28: Chapter 28 Exceptional Talent

Yun Ming didn't specify who was seeking revenge, fearing that the people lining up behind them would overhear and panic.

Ye Chen scratched his head awkwardly, neither admitting nor denying it.

"What's there to be embarrassed about? I'd be scared too. Stretch out your hand, let me check your Spiritual Root."

Ye Chen obediently extended his hand, allowing Yun Ming to inspect the attribute and strength of his Spiritual Root.

"Hmm... Metal and Fire dual Spiritual Roots. That's decent talent, though it's a pity you're not destined for my Alchemy Peak. However, you could consider joining the Qi Peak or Sword Peak; your Spiritual Roots are quite popular there. Wait..." Yun Ming frowned, then said in surprise, "You've reached Qi Refining Perfection!"

Yun Ming's words stirred up a thousand waves, drawing the attention of a large crowd.

"How old are you this year?" Yun Ming asked.

"Uh, fifteen."

"What the... you're a Prodigy." Yun Ming marveled. As expected of the protagonist, even after having his cultivation destroyed, he managed to Cultivate back to the Qi Refining Great Circle in just half a year.

"Friend, would you like to join my Sword Peak?" said the person in charge of the Sword Peak's inner Sect selection.

To make selection more convenient, the various peaks had set up their recruitment points near each other. After hearing Yun Ming's words, he immediately leaned over, thinking that if he could pull this great treasure into the Sword Peak, he would surely be rewarded handsomely.

"Bullshit! With such great talent, he should obviously join our Qi Peak. You Sword Peak people fight and kill all day; your brains are probably damaged." The person in charge of the Qi Peak also heard and stepped directly in front of the Sword Peak representative, wanting to invite Ye Chen to join the Qi Peak.

"Oh please! You bunch of smelly artifact refiners are burned as black as coal. Such a handsome young man should obviously follow our Sword Peak to uphold justice."

"I spit on that! When you're begging us to repair your Magical Artifacts, you practically want to kneel down. Now you're here calling us smelly!"

Seeing that the two sides were about to start a fight, Ye Chen looked helplessly at Yun Ming. This gave Yun Ming a start; fearing that he would be caught in the crossfire, he quickly said, "Why are you looking at me? Just follow the choice in your heart."

These words actually gave Old Xuan a fright instead. Old Xuan thought Yun Ming had heard him speaking, and in his guilt, he immediately fell silent.

Hearing Yun Ming's words, Ye Chen nodded vigorously. He interrupted the bickering Qi Peak and Sword Peak representatives and said firmly, "Thank you for your appreciation, Senior Brother from the Qi Peak, but my Family died at the hands of demonic cultivators. I must avenge them, so I will join the Sword Peak."

The Sword Peak representative beamed with joy and pulled Ye Chen aside to register, fearing he might change his mind.

The Qi Peak person grumbled that Ye Chen didn't know how to appreciate kindness, but he didn't dare say it to his Face. Instead, he turned his frustration toward Yun Ming.

"Hey! You from the Alchemy Peak, why didn't you put in a word for me? If you had helped me just now, he wouldn't have gone to the Sword Peak. It's all your fault. What's your name?"

Yun Ming raised an eyebrow. "I'm your father. Are you sick? He didn't want to go to your Qi Peak, so what the hell does that have to do with me?"

The Qi Peak person hadn't expected Yun Ming to be so blunt. Yun Ming didn't give him any Face at all, leaving him with no way to back down gracefully.

In the end, he could only huff with a dark expression, "Hmph, you just wait."

Yun Ming held his forehead and sighed. "They all just say 'you wait.' Wait for what? They never say how long I'm supposed to wait. Psychos." After saying that, he ignored him.

Ye Chen left with the Sword Peak people, while Yun Ming continued to screen Immortal Seedlings for the Alchemy Peak.

It wasn't until sunset that he barely managed to finish screening all the candidates.

In total, he had screened out one hundred and twenty people for the Alchemy Peak's inner Sect.

Then, he had to take these people to handle their entry procedures and help them upload the locations of their Immortal Caves.

