Have you no shame at all

Atop Qingyun Mountain.

Lin Yan saw this scene using his Clairvoyance, nearly crushing the purple grape in his hand!

"Holy crap!"

"These bastards from the Myriad Treasures Chamber of Commerce are truly inhuman!"

When other major powers arrived, the most they did was clear the area.

As long as those rogue cultivators and passersby knew what was good for them, their lives wouldn't be in danger; at worst, they just wouldn't get a share of the spoils.

But the Myriad Treasures Chamber of Commerce? Not only did they refuse to share, they were even snatching food right out of the mouths of those at the bottom!

Utterly shameless!

...

The eastern foothills cliff.

"President, isn't doing this... a bit too greedy?"

"Greedy?"

Qian Sihai sneered, shaking his fat head.

"How can this be called greedy?"

"I am giving them hope."

"Look at them, each one poorer than the last. What's the point of them even living?"

"What I'm selling them isn't magical artifacts or medicinal pills; it's a dream!"

"A dream of ascending to the heavens in a single bound!"

"They should be thanking me."

Qian Sihai looked up at that azure pillar of light, then glanced at the rogue cultivators in the distance, a mocking smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

"A bunch of fools. Things like an Emperor's inheritance—if you weren't born with it, you'll never have it in this lifetime!"

"Pass down my orders: double the prices again!"

"Anyway, they'll just die if they take their silver into the ruins. Might as well give it all to me."

Before his voice even faded, a clear and ringing voice drifted down slowly from above the clouds.

"Fatty Qian, that's enough. If you keep fleecing them, these rogue cultivators will be bled dry by you before they even enter the ruins."

The smile on Qian Sihai's face stiffened as he looked up.

He saw a white-clad figure treading upon the clouds, her robes fluttering like a fairy from the Nine Heavens.

Behind her followed twenty female disciples, equally dressed in white, all beautiful and exuding a deep, composed aura. It was none other than Li Qiushui, the Sect Master of the Biyang Immortal Sect.

Li Qiushui landed on the high platform. Her gaze swept over the mountain of silver piled in front of the counters, then looked at the rogue cultivators frantically buying equipment. Her brows furrowed slightly:

"Taking advantage of others' misfortune and inflating prices—aren't you afraid of ruining the reputation of the Myriad Treasures Chamber of Commerce if word gets out?"

Qian Sihai's smile remained unchanged. He leisurely took a sip of tea, his tone carrying a hint of mockery, "Sect Master Li, you are mistaken. My prices are clearly marked, and I deal fairly with young and old alike. They are willingly paying out of their own pockets, so how can you call it taking advantage of their misfortune?"

"As for your Biyang Immortal Sect, why pretend to be so compassionate?"

"Last year during the drought in Cangwu County, the relief grain you sold was three times the normal price. And the Qi Gathering Pills you sold to the rogue cultivators—don't think I don't know how much yellow dirt was mixed into them."

Li Qiushui's face instantly turned cold, her jade-like fingers unconsciously clenching within her sleeves. "Qian Sihai! Stop spouting such malicious slander!"

"Me, spouting slander?"

Qian Sihai sneered, patting his belly.

"Do you want me to read out loud all the filthy deeds your Biyang Immortal Sect has done?"

"You!"

Li Qiushui trembled with anger but couldn't utter a single word.

Just then, another bone-chilling voice rang out, carrying a sharp sword aura that scraped painfully against everyone's cheeks.

"Noisy!"

Before the voice fell, an azure-gold sword light cleaved through the clouds, landing directly on a massive boulder a hundred zhang in front of the cliff.

As the sword light dispersed, it revealed a slender middle-aged man. He wore plain grayish-white robes, and a longsword hung at his waist. The scabbard was simple and unadorned, while two small characters were carved into the hilt: Qingming.

This was none other than the head of the Qingming Sword Sect, Sword Venerable Qingming.

Sword Venerable Qingming didn't look at anyone. He merely cast an indifferent glance at the noisy market on the mountain path, his brows furrowing slightly.

"A bunch of ants, how dare you make such a racket here!"

"This place is a sanctuary for our quiet cultivation. How can we allow you all to be so loud?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of all the rogue cultivators present changed.

A sanctuary for quiet cultivation?

