100: Second floor foundation

Three days later, Zhang Qingxiao followed the Li Family Foundation Establishment Cultivator to a small trade fair held by Foundation Establishment Cultivators within the Sect.

This trade fair was initiated by a Cultivation realm of Foundation Establishment Stage Late Phase Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer.

Quite a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators were invited, totaling over thirty.

Upon seeing Zhang Qingxiao appear, both acquaintances and strangers came forward to greet him.

Everyone knew that the Sect Master took great care of Zhang Qingxiao, arranging for him to be the Deputy Hall Master of the Planting Hall right after his Foundation Establishment Ceremony.

Some time ago, many Foundation Establishment Cultivators wanted to befriend him.

Upon learning that he was in seclusion for Cultivation, they did not disturb him further.

For Foundation Establishment Cultivators, the period immediately after Breaking through to Foundation Establishment is very important.

Disturbing him at this time would not only fail to foster friendship but also invite dislike.

Now that Zhang Qingxiao had also come to the trade fair, they naturally had to seize the opportunity.

Before long, the trade fair began.

There were no special rules for this trade fair; everyone simply took out items they didn't need or stated what they wanted, and people exchanged them.

More popular items could also be auctioned on the spot.

At the start of the trade fair, Foundation Establishment Cultivators who wished to sell items directly displayed them on the tables in front of them.

Zhang Qingxiao came this time mainly to purchase Magical Artifacts and Talismans for self-defense, and he had nothing to sell.

So, he began to look at the items being sold by others in the room.

Soon, he found a Flying Sword Magical Artifact that he liked.

This was a surpassing ordinary Magical Artifact Flying Sword named Jinghong, seven inches and six fen long, with a faint red glow emanating from its body, captivating the soul.

“Daoist Zhang, my Jinghong Flying Sword is quite well-known and possesses considerable power.”

“Its Sword Flight speed also far surpasses that of ordinary surpassing ordinary Magical Artifact Flying Swords, even comparable to some Low Grade Magic Treasure Flying Swords.”

“If I weren't in urgent need of Spirit Stones, I wouldn't bear to sell it.”

The Foundation Establishment Cultivator selling the surpassing ordinary Magical Artifact Flying Sword, seeing Zhang Qingxiao interested in his surpassing ordinary Magical Artifact Flying Sword, quickly introduced it.

“Daoist Liu, how many Spirit Stones do you want for this Flying Sword?”

Zhang Qingxiao genuinely liked this Jinghong Flying Sword and inquired tentatively.

“Daoist Zhang, I won't ask for a high price. If you want it, just give me one thousand eight hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.”

The Li Family Foundation Establishment Cultivator pondered for a moment before gritting his teeth and giving a price.

If his Jinghong Flying Sword were to be auctioned at the Xiaoyao Sect's annual Foundation Establishment Pill auction, it could at least sell for over two thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

After deducting the auction transaction fees, the Mid-Grade Spirit Stones he would receive would not be less than two thousand.

He proactively lowered the price, firstly to sell the Jinghong Flying Sword quickly, and secondly to befriend Zhang Qingxiao.

“Alright, I'll go with Daoist Liu's price.”

“This Storage Pouch contains one thousand eight hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. Please check it, Daoist Liu.”

Zhang Qingxiao genuinely liked this Jinghong Flying Sword and knew that the price offered was not high. After a brief thought, he made his decision.

He placed the Spirit Stones into a special Storage Pouch and handed it to the other party.

“Daoist Zhang, you’re straightforward.”

“The number of Spirit Stones is correct. Here's your Storage Pouch back.”

The Li Family Foundation Establishment Cultivator checked it and confirmed that the number of Spirit Stones was accurate, then transferred the Spirit Stones to his own Storage Pouch.

Then, he handed the Jinghong Flying Sword and the Storage Pouch to Zhang Qingxiao.

The two chatted briefly and exchanged Sound Transmission Talismans.

