This meant his strength was far greater than he had previously revealed.

He was nearly on par with the very top-tier Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Either possibility was enough to make one wary.

Qiu Qichen’s pupils shrank, and a grave look appeared in his eyes.

But a smile quickly spread across his face. "Haha, Xiao, what are you talking about? It was just a few broken pieces of furniture."

"I’ve actually been meaning to throw them out and get some new ones. I just hadn’t gotten around to giving the order yet."

"You just happened to clear them out for me, saving me the trouble."

Huh?

Xiao Chen still wanted to compensate him for the value of the items, but Qiu Qichen adamantly refused to accept anything.

"Xiao, let’s head to the back garden first. We shouldn’t keep the other Daoists waiting."

Xiao Chen had no choice but to drop the matter, and the two of them went to the back garden together.

As it was the first month of the lunar year, the last rays of the setting sun had vanished behind the mountains during their brief argument.

Looking up, dusk had fallen, and the distant mountains were as dark as ink.

Hundreds of lanterns had already been lit in the back garden, their warm, orange light flickering to create a surprisingly peaceful atmosphere.

Many of the cultivators who had arrived early were already seated amongst the three flower-viewing pavilions in the center.

Qiu Qichen led Xiao Chen into a pavilion. Seeing that everyone had arrived, he began immediately, "Fellow Daoists, it is my honor that you are all willing to participate in this exchange meeting."

"We’re all acquaintances here, so I’ll skip the pleasantries."

"Let’s follow the usual rules. Each person will present their item in turn, preferably with a description of its effects. Afterward, you can state what you’d like to trade for it."

"This time, let’s have Golden Friend start, and we’ll proceed from east to west."

After speaking, Qiu Qichen stepped back and found an empty seat.

A portly, middle-aged cultivator in a golden daoist robe then stood up.

He first clasped his hands in greeting to the crowd, then smiled and took out a Flying Sword. "Fellow Daoists, I have here a pair of Upper Grade Flying Swords from the Eastern Domain."

"They are called the Hidden Wave Mother and Child Swords. As the name suggests, a Sub-Sword is hidden within the main blade."

"This Sub-Sword is made of Gold-dusted Stone and specializes in breaking through a Protective Spiritual Light."

As he spoke, he drew out the Sub-Sword, injecting a trace of Magical Power to show the golden light flowing across its surface.

Only then did he continue, "I wish to trade for a Defensive Magic Shield of the same grade. If any fellow Daoists have a high-quality shield, please bring it out for discussion."

"If the quality is superior, I can add a thousand Spirit Stones to the deal."

Hearing this, Xiao Chen shook his head slightly. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

’The Hidden Wave Mother and Child Swords are certainly a good item, but Defensive Spiritual Artifacts are inherently more valuable than Attack Spiritual Artifacts.’

’Besides, with the fires of war still burning, all kinds of Defensive Spiritual Artifacts are being consumed at a high rate, making them virtually impossible to find.’

’Their prices have naturally skyrocketed. Even with an extra thousand Spirit Stones, it’s not enough to cover the difference in value.’

.

The others seemed to share Xiao Chen’s assessment, as no one was willing to trade a Defensive Spiritual Artifact for the Flying Sword.

After waiting a moment and hearing no offers, Golden Friend returned to his seat on his own accord.

The Red-skirted Female Cultivator to his left immediately stood up. "I’ve brought two hundred catties of Hundred-Forged Meteorite Iron."

As she spoke, she slapped her Storage Bag, and a pitch-black Iron Ingot, about a foot square, appeared in her hand.

"Whether for forging a Flying Sword or casting a Shield, this Hundred-Forged Meteorite Iron is an excellent Spiritual Material."

"I wish to trade for a Tier Two Cultivation Spiritual Object. A Gold Spiritual Object or a Five Elements Spiritual Object would both be acceptable."

When he first saw the Hundred-Forged Meteorite Iron, Golden Friend’s eyes had lit up.

If he couldn’t get a Defensive Magic Shield, trading for the meteorite iron seemed like a good alternative.

But upon hearing the Red-skirted Female Cultivator’s request, he immediately sighed.

’Cultivation Spiritual Objects are rare treasures at any time. Not only do I not have one, but even if I did, I wouldn’t be willing to part with it for this.’

Unsurprisingly, no one responded to her offer either.

After waiting for a while, the Red-skirted Female Cultivator returned to her seat with some regret.

However, she wasn’t in a hurry. The exchange meeting was a game with many players and would last for a long time. Many deals would only be finalized near the end.

’Perhaps someone was already tempted, but they’re just watching and waiting to see if something better or more worthy of a trade will appear later.’

Therefore, unless the first two items were an urgent necessity for a particular cultivator, the lack of immediate offers was perfectly normal.

There would be several more rounds of trading later on.

Following that, the cultivators presented their items one by one, all of which were rare treasures not commonly seen.

A few items were successfully traded, but most, like the first two, failed to immediately tempt anyone into a deal.

Xiao Chen noticed that the items being presented for trade basically fell into two categories.

The first category was native to Hezhou, consisting mostly of Spiritual Objects like Hundred-Forged Meteorite Iron, Water-refined Qingyang Stone, and Xutu Spirit Sand.

The second category came from the Eastern Domain and included special Magical Artifacts like the Hidden Wave Mother and Child Swords, the Wave-Breaking Flying Boat, and a Portable Spirit Gathering Array Plate.

He also discovered that both the Wave-Breaking Flying Boat and the Portable Array Plate were engraved with the words "Huidong Commerce Association" in a spot where there was no Artifact Pattern.

It seemed they had all been sold from the Eastern Domain to Hezhou through the Huidong Commerce Association.

The owner of the Portable Spirit Gathering Array Plate was a young man in a white robe, who wanted to trade it for an Earth Level inheritance.

His requirements were also very broad: any type of inheritance would do, except for those confiscated from the Demon Sect.

Hearing this, Xiao Chen’s interest was suddenly piqued. ’I actually have an Earth Level Sword Dao inheritance that I have no use for.’

’It came from Wen Shishi, whom I met back in Yellow Wind Valley.’

’I never found a good opportunity to get rid of it, and since a single Secret Manual doesn’t take up much space, I’ve just been holding onto it instead of selling it.’