Chapter 272: Chapter 165: Abundant Harvest: The Divine Fire Sect’s Revenge (Part 3)

Three Hundred Flowers Fruits. According to the *Hezhou Travelogue*, they are a specialty from the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers.

Two jugs of Moonlight Wine. At a glance, they certainly looked genuine.

He sorted and stored the items, making sure he could access them instantly when needed.

Xiao Chen exhaled softly. "Phew... finally done."

It was now the evening of the second day after his return. When he pushed the door open, he saw Chang Shunping guarding the main gate.

The invading Demon Cultivators had already been dealt with.

So Du Mingjie had left with Yao Dehai, and Yang Zhenghao had returned to Dongyuan County to gather his clansmen.

But Chang Shunping remained inside the Qingyang Spirit Mine, seemingly having forgotten to go home.

Of course, he hadn’t actually forgotten. He had already decided deep down to stick close to Xiao Chen and cling tightly to this powerful backer.

’The situation in Hezhou is just too dangerous right now.’

’This Demon Cultivator invasion alone had wiped out at least ten Foundation Establishment families.’

’And what about the future?’

Chang Shunping didn’t know what the future would bring, but he knew you had to be alive to have one.

’This is a rare opportunity to stay at the Qingyang Spirit Mine. As long as no one asks me to leave, I’ll stay put. I won’t leave until Xiao Chen does.’

He’d already planned it out. When Xiao Chen left at the end of the month, he’d have some of his clansmen relocate to the west of Elemental Magnetic Peak.

As for their ancestral property, like the family’s Spirit Fields, he would leave it to the clan elders who refused to leave.

As for himself, he would continue to stay close to Xiao Chen and do whatever he could to be of service.

Admittedly, Chang Shunping wasn’t very skilled in Magical Combat.

However, he had a wide network of acquaintances and was considered worldly and knowledgeable about local matters in Hezhou.

From his many trips to and from the Qingyang Spirit Mine, Chang Shunping had learned that Xiao Chen wasn’t averse to interacting with acquaintances but disliked dealing with strangers.

He had invited Xiao Chen to dine with him three times, and in the end, had brought the fine food directly to the Spirit Mine himself.

So he had intentionally stayed behind, and just as he’d expected, he soon found himself with the task of acting as a temporary Host.

As news spread of Xiao Chen single-handedly eliminating all the Demon Cultivators,

Cultivators from far and wide began sending emissaries to deliver gifts, build connections, and extend all sorts of invitations.

Of course, Xiao Chen was busy sorting through his spoils and couldn’t be bothered with such things, so he needed someone to handle them for him.

This person also needed to have some clout—enough to effectively turn people away.

With Su Wanqing away, Chang Shunping was indeed the most suitable choice.

He could wait at the main gate and handle all the invitations.

In theory, it was a job that was bound to make him some enemies.

After all, Xiao Chen’s instructions were to turn down all "useless" invitations. He had no time for wining and dining.

Given the choice, he would rather spend that time practicing another form of Magic or earning more points.

Unexpectedly, however,

the moment he asked, Chang Shunping agreed without the slightest hesitation.

He even puffed out his chest and guaranteed, "Xiao, rest assured. With me guarding the gate, absolutely no one will disturb your cultivation."

.

When he saw Xiao Chen emerge, Chang Shunping immediately grabbed a list and walked right over.

"Xiao, more than ninety groups of people have come in the last two days. This is the list of names I copied from the invitations."

Xiao Chen glanced at the list. "This many invitations?"

Chang Shunping chuckled. "Heh, this is just the beginning. Once word really gets out, there’ll be plenty more people coming."

As he spoke, he pulled an envelope decorated with gold foil from his sleeve. "Xiao, this is an invitation from the Qiu Family. They plan to hold an auction soon."

"It’ll be at Xianghe Market, and it’s scheduled for the two days of the rotation."

The instruction had been to turn down "useless" invitations.

This one, however, seemed useful, so he had kept it.

"An auction?"

Xiao Chen opened it. Inside was a uniquely crafted invitation and a call for consignments.

In the letter, Qiu Qichen wrote at great length, filling it with endless pleasantries.

The gist of it was this: having slain demons and vanquished evil, Xiao Chen had surely reaped a bountiful harvest and must have accumulated a great number of Spiritual Objects.

As it happened, the Xianghe Market was now preparing an auction and was in short supply of diverse Spiritual Objects.

Thus, they hoped Xiao Chen could help them procure some Spiritual Objects.

The subtext was clear: if Xiao Chen had anything he didn’t need and wanted to offload, he could go through them.

’What a coincidence. I was just wondering if there were any auctions in Hezhou.’

Xiao Chen had, in fact, been wondering how to find a way to get rid of his useless items, particularly Spiritual Objects like Spirit Grass and Spirit Ore.

He hadn’t expected to receive news of an auction’s call for consignments so quickly.

Chang Shunping, standing to the side, pursed his lips.

’As far as he knew, there was no precedent for Xianghe Market to hold an auction in February.’

But he still smiled and said, "Tell me about it. The timing of this auction is certainly convenient."

Xiao Chen put away the invitation, then inquired, "Chang, there’s something else I was hoping to ask, if it’s not an inconvenience."

Chang Shunping’s demeanor turned serious. "Xiao, please, ask whatever you wish."

"I promise I will tell you everything I know and hold nothing back."

Xiao Chen really just wanted to find a way to get rid of the items in his possession that were connected to the Demon Sect. "Chang, in that case, I’ll be direct."

"Are there any black markets or night markets in Hezhou? Places where one could get rid of some... less common items?"

The moment he asked, Chang Shunping understood what he was getting at.

The problem was, he’d never had any dealings with such places himself.

’Seriously? Would a man who spent his days avoiding every possible danger actively seek out a chaotic place like a Black Market?’

After a moment’s thought, Chang Shunping answered honestly, "Xiao, if you’re not in a hurry, I can ask a few of my friends about it."

"If such places exist, it shouldn’t be hard to find out about them."