Longevity: Start Farming with Entries-Chapter 353 - 332: Purchasing Intelligence

After three rounds of drinks.

The three of Han Yuan bid farewell to Qin Ming: "Fellow Daoist Lu, we three still need to report back to the Ten Thousand Dao Alliance Headquarters, and cannot linger here for too long. We’ll take our leave today and head out first."

"Living this life means always being on the road, truly not in control of one’s own body!"

"Very well, since the three of you have duties to attend to, I won’t keep you. If there’s a chance next time, you can come to the Mirror Snow Pavilion to meet with me," Qin Ming stood up and cupped his hands in farewell.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, if you have time, you are most welcome to visit the Ten Thousand Dao Alliance in the Central Continent. We three would be delighted." Liuu Ye said with a smile as charming as a flower.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, please halt, there’s no need to see us off." Gao Feng also bid farewell to Qin Ming.

"We often have tasks to perform in this Southern Domain, so I’m sure we’ll meet again soon, hahahaha!"

"Therefore, Fellow Daoist Lu, there’s no need to be formal."

"I wish you all a safe journey."

...

After parting ways with Han Yuan and the other two, Qin Ming did not head directly to the Mirror Snow Pavilion branch in the market.

Instead, he navigated the complex network of streets within Spirit Ruins Market, twisting and turning, until he reached the front of a grand building.

This grand building was decorated with immense luxury and magnificence, resplendent in gold and jade, with dragons and phoenixes carved into it. On the central plaque, the eloquent inscription bore three large characters — ’Thousand Mechanism Pavilion’.

This store was one of the largest influences in this place, and it was the branch of the Thousand Mechanism Trading Company founded by Master Hua Tianxiong, whom Qin Ming coincidentally met upon arriving at Qilin Island.

The intelligence Qin Ming needed could only be fully detailed and complete within such a well-established major power.

When he arrived, he had already discussed with Guu Qingzhao that Mirror Snow Pavilion’s foundation here was still shallow and many things were yet to be perfected.

Inside the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, several gracefully postured maidservants were attending to guests in the front hall.

One young maidservant in a smoky gauze dress, upon seeing a guest enter, her beautiful eyes lit up, and she began to smile professionally, ready to step forward to serve.

However, she saw the middle-aged shopkeeper behind the counter, leisurely drinking tea, hurriedly put down his teacup, then stood up and said, "Ink Lotus, step back. I will personally serve this guest."

"Yes!"

The maidservant’s heart stirred, and she couldn’t help but glance more at Qin Ming, realizing that very few were recognized and served by their shopkeeper.

He must be a high-level customer.

She had to obey the shopkeeper’s orders, bit her lip in frustration, and reluctantly moved her gaze away from Qin Ming.

Moreover, their shopkeeper was at late-stage Foundation Establishment, so whoever could be called Fellow Daoist must at least be at mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

"This Fellow Daoist seems unfamiliar, is it your first time to Spirit Ruins Market?"

"I am Weii Hong, the shopkeeper here. Please, to the second floor."

Shopkeeper Weii said with a slight smile on his face.

Qin Ming nodded and couldn’t help but ponder, he didn’t expect that even a late-stage Foundation Establishment could only receive guests on the second floor here.

After going upstairs. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Shopkeeper Weii casually ordered someone to bring a pot of ordinary tea, poured a cup for Qin Ming, and inquired, "May I know what Fellow Daoist needs? Or are you here to sell items?"

"I’ve heard your trading company is renowned for being well-informed, so I came to seek the latest intelligence on the major forces in the Great Jin," Qin Ming said, taking a light sip of the tea.

"Intelligence on the major forces of the Great Jin?"

Shopkeeper Weii showed a slight surprise on his face, more certain that the other party was an outsider cultivator.

However, his professional ethics were extremely high, and he did not pry into the client’s identity information but ordered his subordinate to bring several jade scrolls, which he placed before Qin Ming.

"Fellow Daoist, this is the latest intelligence on the major forces of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, updated within the last ten days."

"I assume since you’ve come to this pavilion, you know that the president of this trading company is Master Hua, and our backing is the Lihuo Palace, so you can absolutely trust the authenticity of all intelligence, or we’ll compensate tenfold if it’s false."

"The intelligence here is divided into four classes, Class A intelligence is worth a thousand Middle-Grade Spirit Stones."

"Class B intelligence is eight hundred Middle-Grade Spirit Stones."

"Class C intelligence is five hundred Middle-Grade Spirit Stones."

"Class D intelligence is three hundred Middle-Grade Spirit Stones."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming nodded and then picked up a Class A intelligence jade slip from the tray to examine:

"The Great Jin Cultivation Realm is vast and boundless. Currently, the forces at the Nascent Soul level have increased from just one to three. The established Lihuo Palace dominates the Central Continent, with an immeasurably deep foundation."

"Next is the Ten Thousand Dao Business Alliance. This business alliance spans across several large cultivation realms. Although the apparent leader of the alliance is of Golden Core Perfection cultivation, such a large-scale alliance, with hundreds of trading companies associated under it, this immense commercial empire must have a Nascent Soul True Monarch behind it to maintain control, yet the alliance’s Nascent Soul Tributor remains mysterious, never having shown face."

"Lastly, is the newly risen Divine Dao Mountain..."

"Divine Dao Mountain is located in the Southern Border region, in the west adjacent to another large cultivation realm, named the ’Great Li Cultivation Realm’."

"Unlike the Great Jin, the Great Li Cultivation Realm is truly a Demonic Cultivation Realm, where order is chaotic."

