"Brother Cheng, are you talking about the artifact refiner in your squad?"
"Yes."
Ji Du had met that refiner from Cheng Song's squad before. Their team had even asked him to appraise some damaged magical artifacts they'd collected. He was a cultivator who survived purely on his skills.
"You let the refiner go?"
"Yeah, Senior Brother said we promised them back then, so we couldn't go back on our word." Cheng Song then looked at Ji Du, waiting for his response.
Ji Du didn't hide anything. He roughly explained their encounter with Lao Mao's squad and finally said, "I don't know if they're just reckless or completely fearless, but they even wiped out Mao Wu's squad. Our team only did a single trade with them, so I'd say it was fair."
"Can we trust that Hu San?"
"Should be okay. After all, their squad was once oppressed by Mao Wu's people, and…"
Ji Du paused for a moment, then continued with a meaningful look, "Mao Wu's sword is gone. The immortals in the inner circle will definitely look for another sword. With the strength of our two squads, maybe we'll be on their radar. We'll see soon enough!"
"Got it!"
Cheng Song got the information he wanted. He tossed a small storage pouch (the smallest kind) and a jade slip to the other party. "If you want to trade anything from our squad's loot, come find me."
"Got it, thanks for looking out, Brother Cheng." Ji Du took both items with a smile and didn't refuse. He sent Cheng Song off.
After returning, Cheng Song told his Senior Brother what he'd found out.
"Thanks, Junior Brother. I got it. Let's wait and see."
"Senior Brother, Xiao Su left on his own. What happens after that is up to him. We've done our part and don't need to spend more effort on him."
"I know. Originally, I hoped that after joining our squad, he could return with us to Tianmu Continent. We're really short on refiners there, and the refinement inheritance is broken."
"Why didn't you say so earlier? If that's the case, we shouldn't have let him go in the first place." Cheng Song frowned.
"Junior Brother, we invited him sincerely, not forcibly. If we'd forced Xiao Su, even if he went to our continent, what could we do if he didn't put his heart into it?"
"Then just find a way to control him!"
"And then? Soul searching? How do you know he doesn't have a way to protect himself? We form connections, not enemies. It all depends on his friends on that continent. If they're willing to offer resources to get him back without blinking, you'll see that he does have a lineage there."
"So what now?"
"I said, let's wait and see."
Cheng Song, after hearing his Senior Brother, paid more attention to Jian Mao and the others. He wondered if he could extend another favor and somehow gain a refinement inheritance. He knew it would be tough, but he still held a tiny hope.
Gradually, squads arriving to participate in the trade entered the formation, generating a tidy entrance fee for the organizers. Once the sky fully darkened, no more squads were allowed in.
The team members from Lingyun Continent, the squads gathered to discuss the next day's trade.
"Tomorrow, Senior Sister and I will check if there are any pills or spirit plants that can replenish vitality," Jian Dan said first.
"Thanks, everyone. Here are some spirit stones our Purple Sky Sect pooled together."
Xiao Xiong took out a storage ring and handed it to Jian Dan. After all, no one was obliged to do this, and helping them out made sense since they were cultivators from the same continent. It wouldn't be right to spend too many resources on them.
"Okay, I'll return whatever's left," Jian Dan said, not being formal. This wasn't just about the Heavenly Sword Sect.
"Junior Sister, take those damaged artifacts you collected and let Su Daoyou appraise them. Keep the useful ones, and put the rest up for trade tomorrow."
"Got it!"
A storage bracelet was handed to Su Chui.
"Don't worry, I won't let you down," he said, bowing slightly. He knew the Heavenly Sword Sect had given two storage rings just to get him back, and he didn't even know what was inside!
"I've got some accumulated items. I kept the rare refining materials, but the rest can be used for tomorrow's trade. Decide what you want to exchange."
Su Chui pulled out his storage ring and handed it directly to Jian Mao.
"Great!"
Jian Mao gathered everything in his hands and arranged: "Tomorrow, I'll stay here with Lady Di and Su Chui at our stall. Jian Chun and Wu Siyuan will act as guards. We'll try to trade for Immortal Realm items. If the Purple Sky Sect folks haven't recovered, they'll rest inside the formation and can help anytime."
Except for Lady Di, everyone nodded in agreement.
Jian Mao continued arranging: "Two Junior Sisters and Jian Xu, take Hu San and Kuang Dao to check other squads for tradeable materials, and see if we can swap some stuff."
"Got it, leave it to us."
"Senior Brother, whatever Lady Di's group wants to trade, let them decide. They don't need to follow our plan. After this trade, I don't plan to team up with them again," Jian Dan spoke while everyone was present.
"Junior Sister, what do you think?"
"When we enter the inner circle, we don't know what Jian Jun's situation is. They're not cultivators from our continent and may not want to take risks. They're not the kind of allies you can leave your back exposed to. Before, we only traveled together temporarily."
"Your concern's valid, but I think an extra person adds strength," Jian Xu said.
"Senior Brother, they're following us for our spirit beasts. They want to pass through our continent to leave here," Jian Xu suddenly added.
He remembered clearly that Lady Di had brought up borrowing passage before.
"How do we all feel?"
"Separating from them is inevitable, but there's no need to rush. Once the Purple Sky Sect folks recover, we'll bring it up," Jian Chun suggested.
"I agree. These squads here have at least twenty people, some thirty or forty. We're too few and could be targeted," Jian Xu added, thinking about safety.
Everyone agreed. Jian Dan understood they were too restricted here and needed to consider everything carefully, so the matter was settled for now.
The next day, Jian Dan, Jian Jing, and Jian Xu, with Hu San and Kuang Dao, left the formation and slowly examined the nearby stalls.
Hu San occasionally introduced the other four to the squads. For unfamiliar squads, he simply stated what he knew truthfully.
They arrived at a stall guarded by a tall sea demon with blonde hair and blue eyes.
He stood two meters tall, pale flawless skin, high nose, deep eye sockets, and captivating blue eyes. His skin was covered with iridescent scales, almost like armor, and he wielded a black trident that radiated power.
The ground was covered with some sea beast's hide. Brightly colored materials, rare ocean plants, a pile of seashells, a stack of rainbow rhombus silks, and some colorful stones were arranged neatly. The remaining sea beasts' corpses looked fresh, and their beast cores weren't taken yet.
"Beautiful fairy, what are you looking to trade? Besides these, we also have pearls loved by fairies and some unhatched sea pets."