The Emperor's ruins were an opportunity for everyone. No matter how incredible your Qingming Sword Sect is, you can't just...

Of course, no one dared to voice these thoughts aloud.

Most of the rogue cultivators present were merely at the Qi Condensation realm, with the highest being only at the early Golden Core stage. In front of Sword Venerable Qingming, they were indeed just ants, lacking even the qualifications to retort.

The rogue cultivators gritted their teeth and clenched their fists, but could only lower their heads.

Qian Sihai fanned himself with his folding fan and let out an "Ouch" of mock surprise. "A sanctuary for quiet cultivation? I say, Sect Master Qingming, you must be mistaken, right? This is Qingyun Mountain, the territory of the Heavenly Divination Sect."

"The Heavenly Divination Sect hasn't even mentioned clearing the area, yet your Qingming Sword Sect is already stepping up to drive people away? What, when did your Qingming Sword Sect move its gates to Cangwu County?"

Sword Venerable Qingming turned his head, his indifferent eyes landing on Qian Sihai.

The surrounding temperature suddenly dropped several degrees, but Qian Sihai continued to fan himself with a smiling face.

Both of them were great True Monarchs at the late Nascent Soul stage, so Qian Sihai wasn't afraid of him. Even if Sword Venerable Qingming had grasped a trace of sword intent, Qian Sihai similarly held quite a few treasures in his hands.

In the entire Great Qian Dynasty, no one wanted to clash with the people from the Myriad Treasures Chamber of Commerce.

Because you would never know what kind of treasure the other party could pull out of their storage bag next.

Much less know who they could invite to back them up.

"Hmph!"

Sword Venerable Qingming only gave a cold snort.

Right at this moment, another deep and resonant voice came from the other side of the mountain path. It was as loud as a giant bell, shaking the loose gravel by the roadside until it rustled:

"Fatty Qian isn't wrong about that. This is the Heavenly Divination Sect's territory, and the rightful owners haven't even arrived yet, but some people are already putting on airs."

"But speaking of which, where is that Heavenly Divination Sect Master? Why is there still no sign of him?"

Han Zhentian's mouth curled into a meaningful smile. "With such a grand scene, could it be that he's too afraid to show up?"

As soon as he finished speaking, an unceremonious sneer rang out from the side. "Patriarch Han speaks as if the Heavenly Divination Sect would be afraid of you. I wonder who it was that lost to them during the Three Realms Martial Discussion back then."

Han Tiangang's face instantly darkened.

He whipped his head around and glared at the speaker, who was none other than the Shen Family Patriarch, Shen Wanjun.

Unsuppressible low chuckles immediately broke out all around.

The fact that the Han Family lost to the Heavenly Divination Sect in the Three Realms Martial Discussion had long become an after-dinner joke among the major powers of the Great Qian Dynasty.

A millennium-old aristocratic family had actually lost to a no-name sect that had just opened its gates.

And right now, the master of that no-name sect didn't even dare to show his face.

"Shen, stop your sarcastic remarks!"

"Don't think that just because your Shen Family produced a Spirit Body, you have the right to step on my Han Family. Do I need to spell out exactly how your family got that Spirit Body?"

As soon as this was said, the expressions of the leaders of the major powers present varied.

"The Shen Family actually produced a Spirit Body?"

Sword Venerable Qingming furrowed his brows slightly. The Qingming Sword Sect was far from the capital, so he hadn't known that the Shen Family had produced a Spirit Body.

As top-tier powers, everyone's cultivation methods and resources were largely the same.

At this point, what they competed on was the innate talent and root bone of their disciples.

Now that the Shen Family had produced a Spirit Body, they were guaranteed to have at least a Soul Formation expert in the future, and perhaps even go a step further!

Suddenly, Sword Venerable Qingming smiled.

If the Shen Family merely gained an extra Soul Formation expert, it wasn't something to worry too much about.

But if it was someone above the Soul Formation realm... then the ones who should be anxious were the Imperial Family.

This matter didn't require his Qingming Sword Sect to worry about.

Sword Venerable Qingming didn't care, but someone else was very curious.

Fatty Qian picked his ear, looking as if he were all ears.

"Patriarch Han, tell me, what exactly is going on with the Shen family's Spirit Body?"