Chapter 651: Sudden Appearance of Incomplete Formulas

A Ding Fire Fate Dipper Essence was staring him in the face!

Shang Xia didn’t think that he would receive such a pleasant surprise and he knew that he had to cherish his chance. There was no letting the fate dipper essence get away!

He was even prepared to be ripped off by the other party at that point. Even if they wanted an astronomical amount of essence crystals, he was prepared to give it to them!

Hearing that Shang Xia was agreeable, the blacksmith’s companion seemed over the moon. He chuckled in glee, “If you really want it, I’ll sell it to you at the price your Dark Void Life Extermination Evasion Fate Dipper Essence is valued at. I’ll take 350 essence crystals!”

Obviously, the other party was asking for more than what the Hundred Bone Phosphorescent Fire Fate Dipper Essence was worth.

The Dark Void Life Extermination Evasion Fate Dipper Essence is extremely rare to begin with, and the price obviously had to be raised. However, the same couldn’t be said for the Hundred Bone Phosphorescent Fire Fate Dipper Essence. It was something nobody really wanted, and the blacksmith’s companion should be thanking his lucky stars that someone was willing to buy it from him.

The blacksmith might have been slightly displeased by his companion’s actions, but they were great friends at the end of the day. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have helped to make a deal with Shang Xia. He might have felt that it was slightly unfair, but he remained silent nonetheless.

Shang Xia could tell that the other party was trying to take advantage of him, but he wasn’t willing to mess around and waste even more time. As such, he replied quickly, “Deal. However…”

“... I don’t have enough essence crystals in my Talisman Fish at the moment. If I return to get more, I might not be able to find you in the Cloud Sea when I return.” Shang Xia muttered. He didn’t realize the problem earlier and he only learned about it after he agreed to the deal. He wasn’t able to control his talisman fish and it was nearly impossible for him to locate the 2 of them again amidst so many other fishermen.

The blacksmith was also shocked as they just thought of the problem. The Three Unity Pagoda wanted to keep the identities of the buyers and sellers hidden as best they could and thus implemented the current trading system. They didn’t think that anyone would run into Shang Xia’s situation.

He turned to his companion and relayed the message, but unexpectedly, the blacksmith’s companion chuckled in response. “That’s easy! All we have to do is to agree on a code phrase. I’ll change what I’m looking for on my jade coin to 349 pieces of essence crystals and you should put that exact amount in your Talisman Fish the moment you get back. When that happens, you should be drawn to me. Even if there are Talisman Fish in the Cloud Sea who brought the same amount as you, I’ll reject all of their trade requests until you get back.”

Shang Xia didn’t think that something like that was possible, but he realized that it was actually pretty feasible. After all, both sides wouldn’t lose their treasures if anything were to happen and he readily agreed.

After he was tossed back into the Cloud Sea, Shang Xia couldn’t help but realize that such a method could even allow several parties to cooperate in the long term without exposing their identities.

…

When Shang Xia’s Talisman Fish was returning, the 3 Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors of the 3 super factions held a secret gathering somewhere in the Three Unity Pagoda. They observed everything that was happening and noticed several problems that had popped up.

“A lot of cultivators want us to allow them to control the movement of the fish with their consciousness. There are some who complained that the efficiency of trades is too slow as most of their time is wasted traveling through the Cloud Sea.

Elder Yi Guang from the Eternal Palace held several transmission talismans in his hand and seemed extremely tired. He rubbed the corners of his eyes wearily, but the tone of his voice was still as gentle as before.

“Hmph! It has only been a little while and quite a few of them found loopholes in the trading system. They’re really creative alright… They came up with code phrases and some of them even made secret alliances. There are even some who managed to join hands to scam others!” Zhui Fengzi of the Northern Sea Mystic Sect frowned. “Moreover, that’s just everything my disciples gathered after observing the situation. They didn’t interfere with any of the trades to dig deeper. Otherwise, they will definitely be able to discover even more annoying details. This is the first time we’re hosting the trade fair, and after they familiarize themselves with the process, there will be even more shady things happening!”

Ninth Sand Palace Elder from the Divine Capital Sect looked to be the oldest of the 3, and he let out a hoarse chuckle. “Elder Zhui Fengzi, why are you getting so worked up? If the water is too clear, fishes won’t be able to live. The reason we sealed off their divine perception is to ensure that they can only swim randomly through the Cloud Sea. Of course, we can improve the process a little bit. For example, we can allow them to seal a portion of their extermination origin 5 Talisman Fish to increase the efficiency. Well, there’s no need for them to use so many Talisman Fish, but increasing the number to 3 shouldn’t be a problem. That way, they won’t have to waste so much time. It also benefits those in the middle and outer rings.”

Elder Yi Guang and Zhui Fengzi nodded in unison.

“As for allowing cultivators to control their Talisman Fish…” Ninth Sand Palace Elder raised an eyebrow slightly.

“We cannot allow that!” Zhui Fengzi spoke immediately.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Elder Yi Guang did the same. “Palace Elder, we need to consider this properly!”

Ninth Sand Palace Elder’s hoarse chuckle came again. “The two of you are too hasty! The main objective of our first trade fair is to slowly perfect the system. It’s alright to have imperfections. We can try out some suggestions when we hold the next trade fair a year later.”

Elder Yi Guang nodded in agreement.

However, Zhui Fengzi seemed to have thought of something and turned a little serious. He coughed lightly, “I just hope we have more time…”

Be it Elder Yi Guang or Ninth Sand Palace Elder, their expressions turned solemn as the words left Zhui Fengzi’s lips.

