Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 415 - 415 0298 The Power of Appeal is Still

Chapter 415: Chapter 0298: The Power of Appeal is Still Extremely Strong_2 Chapter 415: Chapter 0298: The Power of Appeal is Still Extremely Strong_2 After inspecting the collected items one by one, Qi Tian finally set his sights on the fragments of meteorites from outer space that he had found on Yi Lian Mountain. These objects should be a kind of natural treasures, and they should fetch a decent price. However, before selling, Qi Tian intended to do some research to prevent being deceived and having them bought at a low price. Moreover, he needed to ascertain that selling these items in Wanjie City would not infringe on anyone’s rights or provoke envy.

Qi Tian rested in a hotel for two days to recuperate and listen to the rumors circulating outside, to see if the barefoot man had followed him. Although the probability was extremely low, prevention was always better than cure.

Qi Tian had frequently visited Wanjie City, and while he couldn’t claim to be familiar with it, he was no longer blind as when he first arrived. After leaving the hotel, he went straight to Wanjie Commerce. This company, named after “Wanjie”, was the largest commercial enterprise in Wanjie City and consequently, the most influential presence.

To understand the market price of some natural treasures, visiting Wanjie Commerce was always a safe choice.

Wanjie Commerce was just as crowded as his last visit, with people coming and going. Just as Qi Tian was about to enter, he noticed people gathered around the notice board which had caught his attention last time. Intrigued, he quickly went over.

During the time when Qi Tian had been away from Wanjie City, Wanjie Commerce had posted several notices on the notice board. The latest one was actually another recruitment poster. The implications were simple: Wanjie Commerce and other factions had discovered a new secret realm filled with Spirit Beasts, indigenous inhabitants, and spiritual stone veins. Wanjie Commerce was specifically recruiting cultivators from Wanjie City whose cultivation resources did not exceed the Half-step Golden Core, forming expedition teams to mine spiritual stones in the secret realm.

Qi Tian’s eyes lit up. It was as if he had just fallen asleep, and God gave him a pillow. He was in dire need of spirit stones and Wanjie Commerce was immediately recruiting people to mine spirit stones. It was simply too good to be true.

Without any hesitation, Qi Tian decided to join the expedition team. He easily made his way to the registration point from before and sure enough, there was a long queue of people again.

Throughout the queuing process, through the conversation among cultivators around him, Qi Tian learned about some situations.

Wanjie Commerce actually had its own expedition team. Before the recruitment notice, they had organized a professional expedition team to enter the secret realm with the intention to start mining operations. However, the indigenous people and Spirit Beasts in the secret realm were exceedingly fierce. Due to Heaven and Earth Rules, those whose cultivation realm exceeded the Half-step Golden Core would be annihilated upon entry. As a result, the expedition team’s power was severely limited. In the face of the ferocious indigenous people and Spirit Beasts, Wanjie Commerce’s expedition team was wiped out, with none surviving.

There were many similar cases to that of Wanjie Commerce’s expedition team. Other factions had also organized expeditions, none of which had ended well.

Of course, Wanjie Commerce was not willing to give up the benefits at hand, so they thought of hiring people to replace them in exploring the secret realm. This was not uncommon for both Wanjie Commerce and other factions.

The cultivators of Wanjie City were not too bothered. There were simply too many cultivators in Wanjie City, and the cultivation resources of this land were limited. Often, they had no choice but to risk their lives in competing for resources. If one chose not to take risks, they would have to accept that they would never become stronger in their lifetime. There was no chance that the rulers of Wanjie City would implement any welfare policies benefiting the whole city. It was simply impossible. The norm in the Cultivation World was not to feed the useless. If you had no value, no one would help you.

Wanjie Commerce was quite generous to those willing to join the expedition team. The payment was not a fixed wage, but was instead based on what the explorer managed to harvest in the secret realm, with the profits shared between Wanjie Commerce and the explorer on a fifty-fifty basis. Of course, this was only theoretical. The explorers who wanted to enter the secret realm had to abide by some rules. For instance, they couldn’t bring their own storage equipment and must resorted to purchasing or leasing empty storage equipment from Wanjie Commerce in order to enter the secret realm. Moreover, Wanjie Commerce would also provide equipment for mining spirit stones, all of which cost money.

In addition, if the explorer decided to form a team rather than entering alone, it had to be decided within the team whether the strongest member would charge a commission or protection fee.

Historically in such situations, explorers could usually obtain about 30% of the harvest. This ratio was not considered low. Of course, the premise was that you had to come out alive from the secret realm. If you died, Wanjie Commerce would not compensate for a single low grade spirit stone and all your equipments stored at Wanjie Commerce will be owned by them.

No matter how you looked at it, Wanjie Commerce was sure to be the biggest profit maker in this adventure frenzy. Even if all the explorers died in the secret realm, they wouldn’t lose anything. Instead, they would make a fortune.

Qi Tian inwardly lamented the shady nature of the venture, but he had no intention of backing down. On one hand, he needed spirit stones. On the other hand, he was confident that Wanjie Commerce wouldn’t be able to profit much from him. Moreover, he had sufficient faith in his own strength, otherwise, he wouldn’t dare to risk his life.

The queue moved quickly, and soon it was Qi Tian’s turn.

Wanjie Commerce first signed an agreement with Qi Tian, indicating that he would join the expedition team. Then, they asked Qi Tian to hand over his storage equipment, whether it was a storage bag, storage ring, or even a Spirit Beast Bracelet, all were not allowed.

Qi Tian had no choice but to take off the oSpirit Beast Bracelet and storage bag. He first released Hu Niu from the Spirit Beast Bracelet, then handed them all to Wanjie Commerce for temporary safekeeping. There wasn’t anything particularly valuable in his storage bag. The contents probably matched what would be expected from a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator bold enough to risk his life.

Afterwards, Qi Tian rented a storage bag from Wanjie Commerce, transferring items that he might need from his own storage bag and placing them in the rented storage bag. Next, under the guidance of a Wanjie Commerce staff member, he moved towards the gathering place of the expedition team.

As one of the most powerful factions in Wanjie City, Wanjie Commerce had immense pull. Already there were around two to three thousand Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators gathered in a square, all seeking to gamble on an adventure in the secret realm.

The place was bustling like a marketplace, with numerous people loudly recruiting members and forming teams, while others loudly announced their credentials in the hopes of being recruited by a powerful team.

Since entering the square, many teams had hailed Qi Tian, inviting him to join. The cultivation level he showed matched his actual level at the Foundation Establishment seventh level, which was fairly impressive in the square. If he was a Half-step Golden Core, he would likely be fought over for his skills. If he was only at the Foundation Establishment first level, he would likely be ignored.

Qi Tian had not decided whether to join a team or act alone. He was more inclined to act alone or to form his own team rather than joining one led by others, as he harbored too many secrets and would rather they weren’t exposed.

At that moment, Qi Tian saw some Wanjie Commerce personnel selling items at the edge of the square. His interest piqued, he hurried over to the stalls, intending to purchase items he might need in the secret realm. However, he didn’t have many spirit stones in his storage bag, and it would be inconvenient to retrieve more spirit stones from the Heavenly Dao Engine’s storage chamber in public. Therefore, he didn’t buy much this time.