Nine Astra Skies

Ten days later, at Jadeite City.

Jadeite City must be said to have a long, ancient history. The Tiandu Chamber of Commerce - the first chamber of commerce in the Great Eastern Empire - was founded here thousands of years ago. At that point, the first person to control the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce, Duan Ganhong, was merely an officer at a county in Jadeite City. At one point, he had obtained a book containing a supreme cultivation system from an unknown source and started to cultivate. After his capabilities improved, he became a Second-rank Prince. He had a great mind for business. Moreover, Jadeite City was producing large amounts of an ore called black jadeite. Black jadeite contained the essence of Heaven and Earth and was thus, a cultivator's most precious asset. Nonetheless, the sale of black jadeite was controlled by a nation called the Qiang Nation. Therefore, Duan Ganhong secretly stole and sold black jadeite, and gradually saved up his profits. Then, he began his journey of earning a large fortune.

After fifty years, Duan Ganhong had become a Mystique Venerable fighter and had established the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce which traded throughout the Great Eastern Continent. His wealth could rival a country's. He built a magnificent city nearby and called it Jadeite City. At that time, the Qiang Nation was coveting Duan Ganhong's wealth and started to clash against Jadeite City which was under Duan Ganhong's control. However, in the end, the Qiang Nation was caught off guard when the offended Duan Ganhong commanded the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce to recruit assassin organizations, fully retaliating against the Qiang Nation. At one point, the assassin organizations of the entire Great Eastern Continent rushed toward the Qiang Nation, causing it to suffer a fatal catastrophe. After that stumble, the Qiang Nation could not recover and was reduced to a tribe enslaved by the Nanman Kingdom. After this incident, Jadeite City had declared its independence.

Jadeite City had demonstrated its might. From that moment on, the surrounding nations dared not offend Jadeite City anymore. As time passed, the business of the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce was increasingly expanded by Duan Ganhong's descendants, extending throughout the Great Eastern Continent. It had close trade relations with the surrounding nations as well. Later on, other chambers of commerce formed an alliance together with the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce that was based in Jadeite City. Jadeite City had tremendously advanced the trade of surrounding nations. When the Central Empire, the Tianliao Nation, and other formidable countries of the Great Eastern Continent realized the advantages of Jadeite City, they carved out a piece of land in their respective territories, inviting the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce and other trade alliances to enter.

After a few millennia, the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce's main hub had left Jadeite City. Nonetheless, throughout this period, Jadeite City had never declined. Instead, it was the most famous city of trade. Here, silver, gold, Chi-amassing Pills, Chi Deposition Pills, and so on were important forms of currency. As long as one had the money, one could buy anything including beautiful female slaves who had been trained, various spirit artifacts and medicinal pills, and even extremely mighty mystical beasts. Furthermore, one could even spend the night with the queens and princesses of some nations or have super powerhouses obeying one's orders. This was regardless of one's status, even if one was just an ordinary person!

Here, cash was king, and violence was opposed. If any combatants, even the monarch of a country, tried to wield their fighting powers, they would be endlessly hunted down by the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce and other trade alliances!

The area around Jadeite City, for more than a thousand kilometers, was under the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce's control. They forbade all forms of violence and fighting. Finally, Ye Chen's group had reached Jadeite City safe and sound. After handing their invitation to the guards at the city gate, they were allowed to enter.

What surprised Ye Chen was that the two guards were Earthly Venerable Rank fighters. Fighters of their rank would also be tasked to do such bitter work. It was a shame indeed.

This was Ye Chen's first time entering Jadeite City. Only now did he truly experience how prosperous it was. Jadeite City was not big and could only be considered a small city. However, even the central district of the Xiwu Empire's Capital City would be put to shame next to Jadeite City!

The street was five, six meters wide and completely paved in gold. The shops on both sides were also constructed with precious timber and studded with gems and metal. Throngs of people went to and fro. Many wealthy merchants were tailed by a crowd of attendants. Moreover, the monarchs, concubines, princesses, and heads of martial arts families from various empires could be seen here. Occasionally, a solitary martial art combatant could be spotted.

What a mystical world!

Tiandu Chamber of Commerce had used gold to pave the ground as if they were worried others would not know of their wealth. After all, those who could enter were frightfully wealthy. Naturally, they would not steal the gold on the ground. A more important factor was that the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce had eyes and ears throughout Jadeite City. Therefore, the gold that was paved on the ground was safe from being stolen.

"Big Brother Ye Chen, the ground itself is made of gold. If we dig it up, we can buy many, many buns once we get back!" Little Wingsy exclaimed gleefully.

Upon hearing Little Wingsy's voice, the nearby passersby looked over in astonishment and puzzlement. Digging up the gold on the ground – was he not afraid of being captured by the city guards?

Great Emperor Mingwu hurriedly pulled Little Wingsy back, saying, "Little Wingsy, this gold belongs to the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce, so we can't dig it up. If someone sees you doing that, you'll be captured by them."

Little Wingsy blinked once, then nodded, seeming to understand.

Great Emperor Mingwu saw that Little Wingsy had understood and did not say anything else. However, Little Wingsy's next words nearly caused him to fall over.

