Sword Control Art

Sword Control Art

This appraisal was simply too low.

From what he had learned before, the market price of a Qi Nourishing Pill was roughly one and a half spirit stones each, while an Evil Warding Pill went for around five spirit stones each.

That meant that at market price, his Qi Nourishing Pills could sell for sixty-five spirit stones, and his Evil Warding Pills for forty.

Yet the Lei Family Trading House's offer for these six bottles of pills was a full twenty spirit stones below market price.

Though he had expected the Lei Family's appraisal to be low, he had not imagined it would be this low.

One word described it perfectly.

Blackhearted.

Han Yi did not agree at once. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "I've heard that the Lei Family Trading House sells low-tier spells."

"I want to buy a spell. Shopkeeper, do you have any recommendations?"

The moment Han Yi finished speaking, a smile spread across the shopkeeper's face.

"Fellow Daoist, you have certainly come to the right place."

"Our shop sells a great variety of spells: protective spells, mana attack spells, artifact-control spells—everything you could want."

"What type of spell are you looking for, Fellow Daoist?"

"Also, do you have a price range in mind? If so, I can help narrow down the selection."

The Guxi Shopkeeper's words reminded Han Yi of the real estate agents from his previous life. Their sales pitches had quite a bit in common.

"Shopkeeper, do you have any spells that I can afford with the appraisal value of these pills?" Han Yi asked tentatively.

At those words, the shopkeeper's smile deepened.

"Of course."

"But spells at that price are merely ordinary spells. Their rank is low, their power rather weak. Some could even be called as useless as chicken ribs."

"This old man sincerely recommends that you purchase a better spell."

"Let me first introduce the three best-selling spells of this season."

"One is Heavenly Flame. Once the divine flame emerges, it burns heaven and earth, reducing all things to ash. Even high-stage Qi Refinement cultivators cannot escape it. It is a great weapon of slaughter."

"One is Shadow Realm Stealth. If cultivated to an extremely high realm, it is said that even Foundation Establishment cultivators cannot detect a trace of you. For preserving one's life, it is unquestionably a superior spell."

"One is Word Spirit Art. When immortal words are spoken, they become heavenly law; even the rules themselves can be temporarily rewritten. Truly mysterious and unfathomable."

The shopkeeper rattled off those words without the slightest pause. Clearly, he had said them to countless people before.

Han Yi's eyes lit up.

A surge of longing rose in his heart.

Heavenly Flame, Shadow Realm Stealth, Word Spirit Art—these three spells sounded overwhelmingly badass just from their names alone, not to mention how Guxi Shopkeeper had elaborated on their greatness.

Han Yi's heart itched with desire.

But he quickly calmed down.

These spells were definitely not cheap. They would certainly cost more than a hundred spirit stones, perhaps even several hundred or more.

If he went all out and sold the other pills in his storage pouch, he might have enough to buy one.

But.

He did not dare take that risk.

It differed too greatly from his original plan, and he would have no way to explain himself to the Mystic Fire Pill Shop afterward.

Across from him, Guxi Shopkeeper saw Han Yi's expression shift from intense interest to contemplation and thought to himself, Just as expected.

An alchemist—moreover, an alchemist capable of refining Evil Warding Pills close to top quality—had to be wealthy. He certainly had more than just these few pills on him.

What he wanted was for Han Yi to bring out more pills to sell, or make up the difference in spirit stones and gather enough funds to buy one of those three spells.

The ultimate goal, naturally, was to make a tidy profit.

Selling one spell was business; selling two was business as well.

This was a business with guaranteed profit and no capital required.

Guxi Shopkeeper slightly opened his mouth, intending to provoke Han Yi a little further with his words, only to see Han Yi spread his hands.

"Shopkeeper, it's not that I don't want to buy one. I just can't afford it."

"These six bottles are all the pills I have on me. Just give me a straight answer—if I sell these six bottles and receive eighty-five spirit stones, which spells here can I buy?"

Han Yi's sudden shift made the shopkeeper swallow the speech he had prepared.

But business was business, and Guxi Shopkeeper was half a pure businessman.

