As soon as Zhang Wendao sat down, the person next to him greeted him.

"Fellow Daoist Yu! It must be a hundred years since we parted in Heng Prefecture. Congratulations on advancing again!"

Zhang Wendao replied with a smile, clearly quite familiar with him.

Daoist Yu looked rather pleased with himself. "You are too kind. I advanced a layer a few years ago."

This middle-aged cultivator dressed in brocade robes was known as Daoist Yu. He was a rogue cultivator who had already reached the fifth layer of the Purple Mansion realm.

Hundreds of years ago, the two had once explored an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling together. Daoist Yu had obtained a sum of wealth, while Zhang Wendao had secured a cultivation technique that could be practiced all the way to the Golden Core stage. Both had reaped substantial rewards.

Zhang Wendao clearly had no desire to dwell on past matters, so he smoothly changed the subject.

"I wonder what fine treasures the Yun family will bring out today. Yesterday's auction truly opened one's eyes. The Yun family was even willing to put Fourth-Tier spiritual items and materials that assist in Golden Core breakthrough up for auction. They truly live up to their reputation as a Golden Core clan."

Gu Wanchang, standing behind Zhang Wendao, nodded quietly. He had also attended yesterday's second session, where the final featured items had been a Fourth-Tier Middle Grade spiritual object and Golden Core Jade Liquid, a treasure that assisted in forming a Golden Core.

Golden Core Jade Liquid could increase the chance of forming a Golden Core by forty percent. The Yun ancestor was said to have succeeded in his breakthrough after taking a portion of it.

The portion auctioned by the Yun Clan had been diluted to one-third of its original strength. Even so, late Purple Mansion cultivators had clamored for it, driving the final price to nine hundred and seventy thousand low grade Spirit Stones.

That the Yun family could offer Golden Core Jade Liquid at an auction sent a clear signal: the family was now capable of producing Golden Core breakthrough resources on its own!

In Qingzhou, factions capable of producing such resources were exceedingly rare. Foremost among them was Qingzhou's preeminent force, the Haoran Sect. The Haoran Sect held its grand assembly once every century. Similar in nature to the Cloudheaven Auction, its scale far surpassed anything the Cloudheaven event could muster.

The Haoran Assembly was the number one gathering in Qingzhou, where even items capable of assisting in Nascent Soul formation were occasionally auctioned!

"Indeed. Sometimes I envy clan cultivators like you and the Yuns," Daoist Yu said, suddenly sounding lonely. "You avoid so many wrong turns in cultivation. We rogue cultivators have to find our own way, risking our futures with every mistake. And when trouble comes, we have no family we can rely on."

"You envy our protection, but I envy your freedom to go where you please," Zhang Wendao replied. "If you truly want a clan of your own, why not find a spiritual mountain, marry, and take concubines? With your cultivation and character, that should be easy enough."

"You have a point." Daoist Yu nodded thoughtfully, apparently giving the suggestion serious consideration.

"And this young friend is?" Daoist Yu asked, casting a glance behind.

"This is Young Friend Gu Wanchang, the clan leader of the Gu Clan of the Nine Perches Mountains."

"My respects, Senior Yu." Gu Wanchang greeted him promptly and with perfect courtesy, though inwardly he was growing anxious.

So he was merely a descendant of an allied clan. Daoist Yu instantly lost interest.

While Gu Wanchang anxiously awaited the start of the exchange meeting, Gu Changhuan was strolling through the rogue cultivator square. The square was far more bustling today than in previous days, drawing a much larger crowd.

After walking through the majority of the grounds, Gu Changhuan found himself face-to-face with Yu Ruyi. Beside Yu Ruyi stood a female cultivator clad in pink robes, possessing striking good looks.

Judging by her aura, she was at the sixth layer of Qi Condensation.

"Fellow Daoist Yu, we meet again." Gu Changhuan was not in disguise today, so he naturally offered a greeting.

"Fellow Daoist Gu." Yu Ruyi cupped his fists and made introductions. "This is a fellow Daoist from the Fang Clan."

"I am Fang Xin'ai. A pleasure to meet you, Fellow Daoist Gu," she said with a graceful bow.

