Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

The rent for ten shops was five thousand a year, so a ten-year lease would cost fifty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

It might not have sounded like much, but to place such a heavy wager before seeing any returns... Weren’t they afraid of losing their entire investment?

Du Huating’s gaze on Liu Hongye was filled with shock and disbelief. ’Has this guy gone mad?’

”Hahaha, excellent! In a moment, fellow Daoist, you can go to the Riverfront of Grace and pick out your shops. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.” Song Changsheng paid no mind to what Liu Hongye was thinking and readily agreed.

But in his heart, he knew that based on his projections, it was basically impossible for them to lose money as long as they managed the shops properly. In fact, they stood to make a considerable profit.

If not for the Song Clan’s limited power, he would never have put so many shops in a prime location up for lease.

Seeing the two come to an agreement and claim ten shops, Du Huating and Yu Cheng Mountain grew anxious. They quickly claimed the remaining two shops. Profit or loss, they had to grab them before they were all gone.

And with that, all twelve shops were divided between the parties.

Song Changsheng beamed, chuckling as he cupped his hands. ”Congratulations, fellow Daoists. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.”

”Hmph,” Yu Cheng Mountain snorted, turning his head away. No matter how profitable the Marketplace became, they were the ones getting the short end of the stick.

Song Changsheng paid him no mind. ’He was given an opportunity and failed to seize it. He’ll have no one but himself to blame in the future.’

”Fellow Daoists, you may now proceed to the Riverfront of Grace to select your shops. You can move in on a day of your choosing. Although there is only a Tier Two High-Grade Array set up there for now, my clan is confident in our ability to ensure your safety.”

Song Changsheng’s tone brimmed with confidence. He wouldn’t have dared to start this venture if he wasn’t sure he could pull it off.

The Defense Array at the Riverfront of Grace was the Heavenly Net Covering Water Formation, which he had set up himself. It used the Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifact, the Heaven-Encompassing Net, and the Tier Two High-Grade Artifact, the Covered Water Seal, as its Array Hubs. Combining offense, defense, and entrapment, it could easily hold off three to five Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Moreover, he had also left the Black Star Ship there. With support from the Quasi-Celestial Ship, the Marketplace was as impregnable as a fortress unless a Purple Mansion Cultivator intervened personally!

The others remained noncommittal. If the Song Clan couldn’t even guarantee safety, they would have long since overthrown them and taken over the project themselves.

”By the way, Fellow Daoist Song,” Du Huating suddenly said, ”will the auction house be accepting items on consignment?”

Liu Hongye froze, then cursed himself internally. ’How could I not have thought of that?’ The Liuyun Sect’s predecessors were exiles from the north and still possessed some of their old treasures, but they were short on Spirit Stones.

They had been scraping by, but hiring the Song Clan to break the recent stalemate had depleted most of their Spirit Stone reserves. He was already planning to sell off some of the Sect’s heirlooms.

’Since I have to sell them anyway, an auction will surely yield the greatest profit.’

At this thought, he quickly added, ”I have the same intention.”

The more treasures featured in the auction, the better it was for the Song Clan, so Song Changsheng naturally wouldn’t refuse. He smiled. ”Of course. Just bring any treasures you wish to consign directly to the auction house. As long as they pass appraisal, they can be included. We only charge a ten percent commission.”

Joy flashed in both their eyes. They cupped their hands at Song Changsheng before departing in high spirits.

’They’re so happy about selling off their assets,’ Song Changsheng thought, shaking his head with a look of feigned disappointment.

He, of course, didn’t stop to consider who the main culprit responsible for their situation was.

After seeing them off, the jubilant Song Changsheng clasped his hands behind his back, humming a little tune as he leisurely strolled to the Clan Treasure Vault.

For this upcoming auction, the Song Clan had taken out a large number of their most valuable treasures, including no small amount of Tier Three Spirit Medicines and ores.

With the auction just around the corner, he naturally had to come and check on things to ensure nothing went wrong...

Time flew by, and the date of the auction rapidly approached. Those paying attention noticed that Ling Province had become much livelier than before.

This was especially true at the Riverfront of Grace, where the major inns were already overflowing. The Song Clan had to hastily expand the accommodations just to prevent the Cultivators arriving for the auction from having to sleep in the open.

Song Changsheng also arrived at the Marketplace ahead of time with a large contingent of elites to personally oversee operations.

Though the Marketplace was still in its infancy, it was already taking on a considerable scale. In addition to the auction house, dozens of other shops had already opened for business.

These included, but were not limited to, eateries, taverns, inns, and shops for Artifact Refining and Pills.

The shops displaying the Silver Moon Clan Emblem were the most numerous and occupied the best locations. They belonged to the masters of this place: the Song Clan.

Next came the Liuyun Sect, who had snapped up ten shops at once. And since they had been the first to choose, their locations were second only to those of the Song Clan.

After them was the Wang Clan. As allies of the Song Clan, Song Changsheng had naturally not treated them unfairly, reserving five shops for them.

Finally, there was the Martial Spirit Sect. Due to Du Huating’s hesitation, they only had two shops, and their locations were rather remote.

At first, Du Huating had consoled himself with the thought that if business turned out to be poor, their losses would be the smallest.

But on the very first day of business, Du Huating was filled with regret. The popularity of this auction had far surpassed their expectations. With three days still remaining before the auction’s official start, the Marketplace had already gathered over a thousand Cultivators from all corners of the world.

Perhaps this number was still a far cry from the crowds at Liuyun Marketplace.

But the River of Grace Marketplace was just getting started! As long as it was run properly, surpassing Liuyun Marketplace was only a matter of time.

The more he thought about it, the more Du Huating regretted his decision. He could only comfort himself with the private thought: ’This is all temporary. Once the Sect Leader breaks through to the Purple Mansion realm, everything will change.’