Transmigrating to the Qi Cultivation Path, I became an outdated Foundation Establishment cultivator.

A few days later,

In the most luxurious "Step by Step to Immortality" restaurant in the east of the city, He Sheng sat across from two middle-aged cultivators in the Jade Pavilion on the third floor.

The man on the left has fair skin and a slightly plump build; this man is Yang Wanshi, the uncle of the broker Lu Tong.

His posture was somewhat humble, and he always had a fawning smile on his face. He would get up from time to time to pour wine for He Sheng, looking like a cautious, mercenary man.

The man on the right had a large belly, and his round face had a pair of narrow eyes that revealed his shrewdness.

Although this person was only a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, he appeared neither humble nor arrogant in the face of He Sheng, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. His every move exuded a certain air of authority, clearly indicating that he held some position within the Sitong Chamber of Commerce.

"Senior, this is Heng Daoyuan, one of the four managers of the front hall of the Yuanxia branch of my Sitong Chamber of Commerce."

Manager Heng specializes in the sale of religious artifacts. I heard from Lu Tong that the senior intends to cooperate with our Sitong Chamber of Commerce, so I specially invited Manager Heng to discuss the matter with him.

With Yang Wanshi's introduction, He Sheng took the opportunity to greet this Manager Heng.

Heng Daoyuan didn't presume, and quickly stood up, cupped his hands in return, his expression respectful but not obsequious.

After exchanging greetings and taking their seats, He Sheng didn't rush into discussing business. Instead, he exchanged pleasantries with Heng Daoyuan, chatting about the customs and culture of the cultivation world.

Heng Daoyuan was also a shrewd man, so he naturally went along with He Sheng's wishes, and his witty remarks quickly enlivened the atmosphere.

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, Heng Daoyuan put down his wine cup and said seriously:

"It is a great honor to be hosted by our seniors today."

Now that we've had our fill of food and drink, continuing to drink might interfere with our important business. How about we discuss the important matters with our seniors first?

He Sheng readily agreed and expressed his own demands.

One reason is that he wants to sell some of the magical artifacts he has crafted regularly in exchange for resources for his cultivation.

Secondly, he needs the Sitong Chamber of Commerce to regularly supply some spiritual materials, especially some of which are indispensable. He hopes that Heng Daoyuan can provide him with a stable supply.

After listening, Heng Daoyuan pondered for a moment, tapping his fingers lightly on the table as if he were carefully considering his words.

After a moment, he slowly said:

"Since you are a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, you naturally do not wish to be subject to too many restrictions. Therefore, I would not presume to invite you to become the exclusive enshrined weapon refiner of my Sitong Merchant Guild."

This was a case of saying the opposite of what he meant, with a hint of testing. He Sheng nodded slightly, indicating that he really did not want to become a bound and restricted alchemist.

Hengdao Yuan saw this and said again:

"In that case, senior, you might as well cooperate with my Sitong Chamber of Commerce as a 'cooperative weapon refiner'."

As he spoke, Heng Daoyuan carefully explained the terms of the cooperative weapon refiner agreement to He Sheng.

The so-called cooperative weapon refiners are actually a form of cooperation that is not subject to any constraints.

When He Sheng wanted to sell his magical artifacts, the Sitong Chamber of Commerce would have its clerks assess their quality.

Needless to say, the quality of ritual implements is also determined by the Sitong Merchant Guild, which classifies them into five grades: fine, good, genuine, substandard, and inferior.

High-quality items, needless to say, are rare and hard to come by, and are generally valued at double the market price.

Good quality products are valued at about 20% higher than the market price;

Authentic products, needless to say, are priced at market value;

Substandard products are of significantly lower quality than the ritual implements circulating in the market, and their estimated value is naturally lower, only about 80% of the market price.

Inferior products are not accepted at all.

However, despite the fixed product designation, the Sitong Chamber of Commerce would not actually spend spirit stones to purchase magic weapons from the cooperating weapon refiners. Instead, they would cooperate in a manner similar to consignment.

Specifically, once the consignor determines the exact condition of the item, the Sitong Chamber of Commerce issues a consignment certificate, and the ritual object will then be listed within the Sitong Chamber of Commerce.

After the item is sold, regardless of the price, the remaining spirit stones are handed over to the weapon refiner after deducting a 5% handling fee based on the original price.

