Chapter 593: Fengli's Four Fairies

At the very beginning, the unaffiliated practitioners were clearly more interested in Wang Sheng's small sword stall, but they could all tell how expensive his merchandise was. They also recognized him as Sword Heart Pi Kachew, who had recently risen to fame.

Unaffiliated practitioners stepped forward to register their names, but no one came over to ask what he was looking to trade the swords for. The registration table soon became crowded with cultivators, yet his stall still hadn't received a visitor.

For a time, the atmosphere turned rather awkward.

Wang Sheng glanced at his senior sister. She was holding a manga and chuckling softly, clearly finding the experience quite amusing.

Setting up a stall in an unaffiliated practitioner market was a skill in itself. One could sometimes join the bustle, while other times, they could only sell loneliness. Regardless, all that truly mattered was for someone with the right affinity to come.

After waiting for quite a while, a sword cultivator with a sword on his back and chain armor over his Daoist robe finally walked up to the stall. He hesitated several times before he managed to ask, "Senior, what kind of treasure are you hoping to get in exchange for those immortal swords?"

Wang Sheng opened his eyes and replied calmly, "An item of the same tier."

The sword cultivator was an early-stage True Immortal. He looked somewhat weathered, yet his aura had a sharp edge, a clear sign that he had wandered for years and walked the line between life and death more than once.

After another period of hesitation, he cupped his hands toward Wang Sheng, turned around, and returned to the crowd, standing in line to register.

The other unaffiliated practitioners in the area immediately began observing Wang Sheng's next move. They waited to see whether he would do something generous, like gifting a treasure to the sword cultivator.

However, they were soon disappointed. Wang Sheng simply closed his eyes and continued waiting for his next client.

About another half hour later, an elderly man arrived with a young lady. The old man smiled as he examined the four immortal swords, while the young lady carefully studied Wang Sheng.

"What kind of treasure are you looking for, Daoist Friend?" the old man asked.

Wang Sheng opened his eyes and smiled slightly at the elder. Yaoyun telepathically warned that the old man was a Heavenly Immortal who had concealed his cultivation.

He was probably one of the other two Heavenly Immortals on Fengmo.

Wang Sheng cupped his hands. "Preferably a treasure in the form of hairpins or jewelry."

"Oh?" The old man laughed. "Exchanging swords for treasure to gift to a fair lady... I never expected the Xinghai Sect's Pi Kachew to be so interesting. I will take one of those four immortal swords."

The Heavenly Immortal took out a jade phoenix-tail hairpin from his sleeve. A sweep of light coiled around it, making it look like a cyan luan[1] spreading its wings to soar. It was full of spirituality, with many runes finely engraved upon it. The materials and workmanship were extremely refined, too.

The Heavenly Immortal's appraisal was certainly accurate. The hairpin was undoubtedly a top-tier immortal treasure equal to a Falling Cloud in value.

During the transaction, the young lady looked somewhat reluctant. Unfortunately, she could only stand to the side and watch helplessly as her grandfather handed over a treasure she quite liked and took a fairly pretty immortal sword.

The old man smiled. "Then I shall take my leave. The road is long, but our paths will surely cross again."

He cupped his hands toward Wang Sheng, who in turn stood up and returned the gesture.

Perhaps the elder's remark carried some other hidden meaning, and their trade could have been done to befriend the Xinghai Sect. Even so, Wang Sheng didn't give it much thought.

The Xinghai Sect's external relations couldn't always fall on him. After all, he already had plenty on his plate.

Wang Sheng waved the jade hairpin in front of his senior sister. "Do you like it?"

Mu Wanxuan replied gently, "

Mm.

"

"I'll refine it later," he casually added. "Someone else may have already used this treasure before."

Mu Wanxuan smiled at him somewhat helplessly. Her junior brother's standards could sometimes be too high. When it came to treasures, she was already content as long as it was usable.

Over the next half day, the venue gradually became lively, but Wang Sheng still hadn't sold the remaining three immortal swords.

There were several sword cultivators who came to inquire, but none could offer a treasure of equal value. Sure enough, sword cultivators were all rather poor.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Wang Sheng soon thought that it was about time for him to fulfill his chief examiner's duties. However, just as he planned to temporarily close the stall and head inside to review and select people, a commotion stirred among the cultivators gathered in front.

Sweeping his immortal perception over the area, Wang Sheng frowned slightly and muttered, "What is she doing here?"

"Familiar person?" Mu Wanxuan also raised her head and tried to find the source of the disturbance. However, since she was seated and the crowd was blocking her view, she couldn't see who had arrived.

"You could say that." Wang Sheng gestured to his senior sister, signaling her to simply observe quietly from the side for now.

Soon, he heard several gentle and apologetic remarks coming from behind the crowd.

"Fellow Daoists, please make way. Thank you."

A group of graceful fairies slowly made their way to Wang Sheng. They were all in radiant garments. With respectful expressions, more than ten women who were in the same style of radiant robes followed behind four others.

Among those leading the group, the one with the highest cultivation realm was a late-stage True Immortal in a long, dark-red dress. She had a charming face and alluring curves. Moreover, she had quite a few treasures on her, giving her a sense of opulence.

The other three had similar temperaments and could be called strikingly beautiful. Each had her own distinct charm, like spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums.

Of the four, Wang Sheng was quite familiar with Lan Huilin, who was in a radiant light-blue dress and holding a green lantern.

The ladies leading the group were probably part of the Fengli Sect's Thirteen Fairies.

Upon seeing Wang Sheng, Lan Huilin clearly froze for a moment, but she quickly lowered her head and stepped forward, concealing her brief shock before anyone could notice.

