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He glanced at Jian Yitong and was struck by the sight of the old man no longer exchanging flirtatious glances with the voluptuous female cultivator but sitting upright in apparent confusion.

It seemed he too did not understand why a straightforward Golden Core cultivator meeting had suddenly been dubbed the so-called Hidden Mountain Gathering.

Chu Xuan surveyed the other cultivators without betraying his thoughts, noticing a fleeting emotion in some eyes that mirrored his own.

However, these signs were swiftly concealed. After all, they were all cultivators who had achieved the Golden Core stage, well-practiced in controlling their emotions.

The burly man continued, "Perhaps some of you wish not to join the Hidden Mountain Gathering, and that is fine. You only need to swear not to disclose the existence of it and you may leave."

"Of course, the oath you take is not a heart-devouring oath but one that I dictate," he added, producing a talisman paper with something inscribed on it.

Chu Xuan raised an eyebrow.

Making a heart-devouring oath oneself and abiding by an oath set by another were entirely different matters. Sorcerers had numerous ways to circumvent self-imposed heart-devouring oaths, but an oath imposed by another left no loopholes.

The twelve Golden Core cultivators fell into silence, yet none rose to leave.

Seeing this, the burly man smiled and said, "Good, then let\'s officially begin this session of the Hidden Mountain Gathering. Let me introduce myself first; my codename is Black Chess. I organize each meeting of the Hidden Mountain Gathering, and I will notify you of the specific times and places through the Hidden Mountain Jade," he said, holding up the jade slip. "Here, this little trinket."

Black Chess smiled again, "Oh, and any member who fails to attend five consecutive meetings will be assumed dead. Let\'s start the introductions from you," Black Chess directed, turning to the person on his left.

The man, lean and wiry, responded calmly, "Codename, Flying Fish."

After him, the next person stated, "Sky Stone."

One by one, codenames were announced. Jian Yitong\'s codename was "righteousness," a choice that seemed ironic considering his earlier lascivious demeanor.

When it was Chu Xuan\'s turn, he simply stated his codename and fell silent.

Heartless.

That was the codename he had chosen for himself, aptly reflecting his persona.

He meticulously memorized the codenames of all present, ensuring he knew each participant clearly.

"Alright, let\'s begin the trading," Black Chess said with a smile. "Everyone, please announce the items you wish to trade. Whether it\'s one-on-one or one-to-many exchanges, that\'s up to you."

Flying Fish immediately responded, "A mid-grade magic treasure, named the Mystical Mirror. It can delay the Spiritual Qi of an opponent. The price is forty thousand small spiritual stones."

Sky Stone added, "A mid-grade Golden Core spiritual secret technique, the Soul Vortex. It has three levels, and upon mastering the third, one can devour an opponent\'s soul. I ask for sixty thousand small spiritual stones."

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One by one, items were placed on the long table, each enveloped in Spiritual Qi.

Chu Xuan listened with keen interest. However, after calculating his resources, he realized he could afford only one of these items. The price of magic treasures and secret techniques skyrockets upon entering the Golden Core path.

He recalled Shangguan Feng and Zhang Wei, both Golden Core cultivators who had not been targeted by either the Hundred Refinements Sect or the Heaven Burning Sect.

Perhaps their ability to escape amidst chaos and live luxuriously within the territory of the Hundred Sects Alliance was partly due to their substantial familial wealth. Those with scant resources naturally lacked power, and predators focused on fatter sheep, allowing the likes of them to escape and thrive.

Chu Xuan continued to listen, noting that some were trading special treasures from the Heaven Burning Sect. Perhaps these were Golden Core cultivators from that sect.

The Hidden Mountain Gathering was indeed intriguing, with Golden Core cultivators from the Heaven Burning Sect and the Hundred Refinements Sect coming together for mutual benefit.