He was busy until late at night, when the bright moon hung high, before he finished.

Initially, Yun Ming had thought about whether he could squeeze some extra benefits out of these people, but unfortunately, he was mistaken.

What good could come to his hands? The vast majority of people here were Mortals. Giving him some mundane gold and silver was already considered good. There was even a kid named Da Niu who actually gave him a coarse grain pancake.

Yun Ming swore that if there were any more of these thankless tasks in the future, he would refuse them all.

He wouldn't be able to participate in today's Luoxia Assembly; he could only wait until tomorrow.

Fortunately, Yun Ming's Immortal Cave on Alchemy Peak had already been built.

The Immortal Cave was located on the mountainside of Alchemy Peak, right next to a clear pool of green water.

The entrance led to a common small courtyard. The ground was paved with bluish-gray stone slabs, with fresh chisel marks still visible on the edges.

On the left side was a cultivation room carved into the mountain, and on the right side was the Alchemy Room.

All kinds of household items were also fully provided; they were considered a gift from Carpenter Feng, saving Yun Ming a lot of trouble.

The environment was fresh and elegant, simple but not basic. Yun Ming was very satisfied.

The only pity was that the Formation Master Carpenter Feng knew could only set up some simple magic formations. The Small Spirit Gathering Array was already somewhat insufficient for his cultivation. Fortunately, the Spiritual Qi on Alchemy Peak was relatively dense, which barely compensated for this.

Additionally, some defensive and soundproofing formations were too low-level. He needed to find a more powerful Formation Master to redo them, but for now, he would make do.

At dawn the next day, Yun Ming arrived at the Luoxia Assembly.

There were two important things happening at the Luoxia Assembly today. The first was the start of the Sect Grand Competition, which anyone could sign up for.

The other was the official opening of the Luoxia Assembly's free market. Although some people had set up stalls the day before, those were just minor dealings. To truly trade for treasures, one had to wait for the market to officially open.

Yun Ming had no interest in the Sect Grand Competition. Firstly, he really didn't like fighting and killing; his philosophy was that harmony brings wealth. Secondly, his displayed Realm was only Qi Refining Level 5, and he didn't want to expose his true cultivation so casually.

Moreover, the rewards for the Middle Stage Qi Refining matches were nothing more than some Spirit Stones and some Medicinal Pills to boost cultivation. Only the matches for Qi Refining Perfection would have foundation establishment pills.

Speaking of foundation establishment pills, Yun Ming had a bit of a headache. A single foundation establishment pill at the Sect's Hundred Treasures Pavilion cost a hundred thousand Spirit Stones, and they were often out of stock, only available by pre-order. Yun Ming couldn't afford to wait.

Buying one outside would just involve a higher markup; he could afford to save up two hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

Just as Yun Ming was wondering where he could buy a foundation establishment pill, he overheard people nearby discussing the Luoxia Auction.

"Have you heard? There's a Spiritual Vein in this year's Luoxia Auction!"

"What? A Spiritual Vein can be auctioned too?"

"You're ill-informed! This Spiritual Vein is only a first-grade Low Grade vein, but it contains a million Spirit Stones. Some Foundation Establishment families might bid for it."

"This is probably this year's grand finale treasure, right?"

"Calling you ill-informed is an understatement. This is the Luoxia Assembly held only once every ten years. How could the grand finale be a mere first-grade Low Grade Spiritual Vein?"

"Oh? Could there be some other treasure?"

"Heh heh, the daughter of my third cousin's great-uncle's neighbor's maternal uncle-in-law is a maid for a Sunset Glow Sect Outer Sect Elder. She heard from that Elder that this year's grand finale treasure is a portion of five elements gold-condensing jade liquid!"

"Really? A portion of five elements gold-condensing jade liquid? That's an Immortal Pill that can increase the probability of Core Formation by thirty percent!"

"Shh, keep your voice down. How could this be fake? Besides this five elements gold-condensing jade liquid, there are also quite a few foundation establishment pills. I wonder who will end up with them."

Hearing their conversation, Yun Ming stroked his chin and muttered to himself, "An auction, huh? I could consider showing off a bit."