300: Suggestion, Yunling Sanren

A Wood Demon sat cross-legged before the Little Divine Tree, like a devout ascetic meditating on the Dao.

The Wood Demon's brow furrowed and relaxed intermittently.

After thirty years of growth, the Little Divine Tree hadn't changed much in size, but the precious light on its branches grew increasingly vibrant.

From time to time, Spirit Light would manifest as illusory phenomena.

If Lin Shiming wasn't mistaken, it was precisely these phenomena that the Wood Demon was trying to capture.

From the Wood Demon's, the Golden Winged Mantis', and the Red-haired Demon Monkey's behavior, he also realized that there seemed to be an even more mystical Visualization Method in the Cultivation world.

His Root of Deduction was a similar secret method.

It also originated from visualizing the Dao Origin of the Purple Mansion Wood Demon Immortal Tree in Nine Leaf City.

The Wood Demon remained in its meditative state.

Lin Shiming didn't disturb it; after all, the current Wood Demon was also his Spirit Beast.

As for Red-haired Demon Monkey and Golden Wings, they frolicked with him for a while, and after he left some Mid-Grade Beast Nurturing Pills and spirit beast meat, they exited the Grotto-heaven World.

It was rare to have time to visit Qingyun Market, so Lin Shiming decided to visit the Lin Family's shops.

The Lin Family had twelve shops in Qingyun Market, but only three were self-managed; seven belonged to Zi Xuan Sanren, and two to Xie An.

Xie An's and Zi Xuan Sanren's shops were naturally rented out and usually managed by the Lin Family.

Lin Shiming primarily visited the Lin Family's own shops.

Of the Lin Family's three shops, one was the Lin Family Alchemy and Artifact Refining Pavilion, which naturally dealt in Medicinal Pills, Magical Artifacts, and talismans. The second was the Lin Family Restaurant, which offered qing ling wine, monkey wine, and various Spirit Cuisine. Popular signature Spirit Cuisine included the Red Spirit Fish Spirit Cuisine and Blood Crocodile Spirit Cuisine, both beloved by various Loose Cultivators.

It was considered the restaurant with the most diverse Spirit Cuisine in Yun Province.

The third shop was used for acquiring Spirit Beast Materials and Heaven And Earth Treasures. It would also periodically post demand missions, which some Loose Cultivators would then undertake.

For example, this shop had previously posted requests for third-tier Spirit Monkeys, Spirit Insects, and luring demon grass.

Lin Shiming watched Cultivators come and go, including many young Cultivators fresh out of the sect, following their elders, Faces still showing a hint of childishness, yet trying to act mature under their elders' guidance, admiring the Medicinal Pills and Magical Artifacts within the Alchemy and Artifact Refining Pavilion.

Inside the Alchemy and Artifact Refining Pavilion, the Lin Family members noticed Lin Shiming, and his Thirtieth Uncle, Lin Houyuan, walked over.

"Shiming, you're here."

"Thirtieth Uncle, there's no need to be so formal. I was just idle, so I came to take a look!"

"Feel free to look around, I've wanted to invite you for a long time!" Lin Houyuan said with a smile.

The Lin Family's next Spirit Stone discount at the Xing County Market Auction, along with the concept of Spirit Cuisine, had made the Lin Family's business significantly better than that of ordinary families.

Adhering to the principle of small profits but quick turnover, they had established the Lin Family's reputation, and with the Spirit Fish Spirit Cuisine, the Lin Family's renown here grew even further.

At this moment, if Lin Shiming could offer more guidance, he believed things would surely improve.

"Thirtieth Uncle, you flatter me. You are all more skilled in this area!" Lin Shiming replied.

He then continued to observe, while Lin Houyuan introduced the various items.

This Lin Family Alchemy and Artifact Refining Pavilion, like the previous Auction, offered a ten Spirit Stone discount on the next purchase for any Magical Artifact or Medicinal Pill exceeding one thousand Spirit Stones.

