Entering the City

Although this battle was short, it was extremely dangerous; a single misstep could have resulted in heavy casualties.

The steel spear Wang Hong had shot out was already reduced to a small puddle of molten iron. He poured out the contents of the two storage bags. It turned out they had several more Fireball Talismans like this.

There was also a Golden Light Talisman, which the skinny Daoist probably hadn't had time to use. He also found a copy of the "Earth Thickening Art," a copy of the "Metal Firming Art," and a copy of the "Basic Five Elements Spells." In total, there were only a little over twenty Spirit Stones.

"What poor devils!" Wang Hong exclaimed. He didn't know that these two were considered quite well-off among low-level rogue cultivators. He wondered how many people they had robbed to accumulate this wealth, and now it had all fallen into his hands.

Those two storage bags and two low-grade Magic Artifacts alone were worth over two hundred Spirit Stones. Many low-level rogue cultivators didn't even have Magic Artifacts, let alone storage bags.

Through this incident, Wang Hong felt that being outside the city without strength was too dangerous. This time, he had only won by a narrow margin. If he encountered a stronger opponent next time, he would have no chance of winning. Moreover, he didn't know if those two had any accomplices.

The next morning, Wang Hong entered the city with Wen Lan, Luo Zhongjie, and over a dozen others. He instructed them to split up and look for houses. Wang Hong wandered around by himself.

His long spear had been destroyed yesterday. If he hadn't continuously infused it with spiritual power during the fight, it would have been cut in half by the skinny Daoist's sword long ago. Furthermore, ordinary weapons would explode if too much spiritual power was injected into them. Today, he wanted to look around and prepare some means of self-defense.

Talismans and Magic Artifacts were also briefly introduced in the "Comprehensive Guide to Cultivation." Talismans were very simple to use. When used, they only required a small amount of spiritual power to activate, releasing a corresponding spell.

Since talismans were single-use items, their cost in combat was too high. Many cultivators would buy one or two talismans and only use them at critical moments.

As for Magic Artifacts, everyone was most familiar with Flying Swords. In reality, there were many types of Magic Artifacts. They could be broadly divided into three categories: offensive Magic Artifacts, defensive Magic Artifacts, and auxiliary Magic Artifacts.

Offensive Magic Artifacts were the most common and relatively cheaper. Defensive Magic Artifacts were rarer, costing at least two to three times as much as offensive Magic Artifacts of the same quality. Auxiliary Magic Artifacts varied depending on their specific functions.

Wang Hong walked into a refining workshop. Inside, there were over a dozen shelves displaying various Magic Artifacts.

A young man in his twenties greeted Wang Hong with a smile. "Esteemed fellow cultivator, what kind of Magic Artifact are you looking for? Our shop has three senior artifact refiners. Not only do we sell finished Magic Artifacts, but we can also custom-make various Magic Artifacts."

"I'm looking for a spear-shaped Magic Artifact. Do you have one?" Wang Hong said truthfully.

"You've come at the right time. Our shop happens to have a low-grade Magic Artifact in the shape of a long spear." As he spoke, he took a wooden box from a shelf behind him and placed it in front of Wang Hong, opening the lid.

"This spear is thirteen feet long and weighs six hundred and eighty jin. The shaft is made of hundred-year-old Red Spirit Mulberry Wood, and the spearhead is primarily made of Mysterious Iron, refined with over ten kinds of rare materials."

Wang Hong gently caressed the shaft. It felt warm to the touch. He tried injecting spiritual power into it, and the spiritual power flowed smoothly within. The spear, weighing over six hundred jin, became as light as nothing after being infused with spiritual power.

The young man then emphasized that this spear was the result of the painstaking efforts of their shop's artifact refiner, Gao Yue.

He then praised it extensively, saying it was unique and the only one of its kind in the world. It was priced at one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones, and Wang Hong would regret it for life if he didn't buy it. In the end, it was sold for one hundred Spirit Stones.

Wang Hong then asked if they had any long spears for mortal martial artists that could withstand the chopping of Magic Artifacts.

