Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 703 - 703 0447 Eight Pill Alliance_2

Chapter 703: Chapter 0447: Eight Pill Alliance_2 Chapter 703: Chapter 0447: Eight Pill Alliance_2 “Take care.” Qi Tian watched Wan Xiaolan leave, then picked up the two ounces of tea that the waiter had brought, and left.

Qi Tian returned to the entrance of Wanjie Commerce, this time nobody called him and he smoothly entered. He headed directly to the counter where they sold all kinds of treasures.

Wanjie Commerce had three main methods of sale. One was counter sales, where all sorts of treasures were displayed for customers to choose. The items sold in this way were usually common, the lowest tier of Wanjie Commerce’s goods, essential the common groceries. The second method was one-to-one customer service sale, where there were dedicated staff to receive customers. They would recommend high-quality treasures based on the customer’s needs. The items at this level were always good, but the prices were definitely on the higher end, something that an average cultivator could not afford. The third method was auction. Most of the auction items were the best of the best, with exceedingly high prices. For most cultivators, it would take many years of scrimping and saving to be able to afford one piece of auction item.

Whenever Qi Tian visited Wanjie Commerce before, he would buy directly from the counter. The treasures sold here basically met his demand, and he was hoping to find what he needed this time as well.

As the largest merchant group in Wanjie City, Wanjie Commerce had tens of thousands of treasures for sale, displayed across hundreds and thousands of counters. There was no glass protection nor display case for these counters. They were all platforms with various treasures displayed directly. All treasures were restrained by array formations. Customers could look at them freely, even touch them, but if they wanted to pick them up, they had to call a Wanjie Commerce clerk.

Qi Tian prepared to find a few treasures useful for both offense and defense. The umbrella of Wu Shenglian had left a deep impression on him. He could ignore the lightning attack released by her umbrella, while any other person would suffer when facing such a treasure.

Qi Tian roamed several floors of Wanjie Commerce without finding any desirable treasure. With his high and exacting standards and abundant spirit stones, average treasures had little chance of catching his eye.

As the time was ticking by and no good harvest was in sight, Qi Tian decided to seek help from Wanjie Commerce’s professional customer service staff to recommend treasures that would suit his needs. In Wanjie Commerce, these customer service staff were called ‘shopping advisers’ or intermediaries.

However, there were certain risks associated with this. Shopping advisers were usually skilled at dealing with people, and during the consultation process, it was highly likely that they would infer information about Qi Tian’s cultivation realm, true battle strength, financial resources, etc. If they simply collected this information for business purposes, it wouldn’t matter, but if they provided this information to Qi Tian’s enemies, it could cause significant trouble. It was with this concern that Qi Tian had refrained from seeking a shopping adviser initially.

But if it was inevitable, even if Qi Tian had many concerns, he would need to seek help from a shopping adviser. The best way to prevent shopping advisers from finding out his true information was to alter his appearance. Although not foolproof, this method could handle most shopping advisers.

Just as Qi Tian was looking around to find a reliable shopping adviser, a broadcast echoed through Wanjie Commerce. This was the result of using a Sound Transmission Array, similar to a modern indoor broadcast system in a shopping mall.

“Dear sirs, at the request of Sir Zhang Jun, Ms. Wang Fengna, and other eight people, we will be holding a temporary auction half an hour later. If interested, we welcome you to the auction location. The ticket price is just one low-grade spirit stone.”

Upon hearing this broadcast, Qi Tian was completely confused. He had never heard of the names Zhang Jun, Wang Fengna, and others before and only felt that they had a lot of influence to have Wanjie Commerce hold a temporary auction for them.

However, Qi Tian was unaware that inside Wanjie Commerce, the place was buzzing with activity. Many cultivators, who were initially choosing treasures, set down their possessions and turned to leave. Some looked excitedly at their Transmission Talismans, transmitting the news to their close friends and family at the earliest opportunity.

Seeing such a spectacle, Qi Tian immediately inferred that Zhang Jun and Wang Fengna’s status must be special. The mere fact that they could prompt Wanjie Commerce to conduct an impromptu auction suggested immense influence. Whatever they intended to auction might turn out to be extraordinary treasures. He thought, if he hadn’t come across them, it wouldn’t matter, but having encountered them, it would be irrational not to check it out.

Qi Tian hastily left Wanjie Commerce and made his way towards the nearby Wanjie Commerce auction house. By the time he reached, he saw a long queue had already formed at the entrance. He swiftly queued at the end of the line and moved forward with the crowd.

Fortunately, the cultivators standing next to Qi Tian were quite talkative. They began discussing the exploits of Zhang Jun, Wang Fengna, and their group without him having to probe further.

Of Zhang Jun’s group of eight, each one was a Gold Core Realm cultivator. Rather than being proficient in combat, they excelled in alchemy, tool refining, and other life skill professions, considered masters in their respective fields. In the early days, they formed an alliance called the Eight Pill Alliance, and refused solicitations from any sects or influences in Wanjie City. There were numerous similar forces in Wanjie City, and even the largest influences didn’t interfere with them. As long as they didn’t attempt to overthrow the major influences, entities like Wanjie Commerce allowed them to operate or fade away on their own terms.

Since the Eight Pill Alliance rejected the solicitations of powerful factions, they had to find their own ways to secure resources for cultivation. Thankfully, being experts in their respective fields, they didn’t hoard their skills selfishly for personal amusement. Instead, they opened their doors for business, accepting a variety of jobs including alchemy and tool refining, which proved quite profitable. However, since they were only a group of eight with limited manpower, and had to maintain their reputation, they chose to be more cautious in accepting jobs, therefore their total business volume wasn’t large. Despite their caution, they were not conservative. Every task assigned by a customer was completed with guaranteed quality and quantity. Many times, they even delivered treasures beyond the customer’s expectations, hence the Eight Pill Alliance held a considerable reputation in Wanjie City. Qi Tian hadn’t heard of them primarily because he hadn’t stayed in Wanjie City long, and his current focus on cultivation and life was not centered around Wanjie City.

Qi Tian hadn’t expected there to be such influential figures in Wanjie City and found himself genuinely looking forward to the items the Eight Pill Alliance would offer at the auction.

The queue moved swiftly, and it was Qi Tian’s turn in no time. The ticket-selling cultivator sitting behind the desk didn’t even raise his head and asked, “One spirit stone for admission and ten for a private room, which one would you like?”

Qi Tian hadn’t expected private rooms to be available and quickly said, “I’ll take a private room.”

After paying ten low-grade spirit stones, Qi Tian received a room card indicating the location and number of the suite. With this card, he could access the private room.

Qi Tian quickly reached his room. From there, he could clearly see everything happening on the auction stage. He glanced toward the stage and saw, sitting in the front row, eight Gold Core powerhouses, both male and female, sitting firm as mountains. Occasionally, cultivators would pass by to greet and pay their respects to them.

Qi Tian, with focused attention, realized that these eight Gold Core Realm powerhouses were the Eight Pill Alliance’s Gold Cores. The man and woman sitting in the middle were the strongest two Gold Cores in the Eight Pill Alliance. The man, Zhang Jun, was at the Eighth Level of the Gold Core Realm while the woman, Wang Fengna, was a peak Late Gold Core Stage Seventh Level powerhouse. Both were formidable figures in Wanjie City. No wonder the Eight Pill Alliance could maintain its relatively independent position and command such respect from Wanjie Commerce.