The pavilion was completely silent. Xu’s death was quick and clean, which caused Lu Tao’s eyes to narrow. Fear filled his heart as he looked at Meng Hao, who sat there looking quite dignified.
It wasn’t just him. The well-dressed lady gave Meng Hao a penetrating look, and in her heart, she realized that this was not a person to provoke.
The middle-aged man with the flagon of alcohol stopped drinking for a moment; his eyes narrowed and filled with a sharp look. The disguised Cultivator of the late Foundation Establishment stage slowly lifted his head to look at Meng Hao. Hesitation seemed to blossom in his heart as he tried to analyze Meng Hao’s Cultivation base.
As for the woman who was in disguise, she glanced at Meng Hao for a moment, and then looked away.
“If there are no further disturbances, then we can begin our secret meeting,” said old man Qingshan slowly. He looked at Meng Hao with a friendly expression. “All of you made contact with the Secret Trade Alliance in the State of Clear Skies. If you do business here, I can serve as a witness. You can proceed without any reservations. If any problems occur, the Secret Trade Alliance will take responsibility. Now, I would like to invite all of the Fellow Daoists to begin business.” He spoke in a tone you would use with people of the same generation. Actually, Meng Hao’s actions just now had not just caused the others to be frightened. This old man was somewhat in awe of him too.
When he finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve, and a copper furnace inlaid with eight golden dragons flew out. It landed directly in the center of the pavilion.
“Fellow Daoists,” said Lu Tao, clasping hands in salute to the others, “please allow me to go first this time.” He waved his right hand and a jade slip appeared, which then flew into the copper furnace that old man Qingshan had just placed in the middle of them all.
“This is a list of all the items I’m willing to trade today. There’s also a portrait inside. Fellow Daoists, if any of you see this person in the coming days, please send me a message with the information. I will repay you with a chunk of stone from the Lightning Fringe Mountains.” He said nothing more.
After this, the well-dressed, beautiful lady gave a slight smile and produced a jade slip. Without a word, she sent it into the copper furnace. The items she required as well as could offer for trade were all listed in the jade slip. Anyone who was interested would contact her.
This secret meeting was really just a small-scale hosted trade session. After all, most of the participants were not locals, and needed to be prudent when dealing with strangers, especially in business. Thus, the Secret Trade Alliance came to be. They would organize similar meetings throughout the Southern Domain, all presided over by a third party who could bear witness.
Soon, it was Meng Hao’s turn. He thought for a moment. He actually wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but he pulled out a jade nonetheless. After branding it with some Spiritual Sense he tossed it into the furnace. He had left a single message inside; what was the Black Sieve Sect up to, and how dangerous was their invitation?
It didn’t take long for the eight participants to place their jade slips into the furnace. Old man Qingshan lifted his right hand and flashed an incantation gesture toward the furnace. A droning sound arose, and within the furnace an intangible flame came into being. The jade slips inside began to melt, and as they did, the eight golden dragons on the surface of the copper furnace began to squirm as if they were alive. Mist poured out from them, instantly beginning to envelop everyone present.
Meng Hao’s heart flip-flopped. Although he didn’t resist, he maintained the utmost vigilance.
After the mist had completely covered him, everything grew quiet. Ahead of him, he caught sight of eight glowing globes of light; it was as if he had been separated into his own area away from everyone else. Information began to pour into his mind. There were lists of dozens of available medicinal pills, magical items, and miscellaneous goods, as well as various descriptions of items desired for purchase.