"The jade scroll also specifically notes: Divine Dao Mountain is suspected to have received covert support and backing from the Nascent Soul influence ’Yin Demon Sect’ within the Great Li Cultivation Realm..."

Upon seeing this, Qin Ming’s mind in an instant, connected all thoughts... forming a complete line.

"Matched, it’s matched!"

"Everything matches!"

The Great Li Yin Demon Sect mentioned in the jade scroll, Qin Ming was extremely familiar with them. When he traveled through Wuu Country, the three Mid-stage Golden Core Demonic Upper Envoys he killed were precisely from the Yin Demon Sect... Isn’t this quite the coincidence?

"So, with that said... no wonder Divine Dao Mountain, which had just become a new Nascent Soul Influence recently, could stand toe-to-toe with Lihuo Palace and not fall behind. It turns out there was a great demonic sect pushing the waves from behind..."

"Looks like the waters of the Great Jin are indeed unfathomably deep!"

"I need to be exceptionally cautious in my actions from now on."

After reviewing the data on the jade scroll in his hand, Qin Ming felt the price was a bit expensive but still worth the information he obtained.

Moreover, given his current affluent status, these spirit stones were nothing substantial.

Shopkeeper Weii saw Qin Ming’s grave and contemplative expression and couldn’t help but reveal a self-satisfied smile, saying to Qin Ming: "So, what do you think? The content inside... didn’t disappoint you, did it, Fellow Daoist?"

"Yes!" Qin Ming nodded, responding only faintly.

Then, he picked up another Class A Intelligence Jade Slip to take a look.

In this jade slip, Qin Ming’s view was filled with a very complete and detailed map of the Great Jin Cultivation Realm, covering all aspects, introducing geographical environments, and local customs.

It was simply worlds apart from what Gao Feng had given him.

"Unexpectedly, this map even marks out the divisions of all major influences in detail."

In the Great Jin Cultivation Realm, excluding the three Nascent Soul Overlord-level Influences, there were over two hundred Golden Core influences alone, which truly opened Qin Ming’s eyes wide.

"So many Golden Core influences, compared to the Four Great Golden Core Influences of the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm... who knows how many times more..." Qin Ming secretly marveled in astonishment.

However, despite the Great Jin’s rich cultivation resources and abundant Spiritual Qi, it hadn’t reached the point where Nascent Souls were as common as dogs, and Golden Cores roamed the streets.

Most of the Great Jin’s Golden Core Cultivators were primarily at the Early-stage Golden Core.

After all, reaching Golden Core in cultivation, each breakthrough in a small realm was exceedingly difficult.

The bottleneck peak at the Mid-stage Golden Core already left eighty percent of Golden Core cultivators stuck.

Let alone breaking through to the Late-stage Golden Core.

Here, Late-stage Golden Core Great Cultivators were a mere few, and as for Nascent Soul True Monarchs, they could be counted on three fingers.

"So this is the Five Elements Mountain."

Qin Ming’s gaze was attracted by a super mountain range.

"This place lies on the demarcation line of the Great Jin Southern Domain, and a hugely abundant Tier Four Low-Grade Spiritual Vein has been mined out... sparking a contest between Lihuo Palace and Divine Dao Mountain."

Seeing this, Qin Ming immediately understood the spark for the outbreak of both parties.

Tier Four Spirit Vein, it is a rare strategic resource capable of nurturing Nascent Soul Great Powers.

"The fight over resources, interest is eternal."

"It seems this is the naked truth of the cultivation realm, an unchanging melody through the ages..."

This made Qin Ming involuntarily recall his time in the Yunze Wilderness.

The chaos in Qingyang Market was also triggered by Spirit Feather Sect’s expansion and the discovery of a Tier Three Spirit Vein...

Even in the larger cultivation realms now, it’s the same.

Qin Ming dismissed these thoughts and continued to read on.

"After decades of confrontation between Lihuo Palace and Divine Dao Mountain, countless cultivators have died or been injured, and both sides have suffered significant damage."

"If they continue fighting, both have already realized there are other influences eager for their mutual damage, watching closely, ready to make a move."

"Therefore, the two great influences started negotiations at Five Elements Mountain, involving a third-party influence, ’Ten Thousand Dao Business Alliance,’ who mediated and agreed to jointly develop the spirit vein resources within Five Elements Mountain by Lihuo Palace and Divine Dao Mountain..."

"And Ten Thousand Dao Business Alliance, as the mediator, will gain ownership to establish markets along the line of Five Elements Mountain."

"Even the Spirit Ruins Market, where I’m currently situated, has its largest background as the Ten Thousand Dao Business Alliance."

The Ten Thousand Dao Business Alliance, with no effort, got a significant bargain, just needing to mediate; why wouldn’t they be pleased?

Qin Ming, after fully comprehending the intricacies of the top-tier maneuvers in the Great Jin Cultivation Realm, couldn’t help but feel a multitude of emotions.

Besides this.

One more extremely unexpected bombshell of intelligence was also understood by Qin Ming.

It was about Su Yuqing’s family background.

"Brother Su has always kept it secret from me, no matter how much I tried to hint, unwilling to reveal a bit of his family’s information."

"Unexpectedly, the Su family of the Great Jin’s Central Continent Longting Lake turned out to be one of the Four Great Golden Core families that originally split from Lihuo Palace."

"Hehe!"

"The Su Clan, the Great Jin’s eternal first Alchemy Family, interesting indeed."

...