Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

Besides reading and visiting teahouses and taverns, Liu Xing also sought out fellow practitioners to chat with. The market was mostly populated by independent cultivators. Liu Xing's easygoing, humble demeanor and strong rapport made him easy to connect with. He recently met a young man named Xi, a Qi training level 10th level cultivator. After chatting at a teahouse, he learned about a Qi training level exchange meeting being held at the Jun Zai Lai Hotel. He was invited to attend, and Liu Xing immediately piqued his interest and promised to attend. However, he became so engrossed in his reading that he missed his scheduled time, forcing him to rush to the Jun Zai Lai Hotel.

"Fellow Daoist Mei, you're finally here! If you're any later, the exchange fair will start soon." Seeing Liu Xing approaching, the young man surnamed Xi hurriedly said. Liu Xing usually used the alias of Mei as a casual cultivator, so everyone called him Fellow Daoist Mei.

"I'm sorry, Fellow Daoist Xi, I was delayed on the way and kept you waiting for a long time." Liu Xing apologized immediately.

"Let's go up quickly." As he said that, he took the lead and walked towards the second floor of the hotel, and Liu Xing immediately followed.

Arriving at the entrance to a large hall on the second floor, Liu Xing observed that the entire room was enveloped by a formation. It was a common "silencing and isolating divine consciousness formation," primarily designed to prevent the escape of sound from within and to block divine consciousness from outside. It was quite powerful, available for fifty spirit stones. It was inexpensive and of excellent quality, so any cultivator with a modicum of wealth would likely own one. The young man, Xi Xing, produced a waist badge and cast a spell at the barrier, creating a crack that allowed the two of them to enter.

Nearly a hundred people sat in the room, all Qi Condensation cultivators, ranging from the lowest level at Qi Condensation Seven to the highest at Qi Condensation Twelve. Seeing the two enter, many stood up and greeted the young man surnamed Xi; it seemed many knew him. The young man, Xi Xing, bowed in response and found a seat to the side. The hall was bustling with activity, with everyone chatting with familiar faces. Qi Condensation cultivators often have limited concentration.

A quarter of an hour later, seeing that the time was almost up, a middle-aged man at the peak of the twelfth level of Qi Refining stood up and walked towards the podium. He bowed to everyone and then said loudly:

"Welcome all fellow Taoists to participate in today's exchange meeting!" The voice seemed to explode in the ears. It was obviously a secret technique such as the Lion's Roar. In an instant, everyone quieted down and focused their attention on the podium.

The middle-aged man was obviously quite satisfied when he saw that everyone had shut up. He then introduced himself, "My name is Wang Peng. I'm the initiator and host of this exchange meeting. Many of you here should know me, so I won't introduce myself any further."

"Brother Wang, thank you for your hard work. You have organized many exchange meetings and everyone trusts you." Immediately, those in the audience who knew Wang Peng spoke out in support.

"As long as everyone can return satisfied, Wang will not work hard." Wang Peng smiled and bowed again to return the greeting, feeling very satisfied.

"Some of you are attending this exchange for the first time. Let me briefly explain the rules. You'll take turns presenting your items. Transactions are entirely voluntary. If a successful transaction is successful, both the buyer and seller will pay one spirit stone as a venue fee. If the transaction is unsuccessful, there's no fee. Let me be frank: if anyone tries to force a sale, I, Wang, will have to weigh your weight." Wang quickly explained the rules, not forgetting to warn those with ill intentions. Everyone supported him, apparently hoping for a master to maintain order. Naturally, no one dared to act rashly, as he was the most advanced cultivator present.

"The exchange meeting is about to begin. As the host, I, Wang, will come first." The man surnamed Wang did not say anything more and directly announced the start of the exchange meeting.

He took out three mid-grade magical instruments: a hairpin, a flying needle, and a silk scarf. They were exquisitely crafted and shimmering, and a female cultivator, also appreciating beauty, would likely be tempted by them. "Exchange them for a top-grade magical instrument, or even market-priced spirit stones," the man surnamed Wang continued, introducing his instruments with no end in sight, his target clearly the female cultivators.

Most people wouldn't trade a top-grade magical tool for a mid-grade one, unless they had special needs. Sure enough, no one spoke for a long time, and the young man surnamed Wang was disappointed and prepared to put it away.

"Wait a moment, Fellow Daoist Wang. I have a top-grade flying sword with decent power. See if we can exchange it." At this time, a pretty boy with greasy hair and powdered face came up and handed over a flying sword. Everyone looked at him strangely. It seemed that there were all kinds of wonders in this world.

The man surnamed Wang was overjoyed. He took the flying sword, took a quick look at it, and agreed to the deal. He immediately handed the three magic weapons to the strange young man and announced the next one.

Liu Xing, with his knowledge, naturally looked down on these magical instruments. Most people came to exchange them for magical instruments, or to sell things they no longer needed for spirit stones. He watched everyone bartering with relish, finding it quite curious.

"I have an incomplete set of martial arts skills. I'd like to exchange it for a top-grade magic weapon or three hundred spirit stones." At this time, a tall and thin scholar came on stage and took out something that looked like a tortoise shell.

"No one can understand this crappy martial art of yours. You've sold it many times, but no one wants it. Why are you still here? Aren't you wasting everyone's time?" When everyone saw it was him, they sneered in disgust.

"What do you know? This is a family heirloom. You are blind..." The scholar explained hurriedly with a red face and thick neck.

It seems that many of you have seen this set of exercises, but no one can understand it at all, so naturally, no one would give away money for nothing.

Liu Xing's interest piqued. He probed with his spiritual sense and began to study the text. It wasn't written in conventional script, but rather a rare ancient style. If he hadn't been so erudite and had seen it in an ancient book before, he wouldn't have been able to recognize it. Even so, he could only recognize a third of the characters. The rest were beyond recognition. He needed to consult extensive research and wait for a translation. His previous experience with this type of script gave him a better grasp. He roughly determined it was a Qi-regulating technique called "Turtle Breathing Technique." The specific effects were unknown, but he felt the ancient aura alone was worth acquiring. He stepped forward and traded the high-grade flying sword he'd seized from the Ba brothers for it, sending the scholar into a state of ecstasy.

Liu Xing didn't step down, but continued to acquire family secret manuals and various rare copies. The price was negotiable, of course, except for the common currency available in the bookstores in the market. Everyone finally understood that he was a nerd. However, most people didn't have family inheritance, so naturally they didn't have secret manuals. However, to his surprise, he actually received a fragment of "Breaking the Forbidden Ten Absolutes." He was very surprised and exchanged it for a talisman with the power of five against ten.

Afterwards, he calmly watched everyone barter, not making any more moves. He was pleasantly surprised to have found two secret manuals today. So, whenever he went to a market, he would try to participate in such exchanges to exchange the rare secret manuals that everyone had.