First Acquaintance at the Artifact Pavilion

After seeing the elder off, Chen Xing Shan's smile relaxed a bit more. He called out, "Clan nephew, Uncle Fu, follow me. I'll show you to your accommodations and the shop first."

The east wing of the back courtyard had been cleaned and tidied. It wasn't large, but it was quiet. Compared to the Green Bamboo Lodge on the mountain, it was naturally more cramped, yet it also possessed a rare tidiness for a market town.

Opening the back window, one could see a sliver of the Li River's water and a corner of the bustling main street not far away.

Uncle Fu was clearly pleased with the arrangement and immediately began to settle in.

Afterward, Chen Xing Shan led Chen Heng back to the front hall of the Jade Spring Artifact Pavilion.

Stepping into the spacious and bright front hall, filled with a dazzling array of magical artifacts, a vibrant energy and a faint scent of commerce washed over him, distinct from the back courtyard.

There weren't many people in the hall at the moment. Two or three shop assistants were wiping the crystal display cases for the artifacts. In a corner, a thin young man was carefully sorting a batch of newly arrived refined ores.

The shopkeeper led Chen Heng in and clapped his hands. "Everyone, put down what you're doing and come here for a moment."

The two shop assistants and the young man immediately stood respectfully.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you," Chen Xing Shan said, smiling as he pointed to Chen Heng. "This is a new artifact refiner from the clan, clan nephew Chen Mingheng. Don't let his youth fool you; he's already a mid-grade first-tier artifact refiner! He'll be overseeing things here at our pavilion from now on, so please lend him your support."

"Greetings, Senior Mingheng!" A round-faced shop assistant, who appeared slightly more mature, was the first to bow, smiling amiably. "My name is Chen Minghui. I'm the shopkeeper's nephew and also from the Ming generation. I'm responsible for customer reception at the counter."

Another youth, slightly taller and a bit reserved, also bowed. "My name is Li Tong. I'm not a clan relative; I was hired locally from the market town. I've been with the shop for five years, doing various odd jobs and carrying goods."

Finally, there was the thin young man, about fifteen or sixteen years old. He looked at Chen Heng with a hint of curiosity and a barely perceptible nervousness.

"Greetings, Uncle-Master Chen! My name is Chen Shi Shi. I'm a refining apprentice at the artifact pavilion, learning the craft from Shopkeeper Xing Shan."

A refining apprentice!?

Chen Heng immediately understood the young man's identity and the reason for his address.

Apprentices were of lower status than formal artifact refiners. Addressing him as Uncle-Master was a reflection of seniority and status.

The young man looked about his own age when he first started learning artifact refining, and like him, he was also concubine-born.

Chen Heng cupped his hands towards the three of them and said gently, "You are too kind. Just call me Mingheng. I'm new here, and I'll need everyone's guidance in the future."

"Junior Shi Shi, you are young and promising. Since you are an apprentice, you are a fellow traveler on the path of artifact refining. There's no need to be so formal and call me Uncle-Master. Calling me Senior Mingheng will be more comfortable."

His words were neither lacking in status nor overly familiar. Especially his attitude towards Chen Shi Shi made the young man's eyes visibly brighten. His nervousness subsided significantly, and he quickly said, "Th-thank you, Senior Brother!"

Chen Xing Shan, stroking his short beard with a smile, highly approved of Chen Heng's natural and proper way of interacting with others.

It seemed this kid wasn't just good at fighting and refining in silence; he also knew how to handle social interactions with tact.

"Alright, everyone, get back to your work," Chen Xing Shan waved his hand. "Mingheng, take your time looking around, familiarize yourself with the environment, and also examine the artifacts on display. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me or Minghui at any time."

"Oh, right. There are two other artifact refiners in the clan who are serving as consultants. They usually only come to the pavilion when there are refining orders. I'll introduce you to them then."

Chen Heng nodded slightly, and everyone dispersed.

He then began to stroll through the Jade Spring Artifact Pavilion, observing his surroundings.

The shop was quite large, with goods categorized by type.

Artifacts Area: Occupying the most prominent position, displaying a variety of magical artifacts from low-grade first-tier to high-grade first-tier. The Chen family's signature water-element artifacts (swords, sabers, spears, etc.) were predominant, but there were also many artifacts for special purposes.

Chen Heng swept his gaze over them and could tell that the refining techniques for some of these artifacts were quite skilled, likely produced by several high-grade first-tier artifact refiners. However, most of them were somewhat ordinary and neatly made.

