Myriad Treasures Tower

That day, Wang Hong checked into an inconspicuous inn and paid for half a month in advance.

After staying for several days and going in and out countless times each day, he saw that no one was paying attention anymore. He then transformed into the thick-browed, large-eyed Wang Kun and walked out of the inn.

He first rented a secluded courtyard in the city. Since he would be using this identity for a long time in the future, he needed a residence first.

That day, Zhao's Elixir Pavilion welcomed an honored guest—a thick-browed, large-eyed young man. Shopkeeper Zhao personally greeted him at the entrance, his attitude exceedingly warm.

The two then entered a private chamber. No one knew what was discussed inside, but afterward, Shopkeeper Zhao respectfully saw him out.

The next day, the elixirs that had originally been sold out at Zhao's Elixir Pavilion were once again available.

Word even spread that a precious Barrier Breaking Pill would be put up for sale. In the end, it truly was bought by a cultivator for nine thousand Spirit Stones.

Needless to say, that mysterious honored guest with thick brows and large eyes was naturally Wang Hong in the guise of Wang Kun.

He believed that if he appeared once or twice more, those secretly investigating him would surely come looking for him.

Inside a quiet room in Qingxu City, Wang Hong took out all the pitted White Crystal Fruits. He gently picked one up. Its flesh was like the finest jade, crystalline and translucent, faintly letting light through, making one reluctant to bite into it.

With a gentle bite, it proved crisp, tender, and juicy. After only a slight chew, it melted into a mouthful of juice and slid down his throat.

"Mm! Delicious! I'll make this my snack fruit from now on."

After finishing a White Crystal Fruit in two or three bites, he felt a cool current flow into his dantian and merge into that mass of spiritual-power vortex. His spiritual power seemed to have been cleansed, and a wave of refreshing clarity spread through his entire body. Even the vortex of spiritual power in his dantian shrank slightly.

After eating all fifteen White Crystal Fruits, he sorrowfully discovered that his realm had actually fallen from Qi Refining Layer Five to Qi Refining Layer Four.

While shocked by the powerful effects of the White Crystal Fruit, he also lamented just how hollow and unstable the cultivation he had previously raised entirely through pills had been.

Although his realm had fallen by one layer, his mana had become purer. Not only had his combat strength not declined, it had faintly improved.

After eating the White Crystal Fruits, he used the several dozen other kinds of Spirit Fruit he had collected to brew spirit wine according to a first-tier high-grade spirit-wine recipe recorded in Secret Brews of the Wine Master, then stored it in his space.

High-grade spirit wine was currently in great demand on the market. Not a single spirit-wine shop in Qingxu City could supply it in sufficient quantities.

They could only sell a limited batch every month or every few months, and each batch drew frantic competition from late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

After finishing these matters, Wang Hong planned to buy some magical artifacts. The artifacts he had brought with him this time had been almost entirely lost, while he could not yet use the two spoils he had obtained.

As it happened, over the past month or so, his three shops had earned him nearly thirty thousand Spirit Stones.

The moment Wang Hong approached the entrance of Myriad Treasures Tower, the four maidservants standing at the door bowed in unison. One of them directly stepped forward and led him inside.

"Senior, are you here today to purchase items or sell items?" the maidservant asked with a polite smile.

Wang Hong glanced at the maidservant's lovely face and replied, "This time, I need to purchase some offensive and defensive magical artifacts."

Following the maidservant into the main hall, he discovered that it was incomparably spacious, capable of accommodating hundreds of customers at once.

The maidservant skillfully led him to the magical artifact section. There were ten rows of redwood shelves there, displaying a dazzling array of over a thousand magical artifacts. Every artifact was covered by a protective light barrier.

There were artifacts ranging from low-grade to high-grade, with mid-grade being the most numerous and high-grade the fewest. Prices ranged from one hundred Spirit Stones to over a thousand.

As he looked down the rows, flying swords were the most common, though all manner of other magical artifacts could also be found.

Wang Hong walked to the counter displaying spear artifacts. There were more than ten long spears in total, but only two were high-grade.

Of the two high-grade long spears, one was crimson red, while the other was pitch-black.

At this point, the maidservant introduced them. "This red spear is forged entirely from first-tier Fire Obsidian. It is one zhang and nine cun long, weighs nine hundred jin, and comes with fire-element spell attacks. It costs one thousand Spirit Stones."

"This black spear is forged entirely from Profound Nether Heavy Iron. It is one zhang and six chi long, weighs six thousand jin, and comes with a gravity formation. It has no spell attacks. It costs one thousand two hundred Spirit Stones." As she introduced this spear, she felt somewhat strange inside.

She had heard from the elders in the shop that this spear had been displayed here for decades. She had no idea what that artifact refiner had been thinking back then, forging such a heavy spear. Who could possibly wield it?

Yet to her surprise, this unremarkable young man seemed more interested in the pitch-black heavy spear.

Wang Hong gestured for the maidservant to open the restriction. She took out a token and lightly swiped it, and the light barrier slowly opened to both sides.

Wang Hong reached out and took the black spear, weighing it in his hand. It felt neither too heavy nor too light—just right.

