Traversing countless worlds from the primordial era

Chapter 26 Trading and Tracking

Huang Xingzhi looked at the dozen or so top-tier magic artifacts in front of him, his lips twitching slightly. He truly regretted it.

Before long, the value of these magical artifacts was estimated: seventeen top-tier magical artifacts, totaling 7800 spirit stones.

"This price is still quite reasonable," Huang Xingzhi explained.

"In that case, the deal is done." Lei Ming said without any hesitation.

Huang Xingzhi nodded happily. Almost all the magical artifacts that Lei Ming traded were of high quality. With a little repair, they could earn at least nearly a hundred spirit stones for each artifact.

"Then I'll arrange for someone to make the deal..."

"Wait, I have some more things." Lei Ming took out the materials from the monsters he had killed in the forbidden area, such as the shell of a giant centipede and the golden eyes of a golden leopard.

Upon seeing this, Huang Xingzhi immediately brought in two more elderly men to conduct an appraisal.

"These are materials from first-tier demonic beasts, totaling 700 spirit stones," Huang Xingzhi said.

"Okay." Lei Ming nodded.

"Alright, then we'll settle the accounts for the magical artifacts and the demonic beasts together..."

"Wait, I have something else." Lei Ming stopped Huang Xingzhi again and took out two thousand-year-old spiritual herbs from his storage bag. The spiritual energy of the two herbs alone was enough to attract anyone, and Huang Xingzhi could tell at a glance that they were extraordinary.

"This...Quickly invite Elder Wu! Fellow Daoist Lei is truly a treasure trove of treasures, even possessing such a treasure!" Huang Xingzhi exclaimed, while also speculating about Lei Ming's identity.

"This is a thousand-year-old Solomon's Seal!" The appraiser from Stardust Pavilion trembled slightly when he saw the two spiritual herbs.

"I never imagined there were such treasures in this world. They're rare, truly rare," Old Wu said, stroking his beard and shaking his head.

"Fellow Daoist Lei, my Star Dust Pavilion will take these two spiritual herbs!" Huang Xingzhi said decisively. Thousand-year-old spiritual herbs are of great use to Core Formation stage cultivators. If he can acquire them, the sect will reward him handsomely.

"Since I've brought it here, I naturally want to trade with you. However, we still need to discuss the price," Lei Ming said.

"This..." Huang Xingzhi was afraid that Lei Ming would ask for an exorbitant amount.

"I came here to exchange for advanced Five Elements cultivation techniques. I wonder if Star Dust Pavilion has any?" Lei Ming asked.

"An advanced Five Elements cultivation technique?" Huang Xingzhi thought for a moment. "Which elemental type of technique does Fellow Daoist Lei require?"

"I need all five types of cultivation techniques, and the more the better!" Lei Ming said.

In the cultivation world, only cultivators with a single elemental spiritual root can cultivate pure Five Elements techniques. Advanced Five Elements techniques exist in every sect, including Yellow Maple Valley. However, not everyone is qualified to obtain such techniques. Lei Ming neither apprenticed under a Core Formation cultivator nor made any sect contributions, thus he could not exchange for advanced Five Elements techniques.

"If it's a Five Elements cultivation technique, there are a few here, but none of them are complete; they only cover up to the Core Formation stage," Huang Xingzhi said.

Lei Ming was overjoyed; it seemed he had come to the right place. He hadn't expected the other party to produce a technique that led directly to the Nascent Soul stage. Such techniques were the foundation of every sect's heritage and would never be leaked.

"What are they? Fellow Daoist Huang, why don't you take them out and let me see?"

Huang Xingzhi nodded and left the room. He returned shortly after, carrying several thin booklets.

"These are the instructions for the cultivation technique. Fellow Daoist Lei, you may take a look."

Lei Ming took the booklet and flipped through it. Huang Xingzhi had shown four cultivation techniques, each with the attributes of metal, earth, water, and wood. Each technique could only be cultivated up to the Core Formation stage, and the later parts had obviously been deliberately removed.

"What about fire-attribute techniques?" Lei Ming didn't believe the other party didn't have fire-attribute techniques.

Huang Xingzhi smiled wryly: "Fellow Daoist Lei, your timing is truly opportune. Star Dust Pavilion does indeed possess a fire-attribute cultivation technique, and it is relatively complete, allowing cultivation up to the Nascent Soul stage. However, this technique is an item for the upcoming auction and cannot be sold separately."

Lei Ming put down the four booklets and remained silent in thought. Seeing this, Huang Xingzhi became somewhat anxious.

"If Fellow Daoist Lei truly needs it, I can apply to the sect. The sect has other fire-attribute cultivation techniques that should be able to meet Fellow Daoist Lei's requirements. However, these techniques are all sect heirlooms, and any exchange requires the sect leader's consent," Huang Xingzhi said.

