Jian Jing hesitated for a moment, but finally asked Jian Lu and Jian Feng for their opinions.
"Su Chui is a weapon refiner. He'll be useful in the future. As for Hou San, he was present back then, so give him a piece too, just to keep him sharp," Jian Dan said, then glanced at Jian Feng for his thoughts.
"Let's do as Jian Lu suggests," Jian Feng replied.
"You rest for two days. We'll handle the rest," Jian Lu added.
"Yes, Senior Brother," Jian Dan nodded.
Kuang Dao left but quickly returned, his face dark as he addressed the few people still inside the formation:"Someone's here causing trouble."
Jian Feng, Jian Jing, and Jian Lu all stood, ready to check.
At the same moment, Hou San swiftly slipped into the formation and spoke directly to Jian Dan: "Fairy Lu, these visitors specialize in divine sense. Only you can match them."
"Specialize in divine sense?"
She'd heard that term from Hou San before, back when he was caught and interrogated.
Jian Dan was about to rise when Jian Jing came to her side and supported her.
"Senior Sister, I'm not that weak. If they've come all this way, we should go see for ourselves."
The three—Jian Dan, Jian Jing, and Jian Feng—stepped out of the formation, leaving the others behind to observe quietly.
Outside, the onlookers were cut off by the trading formation. Inside, it was just the three of them: one female cultivator and two males.
The female stood around 1.65 meters tall, dressed in a green robe. Her features were ordinary, but her aura was decent. The two male cultivators behind her were obviously her bodyguards—muscular and clearly martial-type cultivators.
She noticed the three emerging from the formation. The two female cultivators caught her attention, and a flicker of jealousy crossed her face. Not only were they taller, but their aura was exceptional—one elegant and gentle, the other heroic and bold. She could tell they came from a respectable background.
Dai Jiao instinctively sent out her divine sense, intending to check their bone age and strength. This time, however, she met an unyielding barrier. Her divine sense was forcefully repelled, leaving her face pale.
Su Chui and the others had already stood up and joined Jian Chuan and Wu Siyuan. Their expressions were grim, but they didn't say much.
"Junior Brother Su, you can rest for now. I'll need your help later," Jian Jing said.
Su Chui paused, then followed Jian Chuan and Wu Siyuan back into the formation.
"What would you like to trade, Fairy?" Jian Dan asked Dai Jiao with a friendly smile.
Dai Jiao had planned to bully them, but seeing that even this small, unknown team had a divine sense specialist, she immediately grew cautious. Hearing the question from the blue-robed female cultivator, she forced a polite smile and said, "I want to trade for some armor. Do you have extras?"
"That's all we have. We got it after Senior Brothers wiped out the small team that attacked us," Jian Dan replied casually.
"What will you trade for this armor?"
"I have an immortal artifact," Dai Jiao said, hesitating slightly as she produced a spherical magical device.
Jian Dan glanced at it and immediately recognized it—it was the same item that had been appraised by Su Chui the other day. The so-called immortal artifact had only been called that by its owner.
No wonder Su Chui had looked so grim earlier. That male cultivator, seeing Su Chui switch teams, had come to make a scene.
It was exactly like that. Fu Hu, thinking about it later, was furious, but he didn't want to make enemies with Senior Brothers Cheng Zu and Cheng Song, so he swallowed his anger.
That afternoon, his informants reported that Su Chui had left Cheng Zu's team and joined the female cultivator's small team.
Fu Hu was itching with frustration. Su Chui had some skill—he could just switch teams like that. But this team had people from Mao Wu's faction. Until he understood the situation, he couldn't act rashly.
The informants he sent coincidentally ran into Dao Ba from Ji Du's small team, who, fearing trouble, withheld the news that Mao Wu had been wiped out. He only told them that Lady Di had left Mao Wu and joined this small team, just to attend the trading meeting, and nothing else.
Fu Hu remained cautious. He didn't fully trust Dao Ba and sent someone to investigate further. The team was new, with almost no prior dealings, so there wasn't much else to report.
Fu Hu then forced Dai Jiao to try trading her spherical "immortal artifact" for their armor.
Because Dai Jiao specialized in divine sense, her divine perception here wasn't as limited as other cultivators'. But her physical body was weak, like a fragile walnut. Normally, she handled surveillance and reconnaissance, sometimes using her divine sense to intimidate opponents and achieve her team's goals.
Jian Dan accepted the so-called "immortal artifact" with a friendly smile, examined it, and then said politely: "Fairy, since you and your master have come after Refiner Su multiple times and hold him in such high regard, I'll do you a favor. Keep this artifact, and you can choose half the armor from the stall."
"This…"
"This artifact is only worth that much. You know it. Anything more would be greedy. We never make a loss," Jian Dan smiled, returning the spherical device without rushing, waiting for their decision.
Dai Jiao knew she couldn't play her usual tricks. She whispered to her two companions, then said, "Alright, we agree to the trade, but we'll pick the half of the armor ourselves."
"Of course."
Her expression brightened as she squatted before the stall, inspecting every piece of armor. She selected six sets in decent condition and stored them in her personal collection, leaving the spherical artifact behind.
Satisfied, Jian Dan didn't make things difficult and opened the formation. The three quickly left.
"They got off easy," Jian Jing murmured, squinting at the departing trio.
"It's only the second day of the trade. No need to make enemies. This place is full of hidden power, and we're new. Better to stay low," Jian Dan explained quietly.
"You just pushed back that female cultivator's divine sense?"
"Yes."
"You're alright?"
Though Jian Dan said she was fine, Jian Jing noticed her pale complexion and remained worried, guiding her back inside the formation.
Jian Xu didn't follow. He stayed behind to guard the stall, sitting cross-legged and greeting approaching cultivators with a smile.
Inside, Su Chui recounted the earlier events. Jian Chuan and Wu Siyuan were still frowning, their mood tense.
"Where did these arrogant people come from, trying to probe our bodies and dantian with divine sense?"
"They just wanted to bully us since we couldn't use our divine sense," Wu Siyuan said, rare irritation on his handsome face.
"This is the middle circle. Once we reach the inner circle, divine sense suppression will be even stronger," Su Chui explained.