Furthermore, after accumulated purchases of over ten thousand Spirit Stones, customers would enjoy a 20% discount at both the Lin Family Restaurant and the Alchemy and Artifact Refining Pavilion in the future.

And for every purchase, a Pigu Pill (Grain Avoidance Pill) was given as a gift.

Pigu Pill (Grain Avoidance Pill)s were first-tier Medicinal Pills used by Cultivators for avoiding grains.

The price was not high, but for Loose Cultivators who wished they could split one Spirit Stone into two, it was still good news.

After the introduction, the two arrived at the back courtyard of the shop.

Sitting at a stone table, Lin Houyuan poured some spirit tea. However, Lin Houyuan's spirit tea came from those saplings, only of the second-tier.

Even so, Lin Houyuan treasured it greatly, storing it in a jade box, and there was clearly another, ordinary tea on the table.

After pouring the tea, Lin Houyuan's Face showed a worried expression.

"Shiming, currently, the Mid-Grade second-tier Magical Artifacts, Mid-Grade second-tier Medicinal Pills, and second-tier talismans in the Alchemy and Artifact Refining Pavilion are in the shortest supply. They are often consumed shortly after the Family transports them here!"

"Thirtieth Uncle, this is simple. We can recruit a batch of Alchemists and Artifact Refiners at the Family's Alchemy Pavilion and Qi Cultivation Pavilion to train in Qingyun Market. Let the Family refine some simple Magical Artifacts and Medicinal Pills right here. Furthermore, the Family can accept commissioned Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and talisman crafting!"

"We won't charge a fee, only four portions of the raw Materials for refining. We'll also limit the quantity for custom orders and assess the success rate of pill Formation and artifact crafting for the Family Cultivators. This way, we can utilize the Spirit Medicine and Spirit Materials of Loose Cultivators to Cultivate the Alchemy and Artifact Refining skills of our Family Cultivators, and also alleviate some of the pressure!"

"Additionally, if someone can provide a Pill Formula that the Lin Family doesn't possess, we can even refine it for them for free!"

Lin Shiming spoke, and Lin Houyuan's eyes lit up.

This kind of custom service had no precedent. Allowing those Mid-Grade second-tier Alchemists and Mid-Grade second-tier Artifact Refiners to refine items was quite bold, and might not even generate much profit. However, as long as the success rate for pills and artifacts could be guaranteed to exceed 30%, it would definitely elevate the Lin Family's Alchemy and Artifact Refining Pavilion's business to another level.

And in the Lin Family's Alchemy Pavilion and Artifact Refining Pavilion, to ensure the success rate of pill Formation for Family Cultivators, those with low success rates did not have many Materials to practice with.

Now, this could also conveniently provide Materials and enrich the experience of these Cultivators. Coming to Qingyun Market more often was better than always staying on Fangmu Mountain.

This was truly killing two birds with one stone.

Especially in Artifact Refining, many Cultivators had different demands for Magical Artifacts due to varying Cultivation Techniques and combat habits.

However, general shops that accepted custom Magical Artifacts usually started with High Grade Magical Artifacts.

Mid-Grade Magical Artifacts and Low Grade Magical Artifacts were considered unnecessary for custom orders by those Artifact Refiners.

Moreover, Artifact Refiners themselves also needed to Cultivate, which imposed many restrictions.

Now that the Lin Family was flourishing, and the four arts of cultivation were strongly supported, this approach was entirely feasible.

However, what troubled Lin Houyuan was that the Lin Family didn't have enough shops to accommodate the Family's Alchemists and Artifact Refiners for Alchemy and Artifact Refining.

But the next moment, seeing Lin Shiming's lips curl into a smile, Lin Houyuan's worries vanished.

They had come precisely for the branch shops.

The Lin Family's strength could easily support 20% of the shops. With over a hundred shops in Qingyun Market, 20% meant more than twenty shops, so freeing up a few was no problem.

