Beast Taming Clan: I Have a Jade Book

Chapter 1515: Chapter 1092: Xingyuan Appears

Under the light of the setting sun, Ye Jingcheng descended from Puppet Mountain. Now that he knew the specific reasons, he felt somewhat relieved. At the very least, he wasn’t completely in the dark anymore. Looking at the distant market, a long-lost desire to stroll through it unexpectedly welled up within him.

After all, he calculated that it had been over sixty years since he last visited. His previous visit a few days ago had been too rushed due to the Hegu Sect’s matters. Disguising himself as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he walked into the market. Compared to before, the number of cultivators in the Xiaoshan Market had decreased significantly.

The entire market had become rather deserted, and the bustling atmosphere of the past had faded considerably. The pedestrians on the street hurried about, lacking their former sense of leisure. It seemed they were all somewhat fearful of the new Mansion Master.

However, to Ye Jingcheng’s gratification, the Celestial Sand Treasure Pavilion, the Array Pavilion, and the Celestial Dust Tavern were all enjoying excellent business. While not entirely packed to the brim, there was at least a continuous stream of customers coming and going. Occasionally, he would overhear snippets of conversation praising the Ye Family, prompting him to nod in even greater relief.

Unlike other families, the Ye Family strictly trained their Commerce Hall members. To earn a salary from the Commerce Hall, one had to pass at least five trials set by Ye Jingfu. These were the trials of greed, Proud, Arrogant, stupid, and Mourn. Therefore, the family members working here might not have profound Cultivation, but they gave all cultivators face and treated them with the utmost respect. Among the various shops that relied on their family’s prestige and put on airs, the Ye Family’s shops naturally stood out.

Not to mention, the status of the Ye Family’s various Spiritual Children and the strong development of their respective Hall Entrances had elevated the overall standard of the family’s shops. Six years ago, the Ye Family had arranged for many members to come to the Central Domain. These members weren’t just sent to develop Tianshu Mansion and Wangqing Prefecture; many remained in Xiaoshan Prefecture as well.

Of course, to the Ye Family, these were merely minor profits. True stability for the Ye Family would only arrive when they could genuinely claim a share of the market’s profits after the Nascent Soul grand assembly concluded.

After communicating with Xuan Kui True Monarch, he now clearly understood the main sources of income for a Nascent Soul Power within the market. The shops rewarded and distributed by the Righteous Sect, as well as the opening of Spirit Mountains nearby, were only a very small part of it. The real bulk of the profits came from all the shop rents in the market and the Spirit Stones collected as entry fees. Additionally, there were the Spirit Stones from renting stalls in the Independent Cultivator Square. The Nascent Soul Power could split all of these with the Righteous Sect.

In fact, if a Nascent Soul Power had sufficient strength and influence, according to the Profound Puppet Sect, they could claim up to sixty percent. It was no wonder that the other Nascent Soul Powers never considered opening their own independent markets; after all, they already monopolized the lion’s share of this market’s profits.

This also made it much easier to understand why the Golden Core Grand Competition was used to redistribute the Southern Wilderness Province. The various factions were already forbidden from attacking each other. Without such rules in place, probably no Nascent Soul Clan would be willing to remain stationed at the borders. After all, even though the Ye Family invested a massive amount of manpower and resources, their actual profits couldn’t compare to the passive income of just collecting Spirit Stones. These markets were like a stable Upper-Grade Spirit Stone Vein, providing a continuous, endless supply of Spirit Stones.

Among them, Tianshu Mansion’s Spirit Stone revenue ranked in the top three within the Southern Wilderness Province. Therefore, Ye Jingcheng still wanted to give taking over Tianshu Mansion a try. As for exposing his Spirit Beasts, in his view, they were likely going to be exposed very soon anyway.

Ye Jingcheng met Xiao Congrong in the Treasure Pavilion. Compared to before, Xiao Congrong had become much more composed. He could now be considered the most powerful among the local cultivators of the Celestial Sand Sect.