"Then, should we come at night to secretly dig it up?" Little Wingsy looked toward Ye Chen and suggested cheerfully.

Little Squido who was cradled by Little Wingsy looked at Little Wingsy, then looked at Ye Chen, beaming with its eyes as it nodded constantly.

Little Wingsy's voice was very loud. In the distance, a few fully-armed, Tenth Level city guards overheard and looked over. Even so, they did not take any action. All those who came here were invited guests. As long as Little Wingsy did not prise the gold from the ground, they would not offend these guests.

Little Tanuki smacked her forehead with a paw. She was speechless against Little Wingsy. Even if one wanted to steal the gold, there was no need to declare it so loudly. She blamed herself for not guiding him properly.

Ye Chen could only helplessly explain to Little Wingsy that the gold in the ground must not be touched.

Just then, Ye Chen suddenly felt traces of Psyches sweeping toward his group. He did not know where these Psyches came from and felt a jolt in his heart. There were Celestial Beasts hiding in Jadeite City! They must have noticed Little Tanuki's and Little Squido's beast forms and wanted to investigate!

Of these Celestial Beasts' Psyches, a few were Mystique Adept Rank. When Ye Chen sensed one of them coming toward him, he raised an eyebrow and unleashed his Astral Body, shrouding Little Tanuki, Little Wingsy, and Little Squido within. When these Psyches bumped into Ye Chen's Astral Body, they were like a cat whose tail was stepped on. With a whoosh, they jumped back in fright and rapidly shrank back.

Ye Chen looked toward Little Tanuki and saw that her clear eyes were gazing at him. He and Little Tanuki were sharing the same thought and did not need to speak. It did not cross their minds that they would encounter Celestial Beasts here.

It was more difficult for a mystical beast to take on a human form, which could only be sustained for a shorter period. Of course, Little Wingsy was an exception. On the other hand, high-level Celestial Beasts could easily transform into humans and hide among the crowd if they wanted to. Ye Chen wondered what those Celestial Beasts had come for. Did they also want to purchase spirit artifacts, medicinal pills, and the likes?

After those Celestial Beasts were frightened off, they probably would not disturb him anymore.

When Ye Chen looked forward, there was a massive auction in the distance. The place was bustling with people and their voices added to the hubbub.

"Isn't the auction only starting tomorrow?" Ye Chen asked.

On one side, Master Apothecary Xuanyi smiled. "It's true that the real auction would only begin tomorrow but the auction in front is expressly to sell low-end goods and materials. At the same time, they would accept various rare treasures. This is held all year round and you can come any day. Those without an invitation or a nameplate from the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce can only join the auction under the watch of the city guards."

"So, that's the case." Ye Chen nodded in realization. He had guessed that a portion of the rare treasures in the auction the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce was organizing tomorrow would come from this auction itself! He just did not know what sort of items would be up for sale in this auction.

"Since we're here, let's go in for a look," Great Emperor Mingwu said.

Their group headed toward the auction. There were stone steps that led them to a height of five, six meters. Ten or so guards wearing dark golden armor stood at the auction's entrance. These guards were at the very least at the Tenth Level and were led by an Earthly Venerable expert. The armor they wore was shaped from a rare metal - Jet Xuan-iron. From this, one could surmise how powerful the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce was! Besides these guards, Jadeite City was watched over by a Mystique Venerable Rank expert and numerous Heavenly Venerable experts.

Ye Chen and the rest walked up the stone steps. A guard in dark golden armor came over and bowed slightly to Ye Chen's group.

"Honorable guests, may I ask if you have a nameplate from the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce?" the guard asked with a smile. He was so polite and humble that he put everyone at ease.

"How many nameplates do we need? Do we each need one to enter?" Ye Chen asked. He had only one nameplate with him. Would they each need one to enter the auction?

"Honorable guests, the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce's nameplates are divided into crimson, silver-white, and dark golden. If you don't have a nameplate, you may only sit in the hall to participate in the sale. For the safety of our guests, one of our guards will follow you. If you have a nameplate, we'll arrange a private room for you. For those with a crimson nameplate, we'll arrange a small private room. With a silver-white one, the room is slightly bigger. With a dark golden one, we'll arrange a deluxe room. Regardless of which nameplate you have, you can bring in your friends but if it's a small private room, you might find it rather crowded with this many people. This is because we have too many people joining this auction. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause." The guard looked toward Ye Chen and the rest.

"I have a crimson nameplate," Great Emperor Mingwu piped up at one side. He was considered a regular client of the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce.

"I have a crimson nameplate too. Why don't we have two small rooms?" Master Apothecary Xuanyi suggested as he took out a crimson nameplate from his Heaven-Earth Pouch.

Upon seeing the two crimson nameplates, the guard bowed slightly to signal his acknowledgment. He said reverently, "Honorable guests, please follow me. If there's anything you need, just ask for us at any time."

"Hold on." Ye Chen stopped Master Apothecary Xuanyi and Great Emperor Mingwu. The room could not even accommodate a small group like theirs, which indicated how tiny the small private room was. Plus, they would have to split into two rooms. That was too troublesome.