After discussing the details with Lin Houyuan again, Lin Shiming also left and arrived at the Lin Family Restaurant.

On the second floor of the Lin Family Restaurant, Lin Yuzheng and Lin Shiyi were also present.

Upon seeing Lin Shiming enter, both stood up with a somewhat serious expression.

Lin Shiyi even spoke:

"Shiming, I investigated, and sure enough, someone from the Zhang Family went to Red Lion Ridge three months ago to explore. If I'm not mistaken, there's either a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone mine or a valuable third-tier Glinting Metal Stone Vein there!"

Lin Shiyi spoke with certainty.

The Lin Family had the Glinting Metal Stone Vein in Shiling Cave, so they had some understanding of mineral veins. They also bred many Gold-Eating Rats, a type of Spirit Rat, so sending one or two Spirit Rats to investigate wasn't too difficult!

And this also aligned better with the Zhang Family's interests.

Using Yun Province Cultivators to help them conquer Red Lion Ridge not only demonstrated their Zhang Family's courage to the Qingxuan Sect but also allowed them to seize a Spiritual Vein, a host of resources, and finally, a mineral vein!

It was truly killing three birds with one stone, and the benefits were unimaginable!

Furthermore, it was conceivable that it would significantly boost the morale of the Zhang Family Cultivators.

One must know that the Zhang Family was forced to come to Yun Province from Jin Province, where Spiritual Qi was better and resources were abundant, so those Cultivators might all have been somewhat disheartened.

Lin Shiyi and Lin Yuzheng had evidently discussed for a while earlier, and they greatly admired the Zhang Family's scheme.

Under the pretext of distributing shops, they gathered the Foundation Establishment combat power and high-end combat power of various families to participate.

This prevented various families from sending old, weak, and infirm members, and also prevented too many Cultivators from various families, which could lead to too many people and a messy situation, inevitably leaking information.

Red Lion Ridge was not far from the market. To prevent information from leaking, the Zhang Family bringing the main families on board was also a better choice.

However, Lin Shiming remained extremely calm.

The actions of a Purple Mansion Family like the Zhang Family would naturally not be so simple. However, he was still curious; an ordinary third-tier mineral vein alone was not worth the Zhang Family's only Purple Mansion Cultivator making a move!

One must know that this Purple Mansion Cultivator was not only an Artifact Refiner but also nearing the end of his lifespan.

Moreover, if it were truly that simple, and so easily discovered by them, then the meaning of this layout would just be a simple open scheme.

And the risk of something happening to a Purple Mansion Cultivator was not small.

However, if he couldn't figure it out, Lin Shiming stopped thinking about it. Anyway, once he reached Red Lion Ridge, he would know everything.

As for his strength, with his current power, he was confident that even if he couldn't win, he could escape.

He also had treasures like the peach blossom river scenery painting and the five-colored silkworm coffin, so he naturally had some confidence.

After another discussion with Lin Yuzheng and Lin Shiyi, Lin Shiming once again observed Lin Zekong and Lin Zelu.

Both were in seclusion, which greatly pleased Lin Shiming.

Among them, Lin Zekong's Heavenly Wood Spirit Planting Secret Method had already succeeded, and his Spiritual Qi storage had greatly increased.

His strength had also improved significantly. He was still adapting, and upon exiting seclusion, even if he faced an ordinary eighth-layer Qi Cultivator, he would not be at a disadvantage.

Lin Shiming also didn't disturb them.

Time passed quickly. Seven days later, outside Qingyun Market, the Zhang Family had already set up dozens of arenas.

These arenas varied in size, and the numbers marked on them were also different.

At a glance, the largest number was thirty, followed by a twenty, a fifteen, then three tens, and twenty arenas marked with the number one.

All the numbers added up to exactly the total number of shops in Qingyun Market, one hundred and fifteen shops.

However, this layout made Lin Shiming ponder deeply.

This was clearly intended for him and the Chen Family's Old Ancestor to determine a victor.