"

She recognized you,

" Yaoyun telepathically said. "

Do you want to eliminate her before she can cause trouble in the future?

"

"

No need. Be it Pi Kachew or the nameless sword cultivator, the Celestial Wind Sect wants both my identities gone as soon as possible anyway. All I'm really worried about is the North-River Sword Sect."

The Fengli Sect's four fairies stopped near his stall with more than a dozen attendants. They lightly bowed toward Wang Sheng.

Their leader softly remarked, "Greetings, Elder Pi. I am Qiu Ying, a disciple of the Fengli Sect."

Wang Sheng cupped his hands but did not stand up. The other party was not some senior expert, and since she had introduced herself as a member of the Fengli Sect, he naturally had to maintain his bearing as an elder of the Xinghai Sect.

"Ladies, would you like to trade for a sword?"

"Of course." Qiu Ying chuckled lightly. "I also enjoy using swords, yet I have long suffered from failing to find a good one. When I heard that you are trading off four immortal swords here, I naturally came to check them out. May I ask what you're looking to trade for them?"

Wang Sheng took out the jade hairpin. "Something roughly like this."

"Jewelry?" Qiu Ying immediately caught his drift. She glanced at Mu Wanxuan, who was reading beside Wang Sheng, and smiled. "What about these treasures, Senior?"

The eldest disciple of the Fengli Sect's sect master lightly waved her hand. Four immortal treasures shimmering with flowing light floated in front of her: a vermilion hairpin, a pair of bracelets, a chain bracelet, and a folding fan.

Wang Sheng examined them one by one. He then slowly nodded. "The bracelets and the hairpin lack sufficient spirituality. The chain bracelet and the folding fan are good enough, though. How about a sword for each?"

Qiu Ying's eyebrows clearly knit for an instant. She had not expected Wang Sheng to speak so bluntly and not give the Fengli Sect any face at all.

Originally, she had intended to use the four treasures to take away the three remaining immortal swords. Now that Wang Sheng had plainly stated that two of them weren't up to his standards, she could only follow along.

"In that case, why don't we do four treasures in exchange for two immortal swords?"

Wang Sheng waved his hand. "There is no need for that. One for one is enough."

Two Falling Clouds flew in front of Qiu Ying. In turn, Qiu Ying sent the chain bracelet and the folding fan toward Wang Sheng, then took hold of the two immortal swords.

Qiu Ying handed one of the immortal swords to the fairy beside her and smiled. "I don't need two, Junior Sister. This one is for you."

The fairy looked a little surprised as she accepted the treasure. "Thank you for your kindness, Senior Sister,"

Qiu Ying then said, "Do the three of you have any treasures with enough spirituality to pass Elder Pi's standards?"

Lan Huilin frowned slightly. Still holding the green lantern, she took half a step forward.

However, before she could speak, Qiu Ying swept her a glance and calmly said, "Junior Sister Caiwei, Master bestowed you those two treasures for your protection on the Dao. How could you trade them for other treasures?"

Lan Huilin lowered her head. "I understand."

She went back in line.

Mu Wanxuan, who had been secretly glancing over, suddenly lit up with realization. This was what she had been hoping to gain all these years: a senior sister's authority!

A younger-looking fairy at the side stepped forward. "I have a jade flute, Senior Sister. May I trade it for an immortal sword?"

Qiu Ying smiled gently. "Of course you may. Your jade flute is also an excellent treasure. Since an immortal sword is beneficial to our cultivation, the exchange should be worth it."

The fairy took out a short, green jade flute, wrapped it in immortal power, and sent it to Wang Sheng.

After careful examination, Wang Sheng determined that it was a top-tier immortal treasure. Its spirituality was even higher than that of the previous chain bracelet and folding fan. It was engraved with some rare runes that seemed capable of producing tones that could affect the mind.

Wang Sheng didn't particularly care for as long as it had sufficient spirituality. After all, his and his senior sister's objective was... to make figurines.

He sent over the last Falling Cloud, then put away the four treasures he had received. Still sitting, he cupped his hands toward the group. "Thank you for your business."

Qiu Ying smiled. "No, thank you. Now that we've concluded our transactions, would you do us the honor of joining us at a teahouse nearby, Elder Pi?"

I knew it; these four clearly didn't just come here to trade with me. Are they openly trying to poach talent, or are they seeking an alliance with the Xinghai Sect to deal with the Celestial Wind Sect?

Whatever their goal was, Wang Sheng found it somewhat unpleasant. However, he also knew that he couldn't refuse to give the Fengli Sect face. Otherwise, it would have a plausible reason to target the Xinghai Sect as well.

To some extent, it also didn't want to see the Xinghai Sect grow too strong. What it wanted the most was for the Xinghai Sect to fight the Celestial Wind Sect to mutual destruction. Once the experts on both sides had been wiped out, the Fengli Sect would swoop in and destroy both sects, unifying the thirteen qi planets.

Those who stood against the Celestial Wind Sect were not necessarily good people. An enemy's enemy could also be their enemy.

Wang Sheng smiled. "To be frank, I can't really leave since I'm one of the people in charge of recruiting immortal cultivators today. If you have matters to discuss, I can have someone arrange a quiet room inside for us. We don't have to go to the teahouse."

Qiu Ying nodded lightly. "Then we'll trouble you for a moment, Elder Pi."

"It's no trouble at all. The Xinghai Sect has always been hospitable."

He made his intentions clear enough: they shouldn't bother trying to win him over.

1. A type of mystical phoenix-like bird, often associated with female immortals or elegant, refined beauty. ☜