Suddenly, a voice rang out, "Information, a bounty from the Feather Transformation Heaven Palace. This bounty was issued directly by the Feather Transformation Heaven Palace to the Nascent Soul elders of the major sects in the Northern Cold, Southern Wildness, Eastern Border, and Western Land. Most Golden Core cultivators are unaware of it. The reward is... the corpses of three Nascent Soul stage cultivators."

After these words, all eyes turned toward the speaker.

Chu Xuan\'s eyes flickered with interest. The person who spoke was codenamed "White Water." His appearance and aura were quite ordinary, so Chu Xuan hadn\'t paid much attention to him before. But now, he understood that this man was far from simple.

Feather Transformation Heaven Palace, which Chu Xuan had researched alongside the Nether Dao Sect, was the supreme ruler of the Mystic Azure Realm, unmatched by any other.

Mystic Azure Realm was a cultivation star known to the lower-tier cultivators simply as Mystic Azure Realm. To the more powerful cultivators, it was referred to as Mystic Azure Star.

Feather Transformation Heaven Palace dominated the Central Continent of Mystic Azure Star, where the Spiritual Qi was richest. It largely ignored the other forces on the star, adopting a hands-off approach.

The Nether Dao Sect was once a colossal sect that stood shoulder to shoulder with Feather Transformation Heaven Palace. However, one day, the ancestral ground of the Nether Dao Sect vanished without a trace, leading to the sect\'s downfall.

Feather Transformation Heaven Palace then absorbed the "remnants" of the Nether Dao Sect, solidifying its position as the absolute dominator of Mystic Azure Star.

Historically, Feather Transformation Heaven Palace rarely imposed any demands on other sects. Yet, why had they suddenly issued a bounty now?

The bounty offered was even the corpses of three Nascent Soul cultivators, whose bodies were undecayed, with their potent life force entirely locked within.

These three Nascent Soul corpses could be used in corpse refinement, puppet crafting, or even as cauldrons, offering endless possibilities.

With the announcement of this bounty, all sects would undoubtedly be driven into a frenzy. Every Golden Core present surely harbored covetous thoughts.

As expected.

As soon as White Water finished speaking, Black Chess, Flying Fish, and Sky Stone, among others, all turned their attention towards him.

"I wish to hear this piece of information," declared Black Chess immediately.

"So do I," another chimed in.

"Seconded," echoed a third.

Chu Xuan also voiced his agreement.

In a mere moment, all twelve Golden Cores in the room expressed their desire to hear the information.

White Water held up a finger, "Ten thousand small spiritual stones per person, or the equivalent."

With a sweep of his spiritual sense, Chu Xuan transferred ten thousand small spiritual stones into a low-grade storage bag and tossed it over. The other cultivators did the same without hesitation.

Once the payments were settled, White Water calmly disclosed, "The bounty issued by Feather Transformation Heaven Palace targets two resurrected prodigies of the Nether Dao Sect. The first, Overlord Shang Tianjue. The second, Shang Xingchen the Ghost Dragon."

Upon hearing this, the room was filled with astonishment.

The Nether Dao Sect? Two resurrected prodigies?

A spark of realization flashed through Chu Xuan\'s mind, instantly recalling the underground ruins in the Cloud Mist Mountains. That place was the Ghost Palace of the Nether Dao Sect.

Could it be that cultivators from the past era of the Nether Dao Sect had emerged from there?

White Water continued, "As you may know, the Nether Dao Sect comprises four palaces: Ghost Palace, Gu Palace, Corpse Palace, and Blood Palace. These palaces are distributed throughout Mystic Azure Star, including both true and false palaces. The Ghost Palace in the Misty Mountains a few years ago was one such false palace.

Feather Transformation Heaven Palace\'s diviners have foreseen a potential resurgence of the Nether Dao Sect, led by either Shang Tianjue or Shang Xingchen, both of whom vanished around five hundred years ago when the sect was annihilated."

White Water stated evenly, "The bounty from Feather Transformation Heaven Palace is clear: find them, dead or alive, and bring them to the gates of Feather Transformation Heaven Palace in the Central Continent."