Otherwise, the numbers twenty and fifteen would not have appeared.

The subsequent rules were also as Lin Shiming expected: the number indicated the quantity of shops.

And the rules were very simple: defend the arena.

However, the arenas marked with the number one could only be entered by young Cultivators under thirty years old.

There were no restrictions on the other arenas.

However, for these arenas, without a Foundation Establishment Cultivation, going up would just be offering oneself as a sacrifice!

And Lin Zekong and Lin Zelu were also eager, both having long wanted to show off in the arena, especially after receiving Lin Shiming's guidance and help, they were even more confident.

Of course, the two of them weren't completely swept away by the excitement. They constantly observed the young Cultivators around them who were similar to themselves.

They studied their opponents and also planned countermeasures.

This scene made Lin Shiming nod his head.

He was even more satisfied with the two of them.

“Second Brother, you can also try the ten-numbered arena!” Lin Shiming said to Lin Shiyi after observing Lin Zekong and Lin Zelu.

Lin Shiyi, standing nearby, also nodded with strong Battle Intent. He had already broken through to Foundation Establishment several years ago, and it was a good opportunity to practice.

The greatest growth for a Body Cultivator comes from dueling, or even close combat.

Why was Lin Shiming able to improve so quickly? It was through countless close combat encounters with the Red-haired Demon Monkey when it transformed into a giant ape.

As the sun rose high enough, many Loose Cultivators gathered around, and the scene became even more boisterous.

This duel didn't restrict Loose Cultivators from watching. For those Loose Cultivators who were temporarily resting, watching others duel was also a way to help themselves improve.

Because of this, the popularity of Qingyun Market even increased a bit.

Cultivators came and went in an endless stream.

Of course, besides watching the arena duels, they also planned to rent a shop in advance after the various Families determined their ownership.

Among the Loose Cultivators, there were many business people, and even more Artifact Refiners and Alchemists. Having a shop would definitely make their path of Cultivation smoother.

This surprised Lin Shiming a bit. Perhaps in the future, Xing County Market could also do the same, offering some shops to Loose Cultivators.

Through various dueling methods, they could also recruit some Loose Cultivators to join the Family and increase the reputation of Xing County Market.

As for Lingnan County Market, the Lin Family didn't want it to grow too large.

While Lin Shiming was contemplating, Zhang Haoling, after receiving a signal from Chief Qian, flew into the air.

“Alright, the arena defense officially begins. Each person can only defend one arena and attack one arena. Each person has two chances to challenge an arena...”

With Zhang Haoling’s announcement, the market division competition officially began.

Chief Qian, as the biggest witness, also found a spot and sat down leisurely.

He watched the Cultivators go to the arenas to defend and challenge!

Lin Shiyi was the first to go to a ten-numbered arena, while Lin Zekong and Lin Zelu each went to their own arenas.

They became part of the arena defending army.

Lin Shiming had doubts about Lin Shiyi going to the arena so early.

It was undoubtedly unwise for a Body Cultivator to defend an arena, but considering Lin Shiyi's current state of mind, it was understandable.

As for Lin Zekong and Lin Zelu, one was a Wood Cultivator and the other a Formation Cultivator.

Naturally, the earlier they went up, the better, and the more advantageous it would be to defend the arena.

As expected, when the arena defense began, Lin Shiyi faced a Cultivator from a Foundation Establishment Family in Yun Province who practiced earth-attribute Cultivation Technique.

This Cultivator was somewhat similar to Lin Houwei, controlling sand and dust. His Magical Artifact was also three split earth flags!

For a time, he blocked Lin Shiyi's close combat. Lin Shiyi had no choice but to take out his Magical Artifact, but then the opponent took out his Magical Artifact to counter, and Lin Shiyi was constrained everywhere.

Moreover, the opponent also had a Family Spirit Beast, whose strength was equally formidable.

In the end, he fell into a disadvantage and was the first to be defeated.

However, Lin Shiyi was not angry. He came with a learning attitude, and encountering what restrained him the most actually made him more excited.