"Gu Changhuan of the Gu Clan."

"Fellow Daoist Yu spoke of you as one of the most gifted young men of our generation in the Nine Perches Mountains. Now that we have met, I can see he was right," Fang Xin'ai said, smiling.

Praised?

Gu Changhuan smiled knowingly. His own mother hailed from a collateral branch of the Fang Clan, which made him naturally well-disposed toward them.

"I could hardly compare with him. You flatter me, Miss Fang," Gu Changhuan said modestly. Just then, he noticed a Mandarin-Duck Pendant at Yu Ruyi's waist.

As far as he could recall, Yu Ruyi had not worn a jade pendant on his visit to Wanbao Pill Pavilion.

Casually letting his gaze sweep toward Fang Xin'ai's slender waist, he unsurprisingly spotted the matching half of the Mandarin-Duck Pendant.

"Seeing that the two of you are in such a rush, you must have important matters to attend to. I will not intrude further." Wishing to avoid playing the third wheel, Gu Changhuan quickly found an excuse to slip away.

Yu Ruyi smiled. "We indeed have affairs to handle. Let us meet again another day, Fellow Daoist Gu."

After parting ways, Gu Changhuan watched their retreating figures with an inscrutable expression. A marriage alliance between the Fang and Yu Clans was not entirely unusual in itself, but the two families had never forged a union at the Foundation Establishment level before.

A flicker of worry crossed his mind. The Gu Clan had yet to produce a Purple Mansion cultivator. If the Foundation Establishment experts of the Fang and Yu Clans joined hands through marriage, the two families would inevitably draw closer, and he could not be certain how that might affect the Gu Clan's standing in the Nine Perches Mountains.

There was no use dwelling on it for now. The most urgent task was to find a suitable Third-Tier High Grade earth-attribute spiritual item!

As he strolled, Gu Changhuan turned his inner vision toward his Sea of Consciousness. Because he was wearing his clan's distinctive attire today, quite a few vendors called out to him. In the eyes of rogue cultivators, members of established clans were practically synonymous with wealthy targets ripe for the taking.

Gu Changhuan possessed discerning standards. The rogue cultivators' stalls held little of genuine value, and very few items warranted a pause.

Just as he neared the end of the aisle, the Tongxian Map displayed a golden mark for the very first time!

Holding back his excitement, Gu Changhuan read the label beneath the golden marker: a ninth-tier Storage Ring!

A ninth-tier Storage Ring!

Gu Changhuan was stunned. Until now, the highest tier he had known of was the sixth. And here was a ninth-tier spirit object! How could he not be astonished?

Quickly smoothing his expression and reining in his racing emotions, he stepped casually up to the stall where the ring rested.

"Fellow Daoist, how much do you want for this jade hairpin?" he asked, pointing to an exquisitely crafted hairpin with faint spiritual fluctuations, deliberately ignoring the ring entirely.

The stall owner was a burly, broad-shouldered man at the eighth layer of Qi Condensation.

"A first-tier low grade artifact, with a Dust Repelling spell and an enchantment to help with spellcasting. A favorite with lady cultivators, and a perfect gift! Just thirty Spirit Stones." With his thick brows and wide eyes, the vendor looked honest enough. His asking price was another matter.

"You must be joking. Thirty low grade Spirit Stones would buy a bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills with change to spare. I want some jewelry for my little sister, but I do not need to spend that much." Gu Changhuan invented the story on the spot, deliberately letting his smile fade.

The vendor clearly did not know what he had. The ninth-tier ring had an ancient, imposing look, but gave off no spiritual fluctuations. Besides, people used Storage Bags. Gu Changhuan had never heard of anyone using a Storage Ring.

This customer would not be easy to fool. The vendor rubbed his hands. "How touching that you remembered a gift for your little sister while away from home! Tell you what: twenty-five low grade Spirit Stones for the hairpin. Anything else you want from my stall, you can have at forty percent off."

After all, most of the items on his spread had been acquired through killing to seize treasures, and none of them were particularly valuable. Earning an extra couple of Spirit Stones on a sale was what mattered; it made no difference who bought them.