Ten days passed, and the date for the Red Lantern Illumination Sect's rit Hall branch to station themselves in Clear Stream Market drew closer and closer. The influx of cultivators into Clear Stream Market grew heavier by the day. Independent rogue cultivators, disguised bandit cultivators, mbers of minor immortal clans, and disciples from vassal sects of great clans—they ca in every shape and form, their numbers too vast to count.
A market town that usually held a few thousand residents was completely bursting at the seams, packed with cultivators from hundreds of kiloters around.
At the carriage park of Clear Stream Market, staff wearing temporary worker armbands were sweating profusely, frantically managing the cultivators' demands for stable space. Wang Rongwen did not ride a horse over. He had arrived aboard the Patriarch's flying spiritual artifact. He observed the flow of people, clicking his tongue in slight amazent.
Walking all the way to Old Ghost's Beast dicine Shop, Wang Rongwen stepped through the door and imdiately noticed Old Ghost conversing with a middle-aged man dressed in white robes, whose face was clean-shaven. Seeing Wang Rongwen enter, the white-robed middle-aged man stopped talking.
"I'll leave it in your hands then."
"As you should," Old Ghost replied with a beaming smile, watching the white-robed man depart.
"Business has been good lately?" Wang Rongwen and Old Ghost were old acquaintances, so he didn't make himself a stranger, sitting down directly at Old Ghost's tea table.
First turning around to close the shop door to prevent anyone else from entering, Old Ghost put on a miserable face and began to complain about his hardships. "Sigh, it's just earning a bit of pocket change for all the hard work."
Saying this, Old Ghost poured a cup of tea for himself. He had just dealt with that bandit cultivator for a long ti, and his throat was parched. He needed so spiritual tea to moisten his voice. Elder Rongwen smiled, quietly staring at the teacup, waiting for Old Ghost to pour one for him as well. But for so unknown reason, after this bastard Old Ghost finished pouring his own, he actually kept the teapot firmly in his hand. He didn't pour any for Wang Rongwen, nor did he intend to speak. He just stared straight at Wang Rongwen.
"What is the aning of this?" Wang Rongwen asked, sowhat surprised and suspicious.
"You people from the Wang Clan are never ordinary. Fellow Daoist Rongwen, speak plainly if you have business."
'I'm definitely not letting you drink a drop! If I pour even a single cup of tea for you Wang Clan mbers, I, Old Ghost, would have wasted all these years mixing in the cultivation world!'
Feeling a bit ridiculous, Wang Rongwen frowned slightly.
'All right, all right, playing it like this, are we? Looking down on ? Let's see how I handle you!'
He picked up an empty teacup from the tray on the tea table, extended it right before Old Ghost's hand, and said with a troubled sigh, "It's a hassle. Our Patriarch intends to organize a Ghost Market Auction together with the Gu Clan. He wants to make a tidy sum before the Red Lantern Illumination Sect's rit Hall arrives. I ca this ti on the Patriarch's orders. He hopes you will host the event and handle the distribution of invitations. It's just... it seems you don't welco , Fellow Daoist?"
Old Ghost's face changed at lightning speed. He instantly pulled out a jar of rank-eight Monkey Spiritual Wine from his storage bag and even produced a gold wine cup that was a lower-grade artifact, pouring a drink for Wang Rongwen.
"Welco! Welco! I rely had a slight misunderstanding with Fellow Daoist Rongyuan earlier. But toward Fellow Daoist Rongwen and the Wang Clan of Anbei Kingdom, I am naturally incomparably welcoming, incredibly close, and boundlessly trusting. Fellow Daoist Rongwen, this is rank-eight Monkey Spiritual Wine, just received yesterday. It's a small token of my respect, nothing major. Please taste it, taste it!"
'Where did that arrogance go when you were just turning your face away from ? And you have a misunderstanding with Rongyuan? What misunderstanding? Do you have an issue with the Wang Clan?'
Thinking of this, Wang Rongwen picked up the golden wine cup. He didn't drink, but instead turned the cup over and over, examining it before praising, "This wine cup is quite nice. Fellow Daoist, this cup is truly excellent."
The dry smile on Old Ghost's face froze as if soone had pressed a pause button, his facial features completely locking up.
'The Wang Clan goes too far! You brothers, Wang Rongwen and Wang Rongyuan, push people too hard!'
He gnashed his teeth, thinking to himself: 'If one isn't ruthless, one can't stand firm! Only by being ruthless to himself could he earn spirit stones!'
"Since you like it, Fellow Daoist, it is yours. Hahaha," Old Ghost said with a loud laugh. He looked like a surprisingly good person.
"Yes, our Patriarch and the Second Elder of the Tea King Gu Clan are spearheading it, and Elder Zhuo Chi of Dripdrop Cave is also participating. We will likely invite the Town Guardian Cultivator, Senior Jiang, as well. With the four of them present, this Ghost Market Auction will surely be absolutely foolproof." Wang Rongwen smiled and began explaining to Old Ghost, but when he reached the crucial point, he stopped talking.
