite top-grade.

What they have in common is that they all retain traces of their original owners' refinement to varying degrees, or they bear the style of sects such as Qingxu Sect, Giant Sword Sect, Spirit Beast Mountain, and Tianque Fortress of Yue Kingdom. Some even have personal markings or family emblems that have not been completely erased.

These were the items Zhou Yuan obtained from Feng Yue, Duobao Nu, the Giant Sword Sect cultivators, and other opponents he had killed in the Blood Forbidden Land. After initial screening, he determined that the portion was of higher risk for use or sale within the Yue Kingdom.

The black-robed cultivator's gaze swept over the pile of magical artifacts from behind his mask, his eyes calm and unwavering, showing no surprise or inquiry, as if he had long been accustomed to it.

He reached out and began to pick up the ritual implements one by one, carefully examining their materials, crafting techniques, condition, residual spiritual energy, and any "unclean" marks.

He examined everything carefully, yet quickly, clearly demonstrating his extensive experience.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he put down the last magical artifact, looked up at Zhou Yuan, and stated a number:

"Your shipment is of fairly good quality. Although there are some flaws, there are quite a few fine pieces. I can offer four thousand spirit stones. What do you say?"

Zhou Yuan quickly calculated in his mind. This price was slightly higher than he had estimated.

It seems that this secret shop is indeed somewhat "fair" in its dealings, and did not deliberately lower the price because he was in a hurry to sell.

Of course, it's also possible that the overall value of this batch of goods is indeed worth that amount, and the profit margin after the other party resells it is still considerable.

Of course, it's also possible that the overall value of this batch of goods is indeed worth that amount, and the profit margin after the other party resells it is still considerable.

"Sure," Zhou Yuan readily agreed without haggling. When doing business with a place like this, it's always better to be straightforward and efficient.

"Fellow Daoist, you're quite forthright!"

The black-robed cultivator seemed satisfied with Zhou Yuan's attitude. He took out a blank storage bag and collected all the magical artifacts on the table. Then he took out another storage bag and pushed it in front of Zhou Yuan. "Here are four thousand low-grade spirit stones. Please count them, fellow Daoist."

Zhou Yuan probed with his divine sense, scanning it in one swift motion.

The quantity inside is correct.

He nodded, put away the storage bag, stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute: "It's been a pleasure doing business with you. Farewell."

"Fellow Daoist, please take care. You are welcome to come anytime if you need anything in the future." The black-robed cultivator also stood up to return the greeting, his tone still indifferent.

The transaction was completed cleanly and efficiently, without a single unnecessary word or inquiry into the origin of the goods.

Led by Madam Zhang, Zhou Yuan returned the way he came and left the dilapidated little house.

Walking on the increasingly bustling streets of the market, Zhou Yuan felt at peace.

With four thousand spirit stones in hand, plus the spirit stones he had previously obtained from Wanbaoge and some he already had, he now had nearly nine thousand spirit stones at his disposal.

That's quite a fortune.

As for safety, he wasn't too worried.

The fact that this secret shop can operate such a large-scale secret store in Tianxingzong Market must mean that its background is unfathomable, and its reputation is the foundation of its existence.

For a mere four thousand spirit stones, to engage in double-crossing and ruin one's reputation is a losing proposition.

As long as you don't flaunt your wealth or make a fuss, you should be fine.

Next, Zhou Yuan began looking for some weapon-refining shops, as it was time to make use of the materials he had collected from dissecting the Ink Dragon.