He had chosen a long spear for close combat. A heavier weapon could better bring out the advantages of his body tempering, so he did not deliberate further and chose this spear.

After selecting the long spear, he went to the flying sword section.

He was not particularly particular about flying swords. He chose a mid-grade earth-element flying sword. Earth-element flying swords were somewhat less agile, but they were sturdy and durable, and would not be easily shattered like last time. It was not expensive either, costing two hundred Spirit Stones.

When he arrived before the defensive artifact counter, he felt troubled again. Naturally, the stronger a defensive artifact's defense, the better.

However, his current spiritual-power cultivation could at most activate mid-grade magical artifacts. If he forcibly activated a high-grade magical artifact even once, Mistwind Gorge could drain all the spiritual power from his body.

Moreover, during the process of defense, defensive magical artifacts continuously consumed their owner's spiritual power.

This was also why he had always used defensive talismans before instead of magical artifacts.

In the end, Wang Hong decided to buy two. One was a mid-grade Pale Yellow Small Shield for eight hundred Spirit Stones, suitable for everyday use.

The other was a high-grade Mystic Turtle Shield, refined from an entire turtle shell. Its price was as high as three thousand five hundred Spirit Stones.

This high-grade magical artifact could be used to save his life in a critical moment. Just as this time, once his primary combat artifact was damaged, he would still have a replacement.

After choosing the magical artifacts he needed, he asked the maidservant beside him, "May I take a look at second-tier spirit herbs and Spirit Fruits?"

"Second-tier spiritual items are all on the second floor, an area exclusively for Foundation Establishment cultivators. Qi Refining cultivators who wish to enter the second floor must pay a deposit of ten thousand Spirit Stones, which will naturally be returned upon leaving," the maidservant answered.

On second thought, Wang Hong found it reasonable. Ordinary Qi Refining cultivators could neither use nor afford second-tier spiritual items. If every Qi Refining cultivator came up just to take a look and broaden their horizons, the shop would be endlessly harassed.

But refusing everyone would also be inappropriate. Some well-off Qi Refining cultivators might indeed have the ability to purchase them. When running a business, how could one turn business away at the door?

Setting a threshold of ten thousand Spirit Stones conveniently blocked most Qi Refining cultivators who lacked purchasing power and merely wanted to broaden their horizons.

Wang Hong paid the ten-thousand-Spirit-Stone deposit and followed the maidservant upstairs. Compared with the first floor, the second floor was clearly much quieter.

The shelves were also much more sparsely arranged. There were only a little over twenty people scattered about, yet more than ten were Foundation Establishment cultivators, radiating astonishing pressure.

There were also several Qi Refining cultivators, carefully keeping far away from the dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators. Only after the Foundation Establishment cultivators had moved away did they dare approach and look.

Wang Hong walked up to an unattended spirit-herb counter. There were not many spirit herbs, only a dozen or so plants. Yet every one was a treasure—things he had only seen in books and never in person.

Any spirit herb here was worth several hundred or over a thousand Spirit Stones. Among the dozen or so spirit medicines, Wang Hong discovered a Nine-leaf Golden Thread Grass, a main ingredient for the Golden Body Pill.

His Body Tempering Art recorded two pill formulas: one for the Body Tempering Pill and one for the Golden Body Pill, along with several Spirit Fruits that could assist body tempering. At present, he had only gathered all the materials for the Body Tempering Pill and cultivated them on a small plot in his space.

For the Golden Body Pill, he had only collected several auxiliary ingredients and had not found a single Spirit Fruit. Today, he had finally found one main ingredient, which counted as an unexpected delight.

Wang Hong immediately decided to buy this spirit medicine. He also bought seeds for three other second-tier spirit medicines, all commonly used by Foundation Establishment cultivators.

He wanted to buy them all and plant them in his space for cultivation. But drawing too much attention would get him killed quickly, especially if he showed off before Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Afterward, he wandered over to the Spirit Fruit counter and bought seeds for three more kinds of Spirit Fruit.

Wang Hong considered that when he had time in the future, he could buy one batch at a time of every second-tier spirit herb and Spirit Fruit available for sale and plant them in his space. The profits from cultivating second-tier spirit medicines were far greater.

Moreover, with his space, even though his aptitude was too poor, he still had some confidence in achieving Foundation Establishment. Once he did, he could use these spirit medicines himself as well.

Most second-tier spirit medicines required one or two hundred years before they could be used. It was better to cultivate them in advance, lest he need them later and still have to wait.

After choosing these items, he went downstairs to settle the bill. Including the spirit herbs and seeds he had purchased on the second floor, he had spent a total of seven thousand Spirit Stones.

Wang Hong took out a Barrier Breaking Pill to settle the account. The purchase price of a Barrier Breaking Pill was eight thousand Spirit Stones. In the end, after buying a pile of goods, he had not spent a single Spirit Stone and had even received one thousand Spirit Stones back.

He returned to his residence completely satisfied and had the space absorb the remaining thirty thousand Spirit Stones. This gave him another three fen of empty land, just enough to plant the newly purchased second-tier spirit herbs and Spirit Fruits.

The materials for the Body Tempering Pills he had cultivated had already ripened into more than thirty batches. He harvested them all and spent seven days refining over a hundred Body Tempering Pills.