Soul-Seizing Nail

The stall was crammed full of all sorts of random things—a broken sword, a cracked jade pendant, a chipped bronze mirror, and rusted fragments—all seemingly Law Artifact from who-knows-where, spread out on an old animal hide.

The stall owner was a thin, old man with a shifty face and unremarkable appearance. He was dozing off on a small stool, looking listless.

Shen Jingchuan scanned the old man with his Heavenly Eye and found that he was at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer of Qi Refining.

He remained impassive, his gaze sweeping over the animal hide.

Sure enough, in that corner of the pile of junk, lay a nail quietly.

The nail was about an inch long, covered in rust, with a blunt, round head. It looked no different from an old iron nail that had been picked off some broken piece of wood, and it would have been completely inconspicuous in this pile of junk.

Shen Jingchuan focused his mind and sensed that deep within the rusty nail, there was a faint, almost imperceptible fluctuation of Spiritual Power.

He had spent a long time in the market, buying and selling, and had already gained some experience.

He first squatted down, casually picked up half of the broken blade and examined it for a moment, then picked up a piece of cracked jade and asked about the price in a seemingly casual manner.

The old man barely lifted his eyelids, responding half-heartedly, but the price he quoted was ridiculously high. Shen Jingchuan shook his head and put the item back.

Finally, as if by chance, he reached out and picked up the rusty nail, twirling it between his fingers.

"Fellow Daoist," Shen Jingchuan looked up at the old man, his tone casual, "What is this thing? Why is it being sold here? Is this also Law Artifact?"

Upon hearing this, the old man smiled mysteriously.

"Young friend, don't underestimate this thing."

He pointed to the large expanse of ruins in front of him, "I salvaged all these things from a High Antiquity battlefield. That place was extremely dangerous; I barely escaped with my life."

He tapped the rusty nail again.

"This nail was picked up along with these other things. You're a cultivator too, so you should be able to sense that it contains fluctuations of Spiritual Power."

"If it weren't Law Artifact, how could it have such an aura? It might be Law Treasure, a Spirit Artifact, or even Spirit Treasure! Things from such places couldn't be anything inferior, could they?"

Shen Jingchuan, holding the nail, spoke in a nonchalant tone.

"Even if it really is some kind of Spirit Artifact Spirit Treasure, look at its current state. Can it still be used? You've tried it yourself; can you even activate it?"

The old man's smile froze, and he gave a dry laugh.

"Well... that depends on your skills. You buy it, find a weapon refiner to repair it, and if it really turns out to be Spirit Artifact Spirit Treasure, you'll be rich!"

"Then why don't you just find someone to fix it yourself?"

The old man suddenly became anxious, his eyes widening.

"Hey, how can you talk like that? If you want to buy it, then buy it; if not, then forget it. Don't cause trouble here!"

"Alright, alright." Shen Jingchuan waved his hand. "I'll give you a Spirit Stone. Take it back and play around with it, see if there's any hope of repairing it."

"One?" the old man's voice shrilly. "Are you out of your mind?"

He had intended to bid higher, but this sentence silenced him, and he stubbornly replied:

"Fifty! I won't sell it for less than fifty Spirit Stones! Let me tell you, nothing from that battlefield is inferior, especially since it still has Spiritual Power fluctuations and can be repaired!"

"Alright, stop bluffing."

Shen Jingchuan stood up, making a move to leave:

"I just picked up some junk and sold it for two Spirit Stones. I just thought this thing looked interesting, so I'll go back and think about it."

He glanced back at the old man.

"Besides, if it were really easy to fix, you would have taken it to be repaired long ago. Why would I have a chance?"

The old man's confidence vanished instantly after his secret was exposed, and he rubbed his hands together.

"Twenty... twenty is alright, isn't it? Any lower and I won't sell it."

After some haggling, the deal was finalized for five Spirit Stones.

The old man held the five Spirit Stones, his heart filled with joy.

He had pondered this broken nail countless times since he came out of the ancient battlefield. He had consulted several weapon refiners, including the best craftsman he knew, and they all said that it was impossible to repair.

This silly kid in front of me is probably hoping it can be fixed and is trying his luck.

Five Spirit Stones, practically free, he considered himself to have made a huge profit.

Shen Jingchuan didn't care what he thought, and stood up firmly.

Xiao Mingshu was standing nearby, glancing at the rusty iron nail, somewhat puzzled.

"Why would you buy this junk?"

"Looks strange." Shen Jingchuan casually put the rusty nail into the Ring and chuckled, "I'll think about it later."

He managed to fool them, taking a few steps forward, but secretly contacted Xian'er with his Divine Sense.

"Sister Xian'er, what exactly is this thing that you insist I buy?"

Xian'er's voice rang out, "This is Soul-Seizing Nail, at the very least Spirit Artifact Spirit Treasure. It's extremely rare and specifically designed to harm a person's Divine Sense and soul. It strikes silently and is extremely difficult to defend against."

Shen Jingchuan felt a chill run down his spine.

"Then... can it be repaired?"

"Why don't you throw it into that repair orb and see?" Xian'er said.

Shen Jingchuan was amused.

"Okay, I'll give it a try."

With a thought, the rusty Soul-Seizing Nail sank into his Heaven and Earth Ring.

In the very center of the Ring's spatial dome, a pale white sphere of light hung silently. The Soul-Seizing Nail slowly rose and disappeared into the center of the sphere, and a faint green light immediately enveloped it completely.

Shen Jingchuan sent a thought to it: Nourish, repair, upgrade.

Shen Jingchuan strolled along the long street for a while longer.

The stalls he saw behind him were all similar, mostly run-down items set up by low-level Rogue Cultivators —damaged magical Law Artifacts, poor-quality spirit medicine, and pills they had refined themselves. Nothing else caught his eye.

Even if he bought some and upgraded them, they would still be nothing special, and he wouldn't even consider them.

He did buy some spirit medicine, though.

The spiritual field in his Heaven and Earth Ring still had quite a few empty plots. These were all common low-grade spirit medicine, the seedlings were fresh and the price was cheap. He figured the land shouldn't be left idle; he should buy them, plant them, and there would surely be a harvest.

After browsing around, he stopped at several more medicine stalls.

The pills displayed on the stall were all Rogue Cultivator independent cultivators themselves. Their quality and appearance were far inferior to those of regular pharmacies, but the prices were also very low.

Shen Jingchuan wasn't afraid of that—upgrading these pills would immediately raise their grade, and they would still be top-quality items. One purchase and one sale would yield a considerable profit.

He remained calm and collected a few or a dozen stones from each stall while the crowd was busy, buying only small quantities and storing them in his light sphere to upgrade his equipment.

The sun was rising higher; it was almost 10 a. m.

At Returning Geese Tower, cultivators were already heading inside in twos and threes. A table was temporarily set up at the entrance, where two waiters were collecting entrance fees—one Spirit Stone per person—before anyone could enter.

Shen Jingchuan then led Xiao Mingshu and Huan'er, and followed the crowd.