However, to Ye Jingcheng’s surprise, Xiao Congrong hadn’t inserted any local members of the Celestial Sand Sect into the Restaurant’s staff; instead, there were even more Ye Family Cultivators working there. Furthermore, according to the reports from the Ye Family Cultivators, Xiao Congrong was performing better than ever before.

He was no longer greedy. The only issue was that he was quite haughty and couldn’t help but show off, personally hosting numerous trade fairs. However, the Treasures exchanged in these trades were all Tier One and Tier Two Cultivation Resources. Many of these resources ended up in the hands of the Celestial Sand Sect’s original cultivators. Although the Ye Family was aware of this, they didn’t expose him. Ye Jingcheng even gave him a Tier Three breakthrough Pill Pattern Spirit Pill before heading toward the Array Pavilion.

Ye Xingliu was still in the Array Pavilion, studying an Array.

“Third Uncle,” Ye Jingcheng greeted.

Through his perception, he sensed that Ye Xingliu had also broken through to the Purple Mansion Peak, and the time left before he advanced to the Golden Core was clearly not long. He had a very good chance of becoming the Ye Family’s tenth Golden Core.

“Jingcheng, you’re here. How is the situation with the Hegu Sect?” Ye Xingliu was clearly paying attention to the state of the market as well.

“I still have to wait until I meet Mansion Master Xiao and Prince Wang,” Ye Jingcheng replied. “However, there’s no need to take the initiative to visit them this time.”

This wasn’t Ye Jingcheng being stubborn, but rather because he already understood the ins and outs of the situation. Visiting them now would only lower his status. This was entirely different from Mansion Master Lu, whom he was meeting for the first time, and who likely didn’t harbor any ill intent toward the Ye Family and the Celestial Sand Sect. But in the case of Mansion Master Xiao and Prince Wang, regardless of whether they were acting on Xingyuan True Monarch’s orders, they had never communicated with the Ye Family when retreating from Xiaoshan Prefecture. Nor had they explained the situation regarding the Nascent Soul Powers. Instead, they had tested the Ye Family time and time again. First, they probed the Ye Family using a Tier Five Spirit Gathering Array. Even after they found out the truth, they didn’t proactively share any information about the Nascent Soul grand assembly, nor did they even invite the Ye Family to stay in Wangqing Prefecture. Although they might have been wary that the Ye Family were spies and suspicious of their origins, the Ye Family had already made their stance clear beforehand. This behavior amounted to a complete lack of trust.

He didn’t have to wait long. Three days later, Ye Jingcheng received a Transmission. Prince Wang wanted to see him, and the meeting place was set at Lakeside Human World in the Celestial Dust Tavern. Once the appointed time arrived, Ye Jingcheng headed to the Celestial Dust Tavern alone.

As soon as he entered the Restaurant, Ye Jingcheng spotted Prince Wang, who was hiding his identity and observing him. Seeing Ye Jingcheng approach, Prince Wang sent a direct Transmission.

“Qianchen Daoist, see you at Lakeside Human World.”

After Prince Wang said this, he walked toward a private room in the Restaurant on his own. Understanding his intention, Ye Jingcheng proceeded to Lakeside Human World. Upon entering, he found that there were indeed three people waiting inside.

One of them was Prince Wang, Wang Ke Wei, and another was Mansion Master Xiao, Xiao Wankun. The final person was an old Daoist with a head full of white hair. Although his face appeared somewhat aged, his eyes shone as brightly as the stars. He stared at Ye Jingcheng and spoke.

“Junior Brother Xu Huai was absolutely right. You truly are an impressive young man,” Xingyuan True Monarch said, immediately offering praise.

“Senior Xingyuan flatters me too much. I’ve always been rather slow-witted; otherwise, I wouldn’t have nearly failed to keep a simple promise,” Ye Jingcheng said pointedly. The matter regarding the Hegu Sect had definitely been leaked by Mansion Master Xiao and the Xingyuan True Monarch standing before him. In the entire Xiaoshan Prefecture, they were the only ones who possessed such well-informed sources.

“Are you clear on the various factions within the Righteous Sect now?” Noting the hint of anger in Ye Jingcheng’s words, Xingyuan True Monarch didn’t get angry, but rather asked him in return.