Lei Ming knew that what Huang Xingzhi said was true. The cultivation techniques sold in the markets of various sects were the inheritances obtained by the sects, not the inheritances of the sects themselves. The latter would never be sold to outsiders.

"No need for that. I just want the cultivation manual from the auction." Lei Ming's tone was very firm.

Huang Xingzhi looked troubled: "The auction arrangements have already been finalized, and I have no authority to change them now."

"What if I add another thousand-year-old spiritual herb?" Lei Ming took out the third spiritual herb.

After examining the three medicinal herbs, Elder Wu nodded to Huang Xingzhi. Huang Xingzhi looked at the three herbs, hesitating in his heart.

"If that doesn't work, then forget it. I was just planning to take a trip to the market in Yellow Maple Valley anyway." Lei Ming put away the spiritual herbs and got up to leave.

"Wait!" Huang Xingzhi was now anxious. The matter was not as difficult as he had made it out to be. It was just a matter of copying a cultivation technique. Huang Xingzhi originally wanted to lower the price and even wanted to pressure Lei Ming to see if he had any other spiritual herbs.

"We all know the price of cultivation techniques," Lei Ming said meaningfully. Huang Xingzhi knew that the other party had seen through his thoughts, and smiled awkwardly.

"Fellow Daoist Lei is straightforward, so I won't be coy either. Three thousand-year-old spiritual herbs for five cultivation techniques—I'll take this deal," Huang Xingzhi clapped his hands and said.

Lei Ming sneered inwardly. Despite Huang Xingzhi's seemingly troubled tone, he had actually struck gold. While various schools possessed the Five Elements cultivation techniques, thousand-year-old spiritual herbs were incredibly rare.

"These magical artifacts and demon beast materials, once converted into spirit stones, can be used to purchase pill formulas, spirit herb seeds, array plates, and five elemental spiritual items." Lei Ming didn't want any trouble, so he simply traded everything at once. "Fellow Daoist Huang, don't forget, you have to give me a 10% discount."

Huang Xingzhi was initially quite happy, but his face immediately fell upon hearing this.

Half a day later, Lei Ming left with a full harvest. As soon as he left, Huang Xingzhi's honest and simple expression vanished without a trace.

"Notify the three-headed snake to retrieve the item," Huang Xingzhi said, and a reply came from behind him.

Not long after Lei Ming left the Tianxing Sect market, he realized someone was following him. His Yuan Shen had been baptized by merit, making him much stronger than ordinary cultivators.

Lei Ming smiled coldly. He only came here to trade with the Star Dust Pavilion, so the identities of the people behind him were naturally unknown.

Lei Ming chose a mountain peak, landed his flying boat, and then set up array flags on the ground. Within the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, three Foundation Establishment cultivators landed; their auras were all very strong. Lei Ming glanced at them; the two middle-aged men were in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and the oldest was in the late-Foundation Establishment stage.

"The three of you have followed me all this way. Now it's time to introduce yourselves, isn't it?" Lei Ming said.

The late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator laughed, "You're quite calm now, but it's useless. No one who's been targeted by my Three-Headed Serpent has ever escaped. Since you're about to die, I can answer your question: I'm the leader of the Three-Headed Serpent, he's the second, and this is the third."

"A three-headed serpent?" Lei Ming's gaze swept over the three. "I didn't expect you to be a group. Looks like you've done this kind of thing quite a few times. If I'm not mistaken, the three of you should be disciples of the Stardust Pavilion."

The third leader of the three-headed serpent gleamed with a fierce light in his eyes: "Kid, the more you know, the more miserable your death will be."

"We're all going to die anyway, what does it matter how miserable it is?" Lei Ming said. He suddenly activated the array plate, and streaks of fire snakes formed a large net that enveloped the three of them.

"Boy, knowing our identities, you still want to use this array plate against us?" The second of the three-headed snakes laughed. He took out a black seal, turned it, and the array plate went silent, and the fire snakes disappeared.

"As expected, the Heavenly Star Sect left a backdoor in the array plates they were selling. What a clever plan." Lei Ming wasn't surprised by this, and he casually put away the array flag.

The leader of the three-headed serpent frowned slightly: "Don't waste time, finish this quickly." He always had a bad feeling when facing Lei Ming.

The eldest brother unleashed four array flags, proving himself to be a disciple of the Heavenly Star Sect, his array formation skills were truly extraordinary, and he completed the formation in the blink of an eye.

Thick smoke rose, frost descended, and thunder and fire surged.

The second and third brothers each took out a gourd, chanting some incantation. The two gourds emitted white light, heading straight for Leiming.

"Lightning strike!" the leader shouted, and two bolts of lightning struck towards Leiming.

(End of this chapter)