After the selected trade applications were marked, Lu Chen did not immediately send Fang Ming away.
Instead, he brought him to a smaller side hall behind the inspection field. Compared to the previous reception hall, this place was quieter. There were no appraisers, no beast formations, and no mortal Gu Masters moving back and forth. Only several jade shelves stood against the wall, each holding information path Gu worms sealed inside transparent crystal boxes.
Lu Chen took out a palm-sized bronze token from one of the shelves.
The token looked ordinary at first glance, but Fang Ming could sense faint information path dao marks inside it. It was not an Immortal Gu, only a mortal Gu arrangement refined into token form, but its structure was neat and stable.
"This is your temporary merchant token," Lu Chen said, handing it over. "From now on, the deals you accept, the offers you post, the goods you sell, the goods you buy, and any dispute records will be stored here. After enough transactions are completed, it can be exchanged for a formal merchant token."
Fang Ming accepted it and sent a trace of immortal essence into the token.
A faint list appeared in his mind.
His current selling applications were already recorded. The inspection result for the Red Junglefowl and Green Junglefowl had also been stored. His public identity was listed as Feng Ming, Rank 6 Gu Immortal, food path beast supplier.
Nothing else.
A clean beginning.
Fang Ming withdrew his immortal essence. "Convenient."
Lu Chen smiled. "Convenience is one of the alliance's greatest products."
He waved his sleeve, and the wall in front of them changed. Layers of light spread across it, forming a vast board filled with moving words. Compared to the jade board from before, this one contained far more information. Selling offers, buying requests, long-term cooperation invitations, material searches, formation purchases, beast group trades, route hiring, and information requests moved in separate columns.
Some rows were bright, meaning they had just been posted. Some were dim, meaning they had remained unanswered for a long time. A few carried red marks, showing urgency.
Fang Ming looked at the board silently.
Earlier, he had used the alliance to sell goods.
Now, he was seeing its greater value.
This board was not merely a place to trade. It showed what people lacked, what they were willing to pay for, which resources were common, which products were scarce, and which demands were urgent enough to raise prices.
For a Gu Immortal who knew how to read it, this was not a board.
It was a map of profit.
Lu Chen stood at the side and did not interrupt. He had seen many new merchants stare at this board with greed in their eyes. Some immediately searched for the highest-paying requests. Some looked only for cheap goods to resell. Some became dizzy from the scale of the information.
Fang Ming did none of that.
His gaze moved steadily from one section to another. He did not rush, nor did he show obvious excitement. Occasionally, he would pause for a few breaths before continuing.
After a while, Fang Ming raised his hand and pointed toward the beast trade section.
"I want to post a buying request."
Lu Chen's smile widened slightly. "What does Brother Feng want to buy?"
"Eagles."
"Specific species?"
"No. Rank 1 to Rank 5. Different species are acceptable. Quantity depends on rank and price."
Lu Chen's eyes moved slightly.
A food path beast seller buying eagles was not strange, but it did show that Fang Ming's interests were not limited to junglefowl. Lu Chen did not ask too deeply. Merchants were allowed to have their own arrangements.
"What price?"
"Ten percent lower than treasure yellow heaven's common price."
Lu Chen laughed. "That is not an attractive price."
"It is not urgent."
"That makes sense."
Lu Chen took out a recording Gu and helped Fang Ming draft the request. Fang Ming listed broad requirements: healthy bodies, no severe hidden injuries, no unstable bloodline mutations, and no species that required extremely rare food. He did not demand rare eagle groups, nor did he request high-quality king beasts. His request was wide, scattered, and patient.
Lu Chen quickly understood the style.
This was not a desperate purchase. It was a net.
If sellers were in a hurry to clear stock, they might accept. If not, the request would simply remain there. Fang Ming would lose nothing.
After the buying request was posted, a new line appeared under Fang Ming's token record.
Buyer request: Eagle-type beasts, Rank 1 to Rank 5, long-term, non-urgent.
Fang Ming looked at it once, then shifted his attention back to the market board.
Lu Chen said, "Brother Feng also raises flying beasts?"
"I may need them in the future."
This answer was too simple to extract anything from, so Lu Chen only nodded.