The young man thought for a moment and said, "We can custom-make those. Each one costs ten Spirit Stones and can withstand the chopping of a low-grade Magic Artifact more than ten times."

"I'll take fifty. Give me your best price," Wang Hong said calmly.

"Fellow cultivator, this is already the cost price. You know that to withstand the chopping of Magic Artifacts, you need at least the materials used to refine Magic Artifacts," the young man said with a troubled expression.

Wang Hong made a move as if to leave, and the young man quickly grabbed his sleeve.

"Brother! Nine is acceptable, right?"

Actually, Wang Hong thought the price of ten Spirit Stones was quite cheap. He just wanted to haggle.

He didn't know that some waste materials were produced during artifact refining. These waste materials couldn't be used for refining, and re-refining them wasn't very valuable.

However, they were excellent materials for refining weapons for mortals, as they didn't require spiritual power conduction.

In the end, fifty long spears were ordered for four hundred Spirit Stones.

As Wang Hong was leaving, the young man happily escorted him to the door.

"My name is Gao Yue. If you have any needs in the future, feel free to come find me."

In the afternoon, Wang Hong met up with the dozen or so people who were looking for houses. They found five properties. Wang Hong inspected them all and finally chose one.

This place was relatively secluded, with few pedestrians on the street. It had a small shop front facing the street. Entering through the shop front and passing through the back hall, one could see a large courtyard. Three rows of two-story houses stood around it.

This courtyard, along with a shop front, had an annual rent of one thousand Spirit Stones. The shop front wasn't very useful, as the street was sparsely populated, and it was questionable whether the rent could even be recouped through business.

What Wang Hong liked was that the courtyard was large enough for the team to train. Although they were now operating a stall business, the team's training had not stopped for a single day. There were also enough rooms to accommodate their large group.

Wang Hong paid one year's rent, chose a room for himself, and left the rest of the matters to the few squad leaders.

With them officially settled, everyone's hearts also calmed down.

In the following days, Wang Hong visited various shops, sometimes selling a spiritual herb or two.

He wanted to understand the market conditions. After all, he now had a small, inconspicuous shop. Although the location was not ideal, he decided to open it, as he had plenty of manpower.

Furthermore, his Mysterious Space now had one and a half acres of land, with the extra half-acre still empty. He hadn't figured out which spiritual medicine to plant yet.

Wang Hong walked into a general store. An old man in green was dozing behind the counter. Upon seeing Wang Hong enter, he merely glanced at him before closing his eyes again.

There was no one else in the store. Wang Hong browsed each counter unhurriedly. The store wasn't large, but it had a complete range of goods. Talismans, elixirs, spiritual herbs, ores, and Magic Artifacts – there were about ten to twenty items of each.

The two types of talismans Wang Hong had seized last time were also sold here. Fireball Talismans were eight Spirit Stones, while Golden Light Talismans cost thirteen Spirit Stones.

There were twenty to thirty Magic Artifacts, some of which were damaged, clearly indicating they were second-hand goods.

There was only one bottle of Qi Gathering Pills, priced at ten Spirit Stones per pill. There was also a small sign in front that read "Out of Stock."

There weren't many spiritual herbs either, and their quality was very ordinary. They were stored in wooden boxes engraved with preservation formations.

It seemed that spiritual herbs and elixirs were quite in demand. Wang Hong had visited many shops. Large, reputable shops had their own spiritual herb gardens and alchemists, so the supply of spiritual herbs and elixirs needed by cultivators in the Qi Refining stage was not lacking.

As for small shops like this one, without a stable supply of goods, they relied on buying low and selling high to earn meager profits. Elixirs like the Qi Gathering Pill, which improved Qi Refining cultivation, were usually kept by cultivators for their own use.

Qingxu City had hundreds of thousands of Qi Refining stage cultivators, so the annual consumption of elixirs was imaginable. The main ingredient for refining Qi Gathering Pills required a medicinal age of twenty to thirty years, and the auxiliary ingredients also needed about ten years.

Wang Hong did not disturb the old man's nap and quietly exited the general store. Qingxu City was vast, and there were many more shops waiting for him to visit.