His Ruyi Water-Fire Cudgel, in terms of technique, indeed surpassed many of them.

Materials Area: A wide variety of items were displayed, categorized into common Five Elements mineral materials, demon beast bones and hides, spirit plants and herbs, etc. Wooden signs were placed nearby, indicating their origin and a brief description of their properties.

Several precious auxiliary materials were locked separately in custom-made crystal cabinets.

This was an area Chen Heng paid special attention to. Having just refined the Water-Fire Treasure Gourd, his perception of various materials was more acute.

Ancient Books and Illustrated Manuals Area: Contained introductory books like the Illustrated Manual of Common Artifact Forms and Basic Principles of Artifact Refining, as well as several introductory guides like A Brief Analysis of Five Elements Precious Materials.

Naturally, it couldn't compare to the collection in the clan's scripture library, but it covered the basic necessities.

Reception Area: Furnished with several sets of tables and chairs, it appeared elegant and quiet, likely a place for receiving distinguished guests or discussing custom orders.

Chen Heng observed meticulously, sometimes pausing before a particularly unique artifact to appreciate its craftsmanship, and at other times picking up a piece of ore to gauge its properties.

When encountering anything unclear, he would casually ask Chen Minghui, who was nearby.

His questions were often sharp and to the point, directly addressing the core of artifact refining, such as the reason for a slight imbalance in a certain artifact or the degree of refinement and purification of a batch of ore.

This left Chen Minghui and Li Tong, the ordinary shop assistants, somewhat overwhelmed, often requiring Chen Xing Shan himself to provide answers.

This allowed him to quickly gain a direct understanding of the clan's artifact refining standards and product categories in the market town.

Unknowingly, Chen Heng wandered to the depths of the materials area, near the special crystal cabinets.

Inside were stored several exceptionally precious or difficult-to-handle materials.

One piece, about the size of two fists, a dark red stone that looked like cooled magma, caught his attention.

"Shopkeeper, this Earth Flame Profound Crystal..." Chen Heng pointed to the crystal cabinet and asked.

"Ah, this was acquired a few days ago," Chen Xing Shan walked over and explained. "Its quality is quite good, and the Fire spiritual energy it contains is exceptionally pure and potent.

However, it's a pity. There seem to be several subtle cold malevolence cracks running through it, as if it was eroded by some powerful cold-attribute spell or cold energy.

It's very tricky to process. Either it requires immense effort to remove the cold malevolence, and the high impurity rate makes it not worth the trouble; or it requires extremely exquisite techniques to re-melt and combine its internal structure without causing an explosion.

Ordinary artifact refiners find it difficult to handle, so it's been left here, and no one has been able to make a suitable offer yet."

Chen Shi Shi had also come over at some point, looking at the dark red stone. He added in a low voice, "Yeah, Senior Brother. The shopkeeper said this stone is a hot potato right now, it won't sell for a good price and it's just taking up space."

Chen Heng's gaze remained fixed on the Earth Flame Profound Crystal. The [Water-Fire Harmony] talisman mark in his sea of consciousness seemed to fluctuate slightly.

What appeared to be a fatal flaw to others—the clashing of water and fire—seemed to hold new possibilities in his eyes.

He didn't say much, merely committing this peculiar material to memory.

Dusk approached, and the clamor of the market town's main street could be vaguely heard through the shop's doors.

Chen Heng had a preliminary understanding of his surroundings, gaining a general grasp of the Jade Spring Artifact Pavilion's layout, its artifacts, and its personnel.

However, after sitting in the main hall for an entire afternoon, only two rogue cultivators at the third layer of Qi Refining had purchased a few first-tier talismans.

The price was less than ten Spirit Stones.

Looking at the deserted shop, Chen Heng asked curiously, "Shi Shi, is the shop usually this quiet?"

When he arrived, he saw many cultivators coming and going in the market town, so why wasn't there any business?

Hearing this, Chen Shi Shi, who was pondering the Basic Principles of Artifact Refining, immediately replied, "The South Foothill Market mainly serves the families and rogue cultivators near the South Foothill, and there are only about one to two thousand of them in total."

"Normally, when there are no cultivators coming and going, the Jade Spring Artifact Pavilion is quite idle and doesn't have much business."

"Only during the monthly South Foothill Gathering do most of the rogue cultivators from the Moon Gazing Mountain Range's southern foothills and some cultivators from small families come to the market town."

"The gathering lasts for several days, and that's when the market town becomes lively."

Upon hearing this, Chen Heng immediately returned to the east wing of the backyard and devoted himself to cultivation.