This was indeed their first time meeting Ling Changqing. Previously, they had always dealt with Ling Qiyue, or occasionally Tang Qiu Yao.

They had already found Ling Qiyue stunning enough, but they never expected this handsome, black-clad youth before them—with his red lips, white teeth, and cold, austere temperament—to be even more exceptional. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

’How fortunate the Ling Family is to have produced such an extraordinarily talented youth!’

’Perhaps... during the upcoming negotiations, we should consider offering the Ling Family more favorable terms?’

’After all, a family with such immense potential, one that might even become a Nascent Soul power, is worth our organization’s investment.’

Ling Changqing smiled. "Fellow Daoists, you exaggerate. The greatest commerce associations in Yuzhou stand behind you. What kind of prodigies haven’t you seen? These meager skills of mine are truly not worth mentioning."

Yu Dongyang offered a few more perfectly-timed compliments, and the three of them naturally transitioned to the main topic.

"...Fellow Daoist Ling, our Illusory Treasure Pavilion can provide your esteemed family with resources up to a quota of 10,000 Middle Grade Spirit Stones annually. This includes various Third Grade and Quasi Rank Four Spirit Medicine and Spiritual Herb raw materials, Array Talismans, Mechanical Puppets, Spiritual Treasures, and so on.

Fifty percent of that amount must be exchanged for specialty resources from the Feiyu Sea Region, and they must be resources of at least the Third Grade standard.

If your family feels this quota is insufficient, we can increase it by another 10,000 Middle Grade Spirit Stones, as long as you can trade for it with Third Grade and Quasi Rank Four specialty resources..."

Yu Dongyang unhurriedly laid out the terms of cooperation.

To put it bluntly, when a power wanted to purchase enough Cultivation Resources to promote its own development, it wasn’t a problem that could be solved simply by having Spirit Stones.

Take these three super-commerce associations, for example. For any resources that could be purchased with Spirit Stones, there were rather strict limits on quantity and variety; they wouldn’t let you just buy up everything in stock.

Most of the time, the Spirit Stone price was just a reference standard; many powers preferred to barter.

Of course, Spirit Stones themselves were a high-value resource, but they weren’t considered particularly scarce. This was especially true in the territories of major powers, where Spirit Stone Veins of various grades were not uncommon.

This was actually easy to understand. In Ling Changqing’s previous life, so-called international currency was, to put it bluntly, just a pile of paper. How could it compare to tangible resources like grain, minerals, oil, and gas?

Thus, in international trade, any country with half a brain preferred to accept tangible resources rather than a pile of green paper that could devalue at any moment.

In the Cultivation Realm, however, resource trading between different powers involved even more considerations.

An unwritten rule, tacitly understood among the major powers, was to suppress the development of middle and lower-tier powers, preventing them from rising and growing into higher-level forces as much as possible.

High-level Cultivation Resources were like certain high-tech, precision machinery from Ling Changqing’s previous life—no matter how much money you offered, you couldn’t buy them. People wouldn’t even give you the time of day.

"...Alright. The Ling Family will require 20,000 Middle Grade Spirit Stones’ worth of Cultivation Resources from your pavilion annually. As for the payment method, we’ll do it your way."

Ling Changqing gave his reply nonchalantly.

For an established Golden Core power, a trade quota worth 20,000 Middle Grade Spirit Stones was no small sum.

However, given the Ling Family’s resources, they could easily handle this quota. In fact, it still wasn’t enough.

Yu Dongyang was slightly taken aback. He thought for a moment before smiling.

"I almost forgot, your family is a great clan that controls an entire sea region. Your resources probably aren’t much less than a Nascent Soul power’s, are they?

How about this: we’ll add another 10,000 Middle Grade Spirit Stones to the quota. Seventy percent of it will need to be paid for with specialty resources!"

"Acceptable."

Ling Changqing nodded and turned his gaze to She Qinghua, who was sitting to the side.

She Qinghua pursed her lips and said gently,

"Our terms of cooperation are essentially the same as the Illusory Treasure Pavilion’s. A quota of 30,000 Middle Grade Spirit Stones annually. I wonder if your family can handle it?"

"Acceptable."

Ling Changqing nodded again, without the slightest hesitation.

The two of them couldn’t help but look at each other in bewilderment. After a long moment, Yu Dongyang sighed with a hint of emotion.

"It seems the Ling Family’s resources are even more substantial than we imagined. In that case, the scale of your cooperation with the Xingyun sun Commerce Association... must be even larger, right?"

"That? Heh..."

Ling Changqing smiled but said nothing. No one here was a fool; some things didn’t need to be spelled out.

She Qinghua said thoughtfully, "In that case, our Gathering Sea Pavilion branch can hold one auction every year in the Changqing Continent Marketplace.

At each auction, there will be no fewer than one hundred rare treasures and resources, primarily Third Grade. What do you think, Fellow Daoist?"

"Excellent. Let’s settle on that!"

A smile spread across Ling Changqing’s face. This was indeed something the Ling Family currently needed.

"Yes, our Illusory Treasure Pavilion can also hold regular auctions. Moreover, if you have any special needs in the future, Fellow Daoist, feel free to discuss them with me in person."

Yu Dongyang added.

Ling Changqing also agreed with a smile. Having all three super-commerce associations willing to build a good relationship with the Ling Family was naturally a blessing he couldn’t have asked for.

As for the specialty resources they required, Ling Changqing figured he could gather enough just by going out to sea twice a month and firing up his furnace for a few rounds of alchemy.

Of course, with the grand development plan of the entire family at stake, Ling Qiyue couldn’t possibly throw the entire burden onto Ling Changqing alone. The other Ling Family disciples and Elders would have to do their part as well.

After they talked for a while longer, Yu Dongyang tentatively proposed that the Ling Family could outsource some of the Feiyu Sea Region’s high-value mines, Third Grade Spirit Fields, and Cave Mansion Halls, entrusting their operation to the two commerce associations. The profits would be settled with the Ling Family once a year.