Cultivation begins in the endless sea.

Lin Qing was exceptionally intelligent from a young age and would occasionally observe his father, Lin Shenghong, refining weapons.

When he saw the crafting method for this Beast Taming Ring, he was startled and almost cursed out loud!

This Beast Taming Ring not only requires some precious auxiliary materials, but also requires a second-level or higher weapon refiner to craft it!

His father, Lin Shenghong, was only a first-grade high-level weapon refiner.

This means he spent 30,000 spirit stones to buy a set of fancy-looking but useless gadgets.

"The world is truly a dangerous place..."

Lin Qing was on the verge of tears, but had no way to go find them.

Lin Qing recalled Manager Liu's smiling face as he said, "The owner is a disciple of the Azure Dragon Master."

"Could it be Liu Yingying?"

Thinking back to Bai Ling'er's description of the trade fair, Lin Qing couldn't help but speculate.

"Does this Guifa Tower still sell spirit beast rings?"

For the first time, Lin Qing understood what sunk costs meant.

The next morning, Lin Qing composed himself and went to Guifa Tower alone.

Manager Liu was still in charge of the building.

Seeing Lin Qing walk steadily in, she understood, but a look of surprise appeared on her face: "Fellow Daoist, you've returned today. Could it be that you've encountered some problem with your cultivation technique?"

Lin Qing didn't beat around the bush and frankly cupped his hands: "Manager Liu has a good eye. To be honest, after carefully reading the cultivation method, I realized that a beast-taming ring magic artifact is needed to ensure safe cultivation."

"Does your building have any for sale?"

Hearing Lin Qing emphasize the words "good eyesight," Manager Liu remained calm and led Lin Qing into the quiet room from the previous day, where he brewed another pot of spiritual tea.

"Fellow Daoist is quite insightful. The Beast Taming Ring is indeed an important auxiliary magic tool for Foundation Establishment cultivators to practice this method."

A single sentence lightly brushed aside the unexplained reasons from yesterday.

"But this magical artifact is special; it's not sold in ordinary markets."

"Our Guifa Building... also doesn't have any items available for immediate sale."

Lin Qing's heart sank, realizing that he had indeed been manipulated by the other party, but he remained outwardly calm.

"Your esteemed building is the premier cultivation technique building in Azure Dragon Bay, and you have powerful disciples backing you up. How could you possibly not find a single Beast Taming Ring?"

Manager Liu took a sip of tea and said slowly, "It's not that we don't have any, but we don't sell to walk-in customers. The few left have all been reserved."

Lin Qing frowned: "So that means there's nowhere else to turn?"

"It's not that there's no way."

Manager Liu changed the subject and said slowly, "In eight months, it will be the Qinglong Bay Trade Fair, which is held once every thirty years. At that time, all the important figures and wise men will gather."

"The owner has already decided that the highest bidder will win those beast-taming rings in the grand competition!"

Lin Qing instantly understood.

What a deep scheme!

Selling cultivation techniques on one hand and speculating on magical artifacts on the other, they essentially made a killing by squeezing the value of these techniques to the extreme.

The entire Guifa Tower, from top to bottom, along with its owner, is truly shrewd and calculating, possessing a thorough understanding of human nature.

Lin Qing smiled bitterly to himself. Just then, Manager Liu handed over a jade pendant engraved with the character "Liu".

"This is a VIP jade pendant from the trade fair, a gift from Guifa Tower to you, fellow Daoist."

"With this token, you can get a discount during the auction."

Manager Liu suddenly explained in a soft voice.

Lin Qing silently accepted the jade pendant, slowly thanked him, and then took his leave.

I've only been in the market for a short time, but I've already learned a lesson.

"The world of cultivation isn't easy to navigate either."

Extremely frustrated, Lin Qing simply returned to his cave and frantically absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to cultivate, as if only in this way could he make up for even a little bit of the loss.

……

A month later, Lin Qing opened the cave door and found Bai Ling'er already waiting at the door for a long time.

This time, she changed into a bright green ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) and tucked a small sprig of wild cherry blossoms from the Qinglongwan Market roadside into her black hair, making her look charming and beautiful.

"Boom!"

Hearing the sound of the cave door opening, Bai Ling'er turned around to look.

"Senior, you..."

Lin Qing looked haggard and listless.

Upon hearing this, Lin Qing was taken aback, and then went back inside to rest and recuperate.

The rented cave dwelling was located on a second-grade high-quality spiritual vein, with even richer spiritual energy than Wanling Island, so Lin Qing cultivated almost all night long.

Just a few days ago, his cultivation level broke through to the second level of Foundation Establishment.

After resting, he spent the next few months guided by Bai Ling'er to visit places like the weapon-refining pavilion, the black market, the stalls, and the talisman-making workshop. Although he didn't buy anything most of the time, he certainly broadened his horizons.

"Qinglong Bay Market is many times more prosperous than Wanfu Market."

"How lively must Yunqi Island be?"

"What about mainland China?"

Lin Qing couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.

Bai Ling'er also became acquainted with him, and even revealed some of her family situation to him: her gambling father, her sick mother, and her hopeless younger brother Bai Alang...

Eight months passed in the blink of an eye, and Lin Qing arrived at the trade conference on time.

"Senior, please show your pass or pay a deposit of 10,000 spirit stones."

The late-stage Qi Refining guard at the entrance stopped Lin Qing with neither servility nor arrogance.

With a flick of his wrist, Lin Qing brought the jade pendant that Manager Liu had given him earlier into his hand.

The guard probed with his divine sense, then cupped his hands in greeting: "Senior, please forgive my rudeness."

Lin Qing waved his hand and led Bai Ling'er straight into the room.

VIPs may bring one attendant free of charge.

Lin Qing was unfamiliar with the place, so it was better to bring Bai Ling'er along than to be completely blind.

Inside the room, there is a spiral staircase leading downwards into the depths of the earth.

Lin Qing followed the path down the building, passed through another layer of guards, and finally entered an extremely spacious hall.

The hall has two floors; the upper floor is for Foundation Establishment cultivators, and the lower floor is for late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. In total, there are nearly two hundred cultivators!

Guided by the guards, Lin Qing went up to the second floor and casually found a corner to sit down. Bai Ling'er stood obediently behind him without saying a word.

Since this is the floor where Foundation Establishment cultivators reside, it's best to be cautious in your words and actions.

Lin Qing glanced around casually and saw that most of the cultivators were wearing bamboo hats and black robes, clearly intending not to attract attention.

After all, private fights are prohibited in the market, but it's hard to say what will happen outside the market!

Seeing that he didn't recognize anyone, Lin Qing simply closed his eyes and rested.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, many more cultivators poured into the hall, and Liu Yingying, the host of the trade fair, gracefully stepped onto the stage.

She was dressed in a white moon palace gown, with a graceful figure, a dignified and beautiful face, and a cinnabar mole on her forehead. She exuded the powerful aura of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Fellow Daoists, the trading conference is about to begin."

"The first half is an auction, where the highest bidder wins. The second half is a trade fair, where interested fellow Daoists can come up on stage to exchange items."

After saying that, she glanced around and slowly continued, "I won't go into the rules of the trade fair again; I'm sure everyone will abide by them!"

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a chill, but dared not say anything more, since this Lady Liu Yingying's master was the true disciple of the Azure Dragon Immortal!

"Alright, I will say no more. The trade fair shall now begin."

"The first item is three Foundation Building Pills, also known as Lesser Foundation Building Pills, with a starting bid of five thousand per pill!"

"What?!"

"The first item is the Foundation Gathering Pill?"

Liu Yingying's first item was like a stone thrown into water, instantly creating a huge ripple.