The Lord of Void and Real
Chapter 1490

Chapter 1490: Chapter 1486: Lian Xiang Trading Conference Chapter 1490: Chapter 1486: Lian Xiang Trading Conference “Friend Shen, please wait a moment. I will go and get it now,” Tao Xiang promised with a reply, standing up and walking out.

“So quickly you've gathered the materials for the Small Teleportation Charm. Good job. Just give the things to me, it's fine. The Small Teleportation Charm is an Immortal Charm, and given your level of charm-making, the likelihood of failure is quite high,” the voice of Fire Spirit Child sounded.

Shen Luo didn't have an inflated ego that demanded he draw the charm himself, so when Fire Spirit Child volunteered, it was naturally the best outcome. He nodded immediately.

Tao Xiang quickly delivered the materials: two stalks of Cave Dark Grass, three pieces of Condensing Soul Stone; the quantities of Wind Catkins Vine and Hundred Wheels Flower were not too precious but were plenty.

Shen Luo examined the few pieces of Spiritual Material. Cave Dark Grass was a silver-gray little grass, only half a foot tall, and looked quite unremarkable; Condensing Soul Stones were green crystal stones that resembled wood attribute crystal stones, yet they exuded a cold breath.

“Two stalks of Cave Dark Grass should be enough to refine about three Small Teleportation Charms. It's a pity that there are only three Condensing Soul Stones, and they're all small. You can only attempt the Device Soul Conversion secret technique twice,” assessed Fire Spirit Child.

Shen Luo nodded slightly upon hearing this; these would suffice for now.

He paid with Immortal jade and soon stood up to leave, continuing on to other shops.

Over the next two days, Shen Luo followed Zhou Ming's suggestions and visited each of the Spiritual Material shops within the city; unfortunately, aside from the first day, the gains were meager.

Shen Luo was feeling somewhat disappointed when exciting news came from Zhou Ming: there was a lead on the Nine Heavens Gold Essence within the city.

Inside a secluded building in the northwest of Tianji City, Shen Luo disguised his appearance, turning into a middle-aged man with a sallow face. He walked slowly down a dim passageway. The passage wasn't very long, and soon, a faint white light shimmered at the end.

He quickly reached the end, where a tightly closed Stone Door stood.

Next to the Stone Door was a grey-clothed man who, seeing Shen Luo approach, gave a bow and then took out a Token and sent a white light onto the door.

The white light flashed across the door, with runes twinkling, and then it slowly opened, revealing a rather large stone chamber ahead.

In the middle of the stone chamber was a large round table, with more than a dozen Grand Master Chairs sparsely arranged around it. Already, seven or eight cultivators were seated there, both men and women.

Apart from two female cultivators, each male cultivator beside them was accompanied by one or two youthful girls.

These girls were of low cultivation, at the Soul Condensation or even Grain Avoidance stages, but they all possessed striking beauty. Their thin clothes clung tightly to their delicate bodies, fully displaying their graceful figures.

Shen Luo's gaze swept across the cultivators in the hall. Almost everyone present was at the True Immortal level, either seclusive High People from the Boundless Sand Sea area or powerful masters from other regions.

A gloomy, scholared-clad man sat in the top seat; his cultivation had reached the True Immortal Middle Stage, seeming to be the person in charge.

“This must be Brother Shen. Please take a seat,” the scholar-clad man stood up and squeezed out a semblance of a smile, but his somber expression made the smile quite ugly.

Shen Luo nodded and sat down on a large chair.

Two youthful girls approached, giggling sweetly as they tried to cling to Shen Luo's body.

“I'm not accustomed to being served by others,” Shen Luo said, waving his hand dismissively and expressionless.

Two young girls stood there awkwardly, but they didn't dare to leave.

“Since Friend Shen does not require your services, you may withdraw,” said the man in the Confucian robe, seeing this and a flicker of intrigue passed in his eyes as he waved them away.

Relieved, the two girls gave Shen Luo a bow and retreated.