Fang Ming continued browsing.
The more he looked, the clearer Eastern Sea's markets became. Some materials were seasonal. Their price would rise sharply during certain months and then collapse once harvesting began. Some products were common in Eastern Sea but rare in Northern Plains, making them suitable for regional trade. Some goods looked profitable, but the board showed too many sellers and too few buyers.
There were also goods that rarely appeared openly. Once posted, they were immediately taken away.
Those were the real opportunities.
But most of them were not easy to touch.
A few industries were already controlled by powerful merchants or large forces. Dragonfish was one of them. Certain sea ores were another. Several water path resources looked profitable, but the listed sellers were almost all connected to major sea areas or super forces.
Fang Ming did not feel disappointed.
Profit that could be seen by everyone would naturally have owners.
What he needed was not the most profitable industry immediately. He needed industries he could enter without being crushed.
Lu Chen watched him for a while before saying, "Brother Feng has good patience. Many newcomers only look at high prices."
"High prices usually mean high trouble."
"Not always."
"But often enough."
Lu Chen laughed softly. "True."
He pointed toward a section of the board. "For example, look there."
Fang Ming followed his finger.
It was a project invitation. Five Gu Immortals were jointly seeking partners for research involving desolate beasts. The wording was cautious, but the core idea was clear: they wanted to develop a method to create sub-aperture spaces inside desolate beasts, allowing them to store Gu worms and possibly assist in killer move activation.
Fang Ming's gaze stopped.
Lu Chen noticed this. "That project has been there for a while. The idea is bold, but the cost is heavy. Many people are interested, few dare to enter."
Fang Ming read the description carefully.
A sub-aperture for desolate beasts.
To others, this was only a strange research direction. To Fang Ming, it touched something he had already considered long ago.
Desolate beasts were powerful. Their bodies were durable, their strength was terrifying, and their natural defenses were often comparable to strong defensive methods. Yet when facing Gu Immortals of the same rank, they often lost.
The reason was not their bodies.
It was killer moves.
A Gu Immortal could combine Gu worms into immortal killer moves, creating effects far beyond a single Gu. A desolate beast relied mostly on its body, instincts, and innate abilities. Even if it possessed powerful physical advantages, it lacked a system.
But killer moves could be activated by wills.
If a desolate beast had a stable internal space that could store Gu worms, immortal essence, and prepared killer move structures, its weakness would shrink greatly. A Rank 6 desolate beast equipped with one suitable Immortal Gu and a working killer move system might not merely match an ordinary Rank 6 Gu Immortal.
It might surpass one.
Fang Ming had the Second Aperture Gu recipe. That recipe was not the same as this project, but it touched the same broad direction: creating an additional internal foundation. Once he developed enslavement path through his second aperture, this kind of research could become extremely valuable.
For a few breaths, Fang Ming truly wanted to contact the five Gu Immortals behind the project.
Then he withdrew his gaze.
Not now.
His immortal aperture was still mostly empty. His foundation had just begun producing wealth. He had contracts to fulfill, funds to manage, and strength path killer moves to develop. Investing in a long research project before stabilizing himself was putting the cart before the horse.
Lu Chen saw Fang Ming look away and nodded inwardly.
Tempted, but not reckless.
This was another point in Fang Ming's favor.
As they continued browsing, Fang Ming noticed a name in the beast trade section.
Old Immortal Xia Chi.
This person had several listings related to hawks: hawk eggs, young hawks, feeding methods, and occasional requests for wind path and enslavement path materials. The prices were not cheap, but the listings were stable and detailed.
Lu Chen noticed his gaze. "Old Immortal Xia Chi is an enslavement path Gu Immortal. He specializes in hawks. His temper is not bad, but he dislikes people who bargain without sincerity."
Fang Ming nodded. "His goods are stable?"
"Very stable. Among loose immortals, his hawk-raising methods are famous. He is not a top expert, but he has experience."
Experience.
That was exactly what Fang Ming valued.
When he developed enslavement path in the future, he would need beasts, methods, killer moves, and practical knowledge. Buying hawks was only one part of it. A good relationship with someone like Xia Chi might save him years of trial and error.
