Hearing this, both Ji Haotian and Xue'er had their eyes widen in surprise, while Guard Chen just narrowed his gaze.
The young miss of the Jade Cloud Chamber of Commerce main branch, these words represented huge weight in the entire Qingyun Province.
Because this young miss was the daughter of a true Foundation Establishment Realm powerhouse, a behemoth in the entire Great Jing Dynasty!
Even the combined forces of the Baiyun Prefecture and all counties under it couldn't compare to a tenth of the Jade Cloud Chamber of Commerce, having been established hundreds of years ago, nearly as old as the Great Jing Dynasty itself!
Being invited by such an important figure, Ji Haotian naturally felt a little nervous.
But then, the domineering figure of his father and the words he had said to him appeared in his mind, and the turmoil in his heart gradually calmed down.
"I see, please lead the way."
Ji Haotian stood up and cupped his fists, speaking in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant.
The plump man secretly clicked his tongue in wonder, sincerely praising Ji Haotian's composure as he led the way towards the 3rd floor, where the main hall of the Jade Cloud Pavilion's auction house was located.
Naturally, the Jade Cloud Pavilion had two buildings in the Lingshan County City, one was used specifically for their weekly, monthly, and yearly auctions, and one was used for their daily trades.
Along the way, Ji Haotian appeared calm and composed outwardly, but he was constantly pondering the reason behind why the Jade Cloud Chamber of Commerce's young miss had noticed him in his mind.
Entering the main hall, Ji Haotian's gaze immediately fell on a beautiful young woman, looking to be in her early twenties, sitting elegantly on the main seat with her legs crossed.
Her long, blonde hair draped over her shoulder, her eyes full of intrigue as they landed on him, motioning for him to sit in front of her, on the other side of the mahogany table between them.
Ji Haotian instantly realized who this person was.
The daughter of the Jade Cloud Chamber of Commerce's current head, Mu Wanqing!
The Noble Mu Family, as the main power behind the Jade Cloud Chamber of Commerce, was one of the better known noble families in the entire dynasty, and had been holding the position of a dukedom for centuries.
It was undoubtedly among the top ten strongest forces under the Imperial Family in the Great Jing Dynasty.
Mu Wanqing, the youngest daughter of the Noble Mu Family, was well known among the influential powers of Qingyun Province, and this naturally included the three great mansions of Lingshan County.
She had broken through to the Meridian Cleansing Realm at the young age of 20 years, and was said to possess Spiritual Roots from birth, with a chance to enter the Qi Refinement Realm.
Although she was considered to have immense potential in the eyes of smaller forces, for powers at the level of the Jade Cloud Chamber of Commerce which dominated a part of the Qingyun Province, it could only be described as above average, as the true heirs of such factions all possessed Low-Grade Spiritual Roots.
In the Great Jing Dynasty, Spiritual Roots were divided into 4 Grades, from lowest to highest, they were Inferior-Grade, Low-Grade, Mid-Grade, and High-Grade.
Someone possessing Low-Grade Spiritual Roots had the potential to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, while someone with High-Grade Spiritual Roots could even enter the legendary Nascent Soul Realm, which no one had ever touched in the more than a thousand years of Great Jing's history.
In the cultivation world, if a being could enter the peak of the Innate Realm, then they could condense true Spiritual Roots. The prerequisite for that was, of course, to possess First-Grade Talent to even reach the Innate Realm in the first place.
This was exactly why First-Grade Talent was so valued even by powerful forces like the River Cloud Sect, and their direct disciples, like Yun Qingxue, Su Yang's former fiancée, all possessed First-Grade Talent.
However, the Spiritual Roots formed through this method relied entirely on the cultivator's providence and opportunity. Some could only forge Inferior-Grade Spiritual Roots, while some could even directly forge High-Grade Spiritual Roots, though no such individuals had appeared in the Great Jing Dynasty in history.
On the other hand, there were also those like Mu Wanqing, who innately had Spiritual Roots, though she only possessed Inferior-Grade Dual-Elemental Spiritual Roots, and would likely have no chance to go beyond the Qi Refinement Realm in her lifetime without any extraordinary opportunities.