…

When Shang Xia’s Talisman Fish returned, he discovered that there wasn’t a single Talisman Fish in his area.

Pulling it back up, Shang Xia retrieved the Serene Immersion Clay. With that, he gathered 3 of the 5 rank five spiritual treasures he required. He obtained the Celestial Gold that corresponded to the Metal Element, Ten Thousand Year Bamboo that was of the Wood Element, and the newly acquired Serene Immersion Clay of the Earth Element. He only had to look for rank five spiritual treasures of the Water and Fire Elements in the future.

He didn’t waste time as he brought out a portion of essence crystals and placed exactly 349 pieces into the fish’s belly.

As he prepared to toss his Talisman Fish back into the Cloud Sea, Chu Jia yelled beside him, “There are quite a few jade coins in the Cloud Sea wanting to buy rank five advancement formulas!”

Widening his eyes in shock, Shagn Xia saw that everyone else had already gathered around Chu Jia.

“What’s going on? Little Chu, are you messing around again?”

“Rank five advancement formulas?!”

“That’s not possible, right? Even if they’re peddling rank five advancement formulas, they should only be able to summon Talisman Fish who have rank five advancement formulas in their belly…”

Chu Jia couldn’t be bothered with all their questions and she snapped, “Can’t they think of other ideas? Who the hell would let their Talisman Fish swallow a complete rank five advancement formula? Also, how else would I have received the news?”

Shang Xia tossed his Talisman Fish back into the Cloud Sea as he listened to their conversation.

“There were many who left requests on their jade coins stating that they wanted to purchase treasures related to rank five advancement formulas. With that, they would be able to gather a bunch of Talisman Fish. They would state their intention to sell rank five advancement formulas. As such, news of something like that spread really quickly.” Chu Jia explained.

A frown formed on Ji Yu’s face. “Doesn’t that mean that they’re just playing word games? Not only would they waste one of their fishing poles, but there wouldn’t be anyone willing to trade a rank five advancement formula either!”

Chu Jia laughed, “I think you might have forgotten something. There are multiple people on a single platform and they don’t just have one fishing pole. As long as they split the job up, they can do whatever they want. Moreover, it’s not like any factions here lack an essence crystal or two.”

“As for whether or not anyone would sell a rank five advancement formula… I don’t know if they’re selling real or fake ones. However, I do know that all of them have defects!” Chu Jia concluded.

Yun Yichen’s jaws dropped slightly and she asked, “How would you know?! Did you manage to see it for yourself?”

“Of course not. It’s just that everyone who sold a rank five advancement formula made it clear that their formula wasn’t perfect. However, even if they’re talking about an imperfect rank five advancement formula, it’s not something we can afford.” Chu Jia shook her head while chuckling softly.

Liu Qinglan sighed, “There will definitely be some lucky fellows who can afford to buy it. It’s not hard to imagine those scattered cultivators in the outer ring requesting to buy rank five advancement formulas. Even if it’s an imperfect formula, they wouldn’t mind. Oh right. Why did your fish enter the outer regions anyway?”

Surprisingly, Chu Jia shook her head. “No, I’m in the core region of the Cloud Sea. I didn’t say that they were buying rank five advancement formulas! They’re selling rank five advancement formulas and those who are doing it belong to the holy lands. The area of light around their jade coin can’t be faked!”

A look of realization appeared on Liu Qinglan’s face. “It’s actually them… How is that possible? Shouldn’t they be trying to protect their rank five advancement formulas and perfect them through their own efforts?”

“It’s not just a single holy land selling defective rank five advancement formulas. They’re not just selling one or two of them either. There are many different types of rank five advancement formulas!” Chu Jia added.

Ji Yu had a face full of shock and he didn’t know what to say. He could only mumble to himself in fright, “This… This… This… What’s going on?!”

When Chu Jia and the others were conversing, Shang Xia had already completed his second deal with the blacksmith of the Hundred Weapons Mill and his companion. He handed over 349 essence crystals to obtain his Hundred Bone Phosphorescent Fire Fate Dipper Essence.

His Talisman Fish that had the Hundred Bone Phosphorescent Fire Fate Dipper Essence in its belly was swimming through the Cloud Sea, back to Shang Xia.

With the deal complete and his heart at ease, Shang Xia finally joined in the conversation. “Teacher Chu, are you able to confirm that it’s not just a single holy land trying to sell defective rank five advancement formulas?”

“Of course!” Chu Jia glared at Shang Xia and snapped, as though questioning his intentions for doubting her.

With a soft sigh, Shang Xia swept his gaze across the other members of the Tongyou Institution and explained, “it looks like all the holy lands are planning to use the cultivators who are desperate to break through to the Martial Dipper Realm as their lab rats. From there, they can adjust and perfect their rank five advancement formulas accordingly.”

“Do they really dare to do that? Aren’t they afraid that they will incur the wrath of the masses?” Yun Yichen asked.

In response, a cold sneer formed on Shang Xia’s face. “Yeah… From what Chu Jia said, the holy lands are the ones selling off defective rank five advancement formulas. They also mentioned the risks, and anyone who wishes to take the chance can go ahead and do so. They have no one else to blame. This should be the true meaning of ‘the willing party takes the bait’.”

“Why didn’t they do this before? Why did they only take those defective rank five advancement formulas out now?” Chu Jia was a little confused.