The Sitong Chamber of Commerce does indeed provide its partner weapon refiners with a special service for selling spiritual materials, but this service is subject to quota limitations.

For example, if a weapon refiner sells a magical artifact worth 10,000 spirit stones through the Sitong Merchant Guild in a year, they can enjoy a special sales service for spiritual materials worth 3,000 spirit stones.

The so-called exclusive sales service refers to priority supply and the lowest market price for materials below the third tier.

He Sheng fell silent after hearing the terms of the cooperative weapon refiner agreement.

To be honest, these terms are really not good; they even have a hint of unfair terms.

Sitong Chamber of Commerce profited from both sides: they collected commissions from the weapon refiners and sold to customers at inflated prices, making a fortune by profiting from the market price.

"However, this is only possible because the Sitong Chamber of Commerce has a strong brand. If you want to use their channels, you have to accept it; otherwise, you'll have to find another channel."

Heng Daoyuan, seeing He Sheng's apparent hesitation, said sincerely:

"Senior, I am merely the deputy manager of a branch, and I have no right to comment on the terms of the cooperative weapon refiner agreement."

However, I can guarantee one thing: if you are willing to cooperate with my Sitong Chamber of Commerce, as long as the magical artifacts you provide are of excellent quality, I will have my staff give priority to selling your artifacts.

He Sheng nodded upon hearing this; this point was indeed quite important.

After all, the Sitong Chamber of Commerce is so large that it has at least seven or eight hundred, if not a thousand, Buddhist artifacts for sale. Without someone to help promote them, it would be like leaving them in the shop and waiting for customers to come and buy them, which could take forever.

If you have a familiar insider who is willing to help promote the product, then everything is different.

He Sheng was quite confident in the quality of the magical artifacts he had crafted, and he raised his wine cup, saying:

"Manager Heng, please drink this cup to the brim."

He Sheng and Heng Daoyuan drank it all in one gulp, which can be considered as expressing their initial intention to cooperate.

He Sheng understood that no matter what, he should give it a try first, since he wouldn't suffer too much loss anyway.

As he spoke, He Sheng took out the two Bright Water Spirit Pearls and six Cold Moon Arc Light Swords that he had previously refined, but the top-grade Cold Moon Arc Light Sword was not among them.

Heng Daoyuan, originally a deputy manager promoted from a clerk, possessed exceptional insight. He immediately recognized that these magical artifacts were all crafted using the water-refining method, and exclaimed with delight:

"I never imagined that you were so proficient in water refining techniques!"

This water-refining method is quite time-consuming and labor-intensive, and we don't have a single dedicated weapon refiner here, and even fewer among our cooperative weapon refiners.

Magical artifacts refined with water possess a unique spiritual essence and are more suitable for cultivators who practice water magic or even wood magic.

Furthermore, the shop has very few water-refining magical artifacts, so you shouldn't have to worry about selling these few.

Ordinary weapon refiners prioritize efficiency and time-to-efficiency ratios, so naturally very few people practice the art of water-based refining.

After Heng Daoyuan finished speaking, he carefully examined the two Bright Water Spirit Pearls with his divine sense and initially determined their quality to be "genuine" and the six Cold Moon Arc Swords to be "good".

"According to the current market price, the price of a mid-grade auxiliary magic weapon is roughly 320 spirit stones, and two genuine ones would cost a total of 640 spirit stones."

The price of a top-grade attack magic weapon is approximately 1,180 spirit stones, and six good-grade ones cost a total of 7,080 spirit stones.

However, this is only a preliminary order. The final product will need to be taken back to the Chamber of Commerce for a joint decision by the senior members, but it should be roughly the same.

Heng Daoyuan quoted a rough price, and He Sheng nodded, indicating his initial agreement.

He Sheng's understanding of cooperation is very simple: it depends on the people involved. He has chosen to trust Hengdaoyuan, and that speaks for itself.

On the second day,

Lu Tong's uncle, Yang Wanshi, personally delivered the consignment certificate to He Sheng's residence. He Sheng examined it carefully and found that the item on the certificate was exactly the same as what Heng Daoyuan had said yesterday.

He Sheng nodded in satisfaction and gave Yang Wanshi a few spirit stones as a reward to send him away.

No sooner had this person left than Feng Lingzi came to visit.