He was also preparing to recover his true essence and then challenge again.

Lin Shiming gave Lin Shiyi an encouraging look, then looked at Lin Zekong and Lin Zelu.

At this time, Lin Zekong had already controlled many Wood Vines. His opponent was also a Qi Condensation Seventh Layer Cultivator.

Due to early Spirit Infusion and catalysis, he gained the upper hand. With the help of Blood Crocodiles and various Wood Puppets, he quickly defeated his opponent.

At the same time as defeating, he would also restore and recover Spirit Pills, restore Spiritual Qi, and then cast the Wood Vine Technique again.

Lin Shiming nodded with immense satisfaction. Lin Zekong's performance was not bad, and he believed he could also win a shop. One should know that his Serpent Vine Flower was also in Lin Zekong's hands, but the latter's speed in catalyzing the Serpent Vine Flower was much slower than when he was in Qi Condensation.

But as long as he prepared in advance and wasn't careless, there would be no problems.

Next to him, Lin Zelu was even more relaxed. He took out a set of Formation Flag Magical Artifacts and cast various Formations. For a time, the speed at which he defeated his opponents was much faster than Lin Zekong's.

The outcome was naturally decided quickly.

Besides Lin Zelu and Lin Zekong, Lin Shiyi also went up to challenge again. This time he succeeded, but he was quickly challenged and defeated again.

Lin Shiming was wondering whether to comfort him, but then he found Lin Shiyi extremely excited, with a simple and honest smile under his tired eyes.

For him, what was important was not victory or defeat, but whether he could learn and refine in the duels.

Lin Shiming smiled at this, then, after telling Lin Shiyi to keep an eye on Lin Zekong and Lin Zelu, he also walked towards an arena.

It was the arena numbered twenty.

The time was almost up; he also had to challenge the arena.

The defender of the twenty-numbered arena was Old Ancestor Chen Xuankong of the Chen Family, and the defender of the thirty-numbered arena was Zhang Haogang.

It wasn't Zhang Haoling, but Lin Shiming naturally wouldn't challenge Zhang Haogang's arena. Even if he won, he would just have to fight Zhang Haoling.

Chen Xuankong watched Lin Shiming walk up, his eyes showing some displeasure, and he immediately transmitted his voice.

“You Junior, why are you so ignorant of propriety? You offended the Zhang Family before entering the market, and now you offend my Chen Family. When Lin Xianzhi was here, he would address this old man as Fellow Daoist!”

Chen Xuankong's voice transmission was clearly annoyed.

At the Foundation Establishment small gathering, he, Lin Shiming, was the first to agree to Zhang Haoling. Now, Lin Shiming, a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator, was still coming to compete with him, a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, for the twenty-numbered arena.

“If you retreat now, for Lin Xianzhi’s Face, I will not harm you. Go contend for the fifteen-numbered arena; there is still time!”

“Fellow Daoist Chen, excuse me!” Lin Shiming’s expression remained unchanged as he continued to speak.

The shop in front of him was equally important to the Lin Family, so he naturally wouldn't give up.

However, since Chen Xuankong knew his Seventh Grand Uncle and had advised him, even if it was with harsh words.

He didn't mind going easy at a critical moment.

Moreover, for him, in a duel, the more low-key he could be, the better.

“Fellow Daoist Chen, please!” Lin Shiming waved his hand.

Chen Xuankong's expression indeed turned ugly. With a flick of his hand, he took out a Dharma Seal, which instantly transformed into a small mountain and smashed towards Lin Shiming.

The Dharma Seal was clearly a High Grade Magical Artifact, and it seemed to have wind-attribute spirit patterns carved on it. Its speed was surprisingly fast, reaching above Lin Shiming in a blink of an eye, transforming into a dense, earthy-yellow spiritual mountain, and crashing down, emitting terrifying waves of sound.

And Lin Shiming's Crushing God Plate immediately rose horizontally, blocking the Dharma Seal.