"How many invitations do you need to send out?" Old Ghost inquired eagerly.
As if he hadn't heard what Old Ghost said, Wang Rongwen lanted with a troubled look, "As for this, sigh... the Patriarch loves to drink Monkey Spiritual Wine, but unfortunately, rank-eight Monkey Spiritual Wine is rare. Although you have it here, Fellow Daoist, I would feel too embarrassed to make you part with what you love."
Double the trouble, a repeated performance! Wang Rongwen was still piling it on!
'Patriarch: Rongwen, I am your uncle. If you want to use my na to get so free wine, I don't actually mind that much, but could you please not make sound so classless!'
Old Ghost didn't speak this ti either. Even the expression on his face didn't change. Silently, he took out another jar of rank-eight Monkey Spiritual Wine from his storage bag, placed it on the tea table, and gently pushed it in front of Wang Rongwen. Then, he looked at Wang Rongwen with a deeply resentful gaze.
'Fellow Daoist, that should be enough, right? Just because I didn't pour you tea, if you want to bla soone, go bla Wang Rongyuan... I am innocent!'
"Hahaha, since you are so hospitable, Fellow Daoist, I shall accept it. The auction is set for the evening of the day after tomorrow, at the usual place. As for the invitations, send out three hundred this ti. Rember, look for those with higher cultivation bases! The centerpiece auction items include four or five upper-grade artifacts, over a dozen bottles of upper-grade spiritual pills commonly used in the Qi Refining stage, and so excellent rank-eight spiritual materials."
Hearing the number three hundred, Old Ghost almost passed out from sheer joy. He could sell these invitations for at least two spirit stones each. From this wave alone, what Wang Rongyuan had freeloaded in tea and what Wang Rongwen had extorted in wine and cups would all be fully recouped, with a massive profit to boot! Of course, doing this kind of thing also ant bearing corresponding risks. If any inexplicable figures investigated, he would have to take the bla.
"Rest assured, Brother Rongwen, I understand, I understand completely. After the matter is settled, there will be another generous token of gratitude!" Old Ghost held Wang Rongwen's hand, almost shedding tears of gratitude.
"Mm, then I shall take my leave. See you around."
Without leaving a trace, Wang Rongwen also swept the jar of Monkey Spiritual Wine from which only one cup had been poured into his storage bag, and then departed.
Seeing him walk far away, Old Ghost cursed in a low voice, 'Everyone in the Wang Clan is a pig,' before joyfully setting off to produce the invitations.
Recently, the number of cultivators in Clear Stream Market had skyrocketed, all arriving for the Red Lantern Illumination Sect's rit Hall, planning to spend their savings there. Spending required capital, and these people brought no shortage of spirit stones or other treasures. Why did the Wang Clan Patriarch and the other Foundation Establishnt powerhouses choose this specific ti to hold a Ghost Market Auction? It was precisely to seize the harvest window for premium pri targets, raking in a fortune before the Red Lantern Illumination Sect's rit Hall even arrived!
Old Ghost had a bold idea—for this auction, the invitations should rightfully be sold for three spirit stones each!
"Yulou, do you think Master's attainnt in the artificing path is high or low? I watched him refine lower-grade artifacts today, and he shattered a full three pieces." In the evening, having finished their day of learning, the two brothers walked on the path back to Fortune Source Residence. Yu'an complained to his older brother.
"You don't understand, Master has real skill. Cutting a piece of Cold Refined Iron into six portions to make artifacts; if he completes two, he breaks even; three is a small profit; four is a major gain. Today he made eleven pieces and only shattered three. He's already made a killing."
Yulou truly admired Hongi. The man was a business genius. When it ca to cutting costs and increasing efficiency, Hongi's level was at least ten stories high.
"Will anyone actually buy those lower-grade artifacts? Our family's Donkey Mane Sachet has at least four layers of restrictions..." Yu'an honestly couldn't figure it out.
Where exactly was Hongi so impressive? He would cut up a fist-sized piece of Cold Refined Iron, pair it with so scraps and leftover spiritual materials, and sohow manage to refine three or four layers of restrictions into a finger-sized lower-grade artifact. He had even refined five layers into one of them. Of the three that shattered, two had broken while he was attempting to refine the sixth layer! High skill, a dark heart, and absolutely ruthless greed. If Hongi didn't succeed, who could?
"Recently, the number of cultivators in Clear Stream Market has been growing. Lower-grade artifacts with three or four layers of restrictions are prepared precisely for those who cannot afford high-quality artifacts. Those that Master refined, even if they only have three layers of restrictions, still use Cold Refined Iron as a base. If used well in a fight, they could shatter my Black Jade Oil Bead."
Yulou and Yu'an chatted as they made their way back to Fortune Source Residence. Bailu, who was leaning over the counter reading a storybook, noticed their arrival. She ran over to remind them, "The Patriarch has arrived. Yu'an, your parents have arrived too. They said for you two to go see them as soon as you get back."
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