The only difference between such innately formed Spiritual Roots and cultivator forged Spiritual Roots was that the worth of the former was known from the day they were born, while the worth of the latter came to light after they reached the peak of the Innate Realm.
This was considered common knowledge among cultivators who had seen the outside world even if they were only at Body Tempering Realm, and there was a reason behind even that.
It was because the formation of Spiritual Roots after reaching the peak of Innate Realm required special techniques, and of course, all of these techniques had been monopolized by powerful forces with Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators in charge.
Of course, there were countless strange things in the Immortal Cultivation World, such as those Spiritual Bodies and Heavenly Physiques completely seperate from Spiritual Roots, those powerful Bloodlines that could allow even someone with Third-Grade Talent to cultivate to the Foundation Establishment Realm, those divine cultivation techniques that could ignore talent entirely and the likes, but alas, such things were truly rare throughout the entire world, much less a small Great Jing Dynasty.
Nevertheless, no matter how talented or untalented Mu Wanqing was, her existence was something that the current Ji Haotian could not ignore in the slightest.
He slowly sat down in front of her, his demeanor neither humble nor arrogant, greeting her calmly before getting straight to the point, "I have seen the young lady, I wonder for what reason you invited me here?"
Mu Wanqing's eyebrows slightly raised at his bluntness, her blonde hair, caused by a strange mutation between her Gold-Element and Fire-Element Spiritual Roots, swaying without wind as she propped her chin on her hand.
One of the maids besides her immediately moved, serving tea to the two people.
Looking at the two maids, Guard Chen's heart tightened, and two words instantly appeared in his mind.
Innate Realm!
These two maids were both actually Innate Realm existences!
Such beings could command respect anywhere throughout the Baiyun Prefecture, capable of carving out a territory for themselves and leaving behind a legacy lasting for several generations!
And they were just assigned to a young lady casually!
This inadvertently showed the exalted status and supreme power of the Noble Mu Family, one of the top powers in the dynasty.
As for why they appeared so young, it must be those legendary Youth Retaining Pills produced only by true alchemists at the Qi Refinement Realm or above, Guard Chen did not doubt it.
"Young master Ji truly has an extraordinary bearing, just as rumored."
Mu Wanqing leaned in slightly closer, her tone lowering conspiringly.
"I wonder, if young master has heard of the once in a century auction that takes place in the Qingyun Provincial Capital by my Jade Cloud Chamber of Commerce?"
Hearing this, Ji Haotian's mind ran at full speed, searching for information related to this matter before he nodded, "Indeed, I have heard of it, but it's said that only those who possess a special token issued by the Jade Cloud Chamber of Commerce are allowed to participate in the auction?"
Mu Wanqing's eyes gleamed for an instance before she answered, "Yes, and this rule applies only to cultivators below the Qi Refinement Realm, of course. There are only a thousand Jade Cloud Tokens made by my Jade Cloud Chamber of Commerce, and each token only allows one person's entry, though the number of Innate Realm cultivators in the Qingyun Province already exceeds a thousand, not to mention the Meridian Cleansing and Body Tempering Realms..."
"Please speak clearly, young miss Mu."
Ji Haotian's expression became increasingly solemn before he interrupted My Wanqing, causing a faint smile to appear on the latter's face, unable to fully conceal her innate pride.
"Alright, then I won't beat around the bush. The centennial auction of my Jade Cloud Chamber of Commerce is a once in a lifetime event for Innate Realm cultivators, and even the least valuable item within is enough to be treasured by Qi Refinement cultivators. I also happen to possess a couple of Jade Cloud Tokens myself, however, I can only give them to my subordinates. I see that young master Ji is decisive and possesses commendable talent, I wonder if you are willing to come under my wing?
Of course, you, or the Ji Mansion as a whole, will only be considered my subordinates on the surface, while we will maintain a partnership on equal terms, where you just need to pay tribute to me annually and occasionally heed my commands in exchange for my protection, feasible, isn't it? I will surely achieve the Qi Refinement Realm in the future, possessing the immense lifespan of over 300 years, and your Ji Mansion will surely prosper, with high chances of producing a true Qi Refinement Realm expert in future generations!"