At the same time, countless Poison Flood Dragon Vines danced wildly on the arena, like countless Poison Flood Dragons, releasing poisonous mist and coiling towards Chen Xuankong.

Chen Xuankong did not show a surprised expression; instead, as if he had expected it, three Spirit Swords appeared around him, forming an impenetrable sword curtain. In addition, a beast banner also fluttered wildly in the wind.

Immediately, a large amount of Cold Wind (yin wind) swept out, dispersing the poisonous mist of the Poison Flood Dragon Vines, preventing them from quickly reorganizing.

The beast banner even manifested several Third Order Late Stage beast souls, attacking Lin Shiming.

Not only that, the Spirit Swords that had shattered the Poison Flood Dragon Vines immediately shot out, turning into three long rainbows, flying from behind towards Lin Shiming.

Chen Xuankong couldn't help but curl his lips. Attacking a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator from three directions, no matter how much of a Genius he was, or how good his Sword Dao was, in his opinion, he would surely be defeated with regret!

However, when he looked again, Lin Shiming had already summoned the Purple Wood Mysterious Sky Sword Formation.

A full thirty-six High Grade Formation Swords converged into four small sword Formations.

While completely blocking Chen Xuankong's three-pronged attack.

Suddenly, countless Purple Gold Vines surged from the ground.

The Purple Gold Vines were extremely fast. Chen Xuankong had no choice but to retreat dozens of feet, flying into the air with his sword.

But Lin Shiming's four sets of sword Formations at this moment converged into one sword.

And the boundless Sword Intent surged open, with countless Sword Grass appearing in the air.

All pressing down towards Chen Xuankong.

Chen Xuankong took out a wood shield Magical Artifact and placed it in front of him, but under the sword Formation, it was still sent flying, its Spirit Light greatly diminished.

He then released all his Spirit Swords and beast banner to resist the sword Formation.

Only by using all his means could he barely block it.

Before Chen Xuankong could be surprised, he saw the Purple Gold Vines attacking again. He used his sword to block them horizontally.

However, the Purple Gold Vines were not mere vines, but root spears as hard as iron. In an instant, his Spirit Sword defense was broken, and he was then seized by the poisonous mist that had condensed into Poison Flood Dragon Vines.

“Fellow Daoist Chen, I concede!” Lin Shiming said.

Although Chen Xuankong's Face was extremely grim, at this moment, he had indeed lost, lost to a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator.

Moreover, he also understood that Lin Shiming, despite his harsh words, had still held back against him. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't even have been able to contend for the fifteen-numbered arena!

As Chen Xuankong was defeated, Lin Shiming also took out a Medium Grade Spirit Stone and a Spirit Pill to restore his true essence, swallowing them down.

His Face was also slightly pale, as if the recent duel had consumed a large amount of his true essence.

“Hmm, Fellow Daoist Lin’s strength is impressive, this old man is ashamed of his inferiority!” Chen Xuankong’s expression was somewhat grim. Thinking of how he had previously advised Lin Shiming to concede, he felt even more ashamed to stay and went to the fifteen-numbered arena.

The arena defense ended without surprise. The Zhang Family obtained a total of forty-three shops, including the thirty-numbered arena, the ten-numbered arena, and two one-numbered arenas.

The Lin Family, on the other hand, obtained twenty-two shops.

The Chen Family had eighteen shops, excelling even more in the Qi Condensation young Cultivators.

As the shop arena competition ended, the atmosphere of the entire Qingyun Market did not dissipate; instead, it became somewhat subdued.

And at this very moment, a white-robed old man appeared in the Void Realm above Qingyun Market, stepping through the air.

The old man seemed to have no true essence, no Spiritual Qi, and no Aura.

However, as soon as the old man appeared, Zhang Haoling bowed in salute.

All the Lin Family members also bowed in salute.

And everyone instantly understood the identity of the newcomer.

Yunling Daoist!