Besides, a deal worth eighty-five spirit stones was no small transaction.

"In that case, that is indeed regrettable."

"However, I do have several spells on hand that fall within Fellow Daoist's price range."

Guxi Shopkeeper took out seven Transmission Jade Disks from a cabinet beside him. These were jade disks containing pure spell arts; one only needed to hold a disk against the forehead to receive its transmitted instruction.

Mysterious radiance flowed across the seven Transmission Jade Disks.

Guxi Shopkeeper placed one of the disks in his palm.

"This is a Body Lightening Technique. Of course, it's the lowest-tier Body Lightening Technique. Its original price is thirty spirit stones, but if you truly wish to buy it, this old man will boldly make the decision and sell it to you for twenty-eight."

Guxi Shopkeeper set down the disk, then picked up the second one.

"This is a Water Control Technique, also the lowest tier. Its original price is forty spirit stones, with a discount of two."

Next, he took out the third disk.

Body Lightening Technique, Water Control Technique, Rebuke Technique, Bright Eye Technique, Invisibility Technique, Wind Blade Technique, Sword Control Technique.

There were seven spell arts in all. Every single one made Han Yi's heart itch, and he wanted to buy them all.

But he also understood the principle that biting off more than one could chew would only leave it unchewed.

More importantly, he did not have that many spirit stones.

"Shopkeeper, the seventh spell art—is it the Sword Control Technique?" Han Yi asked again for confirmation.

In his impression, the Sword Control Technique was a top-tier spell art. It could not possibly be cheap.

Guxi Shopkeeper nodded and picked up the seventh jade disk.

"That's right, this is a Sword Control Technique. Of course, the reason it is being sold so cheaply is mainly because this Sword Control Technique is incomplete. More accurately, it is a spell art somewhere between mortal swordsmanship and immortal sword arts."

"Let me make this clear beforehand: the pros and cons of this Sword Control Technique are both obvious."

"A true Sword Control Technique requires at least high-stage Qi Refining cultivation, as well as years spent nurturing a flying sword, before one can wield it. But this Sword Control Technique, adapted from mortal swordsmanship, can be cultivated as soon as one steps into Qi Refining."

"The threshold is low enough. That is its advantage."

"Compared with that advantage, its drawback is equally obvious: its power. This Sword Control Technique is vastly inferior to immortal sword arts in terms of might."

"Another drawback is that it is harder to cultivate. One might cultivate it for an entire lifetime and still be unable to fly on a sword, only able to hold a flying sword in hand for close-quarters combat."

"That is why this adapted Sword Control Technique is so cheap. It only costs eighty-five spirit stones."

"Fellow Daoist, make your choice."

After saying that, Guxi Shopkeeper could not be bothered to spend any more effort.

Clearly, his patience had run its course.

Across from him, Han Yi was torn with indecision.

Of these seven spell arts, he first ruled out the Water Control Technique and the Bright Eye Technique because they were too limited. As for the remaining five, he still had not decided which one to buy.

This was troublesome.

Seeing Han Yi hesitate, Guxi Shopkeeper glanced at him.

Such situations had not been uncommon in the past.

"What is so hard to decide?"

"When buying spell arts, just buy the expensive one."

"The expensive one may not necessarily be the best, but it will certainly be better than the cheap one. Otherwise, why would it be priced higher than the others?"

Those words jolted the man caught in the thick of it awake.

Han Yi suddenly understood.

It was just like buying things at a mall in his previous life. Statistically speaking, the expensive goods were surely of better quality than the cheap ones.

"Fine, Shopkeeper. Then I'll buy the Sword Control Technique."

Han Yi made up his mind. As for the other spell arts, it would not be too late to buy them the next time he came.

Upon hearing this, Guxi Shopkeeper's expression softened somewhat.

A deal worth eighty-five spirit stones was not exactly a huge business, but it was still a small profit.

A short while later.

Han Yi walked out of the Lei Family Trading House with a Transmission Jade Disk containing the Sword Control Technique added to his storage pouch.

Rather than join the bustle at the other stalls, he quickly left the market and headed straight for the Mystic Fire Pill Shop.