Fang Ming silently marked the name in his merchant token.
He did not contact Xia Chi immediately.
A name was enough for now.
There were also high-priced requests that Fang Ming ignored after only one glance. Some buyers demanded production location disclosure. Some required repeated inspections of the seller's resource point. Some offered delayed payment after delivery. Some attached harsh compensation clauses that were completely disproportionate to the price.
One request even demanded exclusive supply rights for five years.
Fang Ming's expression did not change, but he crossed those names out in his mind.
Low profit could be accepted.
Loss of control could not.
Lu Chen did not explain these traps to him. He wanted to see whether Fang Ming would notice them himself. When Fang Ming skipped those requests without hesitation, Lu Chen's evaluation rose again.
"Brother Feng seems familiar with dangerous contracts," Lu Chen said.
"I have seen people die from harmless wording."
Lu Chen's smile paused, then became warmer. "That is a good lesson."
Fang Ming did not answer.
His attention moved to another section of the board. This one listed long-term investment projects. Some forces wanted partners to develop islands. Some wanted formations to cultivate rare sea plants. Some wanted capital to establish beast farms. Some offered future profit shares in exchange for methods or materials.
These opportunities were not bad.
But Fang Ming did not need them.
His own immortal aperture had eleven thousand square kilometers of space. Most of it was empty. Before filling his own land, investing heavily in someone else's island was inefficient.
At most, he could study the methods.
Not enter the projects.
As Fang Ming browsed, Lu Chen occasionally added a few sentences. He mentioned which goods were rising this season, which sellers were difficult to deal with, and which buyers had a habit of delaying payment. He did not reveal anything truly confidential, but even these surface details had value.
The Trade Merchant Alliance's value became clearer in Fang Ming's mind.
It was not a sword.
It was not a shield.
It was a pair of eyes.
Through it, he could see where immortal essence stones were flowing.
After some time, Lu Chen spoke in a more casual tone, "Brother Feng deals in food path beasts, so there is one person you may hear about sooner or later."
Fang Ming looked at him.
"Lady Yu Lan. Rank 7 Gu Immortal. She specializes in food path beasts, especially dragonfish. In the dragonfish business, she is one of the dominant figures. Some say she controls nearly twenty percent of the dragonfish trade that passes through the open markets."
Fang Ming's gaze moved slightly.
Twenty percent.
That was not simply wealth. That was market influence.
If such a person reduced supply, prices would rise. If she released stock, prices would fall. Even treasure yellow heaven could be affected by someone at that scale.
Lu Chen continued, "There is also Lord Han Ji, a Rank 7 Gu Immortal who trades year Gu. He is not as dominant in his field as Lady Yu Lan is in dragonfish, but his wealth is terrifying. Some say his business scale can rival weaker Rank 8 Gu Immortals."
Fang Ming listened silently.
Rank 7 merchants could reach this point.
Then Rank 8?
Lu Chen seemed to know what he was thinking and smiled. "Of course, true Rank 8 existences are different. At that level, they are no longer merely merchants. Their immortal apertures are like countries. Complete ecosystems, countless resource points, mortal populations, Gu Masters, and sometimes even new immortals emerging from within."
Fang Ming's expression remained calm, but inwardly, he compared it to himself.
His aperture was large.
Very large for Rank 6.
But it was still empty.
The junglefowl regions had only filled the first corner of his foundation. Compared to a mature Rank 8 aperture economy, his current state was like possessing a huge piece of land with one profitable farm on it.
Potential was not the same as strength.
Land was not the same as economy.
He still had a long path ahead.
As Fang Ming continued reading, another thought moved through his mind.
Money.
No matter how many opportunities he saw, they all required immortal essence stones.
His Copy ability refreshed monthly, but copying Immortal Gu was not free. Letting such an ability sit unused because he lacked money would be foolish. He could sell one or two Gu to Lang Ya land spirit if necessary, but that was only a short-term measure. It solved immediate pressure while reducing future flexibility.
There was also the virtual refinement copy method.
That method was even more tempting.