Zhang Qingxiao was about to look at the items sold by other Foundation Establishment Cultivators when he suddenly saw someone take out a Talisman Treasure on the auction stage, immediately attracting his attention, and he turned towards the auction stage.

This was an offensive Talisman Treasure named Mountain River Seal, which had been used three times and could be used seven more times.

Although its offensive power was considerable, it had a fatal flaw.

The attack speed of this Talisman Treasure was too slow, making it difficult to lock onto the target.

It could only hit the target with 100% certainty when the opponent was trapped.

It was for this reason that the Talisman Treasure had a starting bid of two thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, yet few Foundation Establishment Cultivators competed for it.

Zhang Qingxiao felt it was still good, so he tentatively offered a price of two thousand five hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

Unexpectedly, after hearing his bid, the others immediately stopped competing.

If he hadn't known two of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators, he would have truly thought that these bidding Foundation Establishment Cultivators were shills hired by the Foundation Establishment Cultivator auctioning the Talisman Treasure.

After acquiring the Talisman Treasure, Zhang Qingxiao purchased some second-tier Talismans and defensive Magical Artifacts.

He spent approximately five thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

Although he spent a lot of Spirit Stones this time, it did not attract the attention of other Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

After all, most Foundation Establishment Cultivators had assets of no less than ten thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

Seeing that there was nothing else he wanted, he chatted with other Foundation Establishment Cultivators for a while, then followed the Li Family Foundation Establishment Cultivator and left the trade fair.

Upon returning home, he first refined the newly acquired Jinghong Flying Sword.

Then he sent a Sound Transmission to Lin Ying, instructing him to keep a close eye on Wu Gaoqi's whereabouts.

After diligently Cultivating for a month and a half, he finally Broke through to the Foundation Establishment Second Layer.

This was half a month later than his estimated time.

After his Realm Breakthrough, Zhang Qingxiao immediately contacted Lin Ying to inquire about Wu Gaoqi's situation.

Unexpectedly, Lin Ying and Luo Fei both came directly to his Immortal Cave.

After understanding the situation, he learned that there were some minor issues with the takeout business.

They had previously encountered problems such as delivery personnel being beaten by customers, underpaying or not paying Spirit Stones, and delivery personnel stealing items.

He had resolved all of them one by one.

The issues of delivery personnel being beaten by customers, underpaying Spirit Stones, or not paying Spirit Stones were simple to resolve.

Zhang Qingxiao directly had Luo Fei contact the managers of the restaurants to teach these Cultivators a lesson.

At the same time, he also collaborated with the managers of various restaurants to secretly spread word that anyone who dared to do such a thing again would no longer be able to make a living in Xiaoyao City.

For this matter, the Li Family Foundation Establishment Elder and another Cultivation realm of Foundation Establishment Stage Late Phase Elder specifically stated that this business was related to them.

Since then, no Cultivator dared to beat delivery personnel, nor did any Cultivator dare to not pay Spirit Stones.

Although this incident caused a slight decrease in order volume for a few days, the order volume slowly rose back up afterwards.

For delivery personnel who stole valuable items and tried to flee, the most severe punishment was meted out, making them directly disappear from this world.

These delivery personnel were the lowest-level Cultivators, possessing nothing, and finding a relatively easy job that could earn Spirit Stones was already difficult.

Even if they took items, it was hard to escape Xiaoyao City, and once caught, they would face severe punishment, naturally reducing the number of Cultivators with ill intentions.

At the same time, to prevent such problems from reoccurring, Zhang Qingxiao also had Lin Ying conduct secret spot checks at any time, asking customers about their satisfaction with the delivery personnel.

After a series of measures to make an example, the delivery Cultivators dared even less to harbor ill intentions.

The problems Luo Fei encountered this time were management chaos, settlement chaos, missed orders, excessively long delivery times, and other issues.

Zhang Qingxiao analyzed these problems one by one and provided corresponding solutions.

At the same time, he found ways to save costs and improve efficiency in these areas.

This left Luo Fei and Lin Ying utterly convinced and full of admiration.

...