No matter what place it is, there are deals inconvenient to display in the open, and Tianji City was no different; the gathering here was organized by a secretive force within the city known as the Lianxiang Assembly, responsible for the underground trading conference.

The Lianxiang Assembly was a small sect in the Boundless Sand Sea, not known for its mighty combat power but specialized in charm techniques and bedroom arts, highly sought after by male disciples of various sects in the Boundless Sand Sea. Many from Tianji City took female disciples of the Lianxiang Assembly as wives and concubines.

For this reason, the Lianxiang Assembly was able to gain a foothold in Tianji City and set up this underground trading conference.

As for the Confucian-robed man, he was known as Gu Cangfeng, the dual cultivation partner of the leader of the Lianxiang Assembly and in charge of all matters of the Assembly in Tianji City.

“Hehe, judging by Friend Shen's attire, you must come from the Eastern Great Tang, the land of propriety and gentlemen indeed,” a sinister laugh came from across the round table.

A man in a black robe sat there, his arms around two girls from the Lianxiang Assembly. Though his words were complimentary, the sarcasm was evident for all to hear.

“Who might Your Excellency be, one of the High People? Among True Immortal cultivators, it's quite rare to see a Ghost driven by lust such as yourself,” Shen Luo, having disguised his appearance, didn't fear revealing his identity and immediately shot back with satire.

“What did you say?” The bearded giant erupted in anger, standing up abruptly.

“Both Daoist friends, please calm yourselves. Friend Shen, this is Friend Yan Lie from the Black Flame Gate of the West Niu Hezhou Continent. The fierce and pure Yang cultivational practices of the Black Flame Gate require dual cultivation with women to quell the rampant Yang force within the body, not out of lascivious desire,” Gu Cangfeng hastily stood up, trying to smooth things over.

The bearded giant glared at Shen Luo, about to say something further when Gu Cangfeng deflected the conversation, introducing the others present, “Allow me to introduce the other Daoist friends. This is Madam Yunxia, a hermit from the Boundless Sand Sea, rarely known to others but a match for few in the True Immortal Stage with her mastery of earth-element God's Power; this is Wanshui Zhenren, a freelance cultivator from the Southern Sea…”

Shen Luo nodded in response to show civility and took an extra glance at Wanshui Zhenren.

The man was lean and sinewy, with reddish-brown skin, reminiscent of a great monkey, exuding a sly impression.

According to the intelligence from Zhou Ming, the clue to the Nine Heavens Gold Essence lay with this individual.

The others in the room also evaluated Shen Luo, noticing that despite his not-so-high cultivation level, he had an air of depth and was not someone to be trifled with. They nodded in response, not daring to offend him lightly.

Seeing Shen Luo getting along quite harmoniously with everyone present, the bearded man's face darkened with anger, but he held back from lashing out, snorting coldly and sitting back down, his big hand roughly kneading one of the Lianxiang Assembly girls beside him.

“Friend Gu, it's about time, isn't it? When will the trading conference begin?” A dark-skinned old man, wrapped in a white turban and holding a black smoking pipe like that of a farmer, spoke up.

From Gu Cangfeng's introductions, Shen Luo had learned that this man was called Tian Sanqi, an elder from a sect known as Baijian Gate in the West Niu Hezhou Continent, with cultivation already at the True Immortal Middle Stage. Unremarkable in appearance, but his aura was powerful, on par with Gu Cangfeng.

“Friend Tian, don't fret. We are still waiting for one more Daoist friend. Once he arrives, the trading conference will begin immediately,” said Gu Cangfeng with a smile.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the Big Gate opened again, and two figures walked in. The one in the lead was a stooped, skinny Old man with a fierce look on his face, holding a weathered vine Walking Stick topped with a Black Skull Head.

Following closely behind the Old man was a short, stocky Middle-aged Man, with downcast eyes like a servant, seemingly in the service of the old man.

Shen Luo's eyes widened in recognition; he did not know the skinny old man, but the stout middle-aged man was an Old Acquaintance. That year, in Chang'an, he was the blacksmith named Zhou Tie who used to be by Xie Yuxin's side.