To copy the effect of an immortal killer move into a single Gu required analyzing the Immortal Gu involved, the supporting mortal Gu, the structure of the killer move, and then compressing that effect into a new Gu. Fang Ming estimated that one attempt could cost around three thousand immortal essence stones.
Three thousand.
For most Rank 6 Gu Immortals, that was an absurd figure.
But Fang Ming did not think it was unreasonable.
If a single Gu could reproduce the effect of an immortal killer move, then in the long run, it could be worth far more than the cost.
The problem was still the same.
Money.
For a moment, Fang Ming felt a very calm urge to rob someone.
Not out of anger.
Not out of impulse.
Simply because robbery was faster.
But the thought passed as quickly as it came.
Now was not the time to create enemies. His merchant identity had just begun. His first contracts had not even been completed. A reckless move for short-term funds could damage a much larger path.
He suppressed the thought and continued browsing.
Lu Chen did not know what Fang Ming had just considered. He only saw that Fang Ming remained calm from beginning to end, neither dazzled by profit nor frightened by large numbers.
After the eagle request was finalized and several names were marked, Fang Ming paid the normal processing fees without bargaining. They were minor costs, not worth wasting breath over. He also thanked Lu Chen plainly, without excessive warmth.
Lu Chen accepted the attitude comfortably.
Some people were generous but careless. Some were cautious but petty. Fang Ming was cautious, but he did not haggle over scraps.
That made him pleasant to work with.
"Brother Feng," Lu Chen said, "your first step here is not small. If these contracts are completed smoothly, I believe your next visit will be much more lively."
Fang Ming stored the merchant token. "Then I should make sure they are completed."
"That is the most important thing."
Lu Chen personally sent him out of the side hall. Outside, the sea wind carried the smell of salt and distant rain. Gu Immortals continued moving between islands, some bringing goods, some carrying contracts, some leaving with disappointed expressions.
Fang Ming glanced back once at the trade board hidden inside the hall.
He had entered with junglefowl.
He left with contracts, a buying request, market information, future contacts, and several tempting opportunities that he could not touch yet.
That was enough.
For now.
After leaving the Trade Merchant Alliance branch, Fang Ming did not immediately return to his aperture. He flew over the sea for some distance, then found a small uninhabited reef island and descended.
The waves struck the black rocks below. Fang Ming stood silently for a while before opening his aperture and entering.
The junglefowl regions were still operating steadily. Eggs were being gathered. Chicks were growing. Feeding formations continued to circulate. Everything was moving according to schedule.
But Fang Ming's attention was no longer on production.
Production created wealth.
Strength protected it.
He sat down in a quiet area of his aperture and took out several Gu worms. His thoughts turned toward Tyrannical Strength Immortal Gu, his Great Strength True Martial Physique, and the strength path dao marks within his body.
Steel Body Strength Immortal Gu was still with Hei Lou Lan.
That limited some options.
But Tyrannical Strength Immortal Gu remained in his hands. Its ability to amplify strength path attacks, killer moves, and even physical strikes suited him extremely well. What he lacked was a proper immortal killer move structure to bring out its value.
Fang Ming closed his eyes.
Trade had opened a path for income.
Now he needed a fist strong enough to keep that path open.
Fang Ming's current Immortal Gu
Steel Body Strength Immortal Gu — Strength path Immortal Gu, currently lent to Hei Lou Lan.
Lesser Human Qi Gu / Counterfeit Human Qi Gu — Adds human qi during ascension, but cannot remove excess human qi.
Tyrannical Strength Immortal Gu — Strength path support Gu that amplifies strength path attacks, killer moves, and physical strikes.
Unfathomable Will Immortal Gu — Defensive Gu against wisdom path, will attacks, and soul interference.
Red Junglefowl Incubation Gu — Food path Immortal Gu used for Red Junglefowl incubation.
Red Junglefowl Raising Gu — Food path Immortal Gu used for feeding, dao mark growth, and rapid maturation of Red Junglefowl.
Green Junglefowl Incubation Gu — True Copy adapted from Red Junglefowl Incubation Gu for Green Junglefowl.
Feed Chicken Gu — Counterfeit Copy of Red Junglefowl Raising Gu; feeds junglefowl and increases food path dao marks, but cannot accelerate growth.