Su Fan's stall was doing a roaring business, especially the talismans, which were selling like hotcakes.
Even though he had doubled the prices, it still did nothing to dampen the cultivators' enthusiasm for shopping.
The more than twenty mid-grade talismans he had bought from Myriad Treasures Tower, along with over a hundred assorted auxiliary talismans,
were all sold out in no time, without a single one left over.
The dozen-odd bottles of pills sold out too. The two bottles of Yellow Spirit Pills had both gone for thirty-five spirit stones each.
Even the few battered magic swords and Magic Daggers fetched more than double their original prices.
Even healing medicines like Tianji Bone-Mending Paste and Dragon Tiger Creation Powder were snapped up.
With nothing else to sell, Su Fan brought out the Azure Cloud Saber as well. The final sale price was two hundred and ten spirit stones.
Normally, that price would have been enough to buy a secondhand mid-grade magic artifact.
It was not yet noon when Su Fan packed up his stall.
There was truly nothing left to sell.
Even the assorted odds and ends of junk confiscated from the bandit cultivators had been almost completely cleared out.
After packing up his stall, Su Fan found another shop and emptied out the remaining contents of his Storage Bag.
They were all demonic beast materials, spirit herbs, spirit ores, and the like—junk confiscated from that band of bandit cultivators.
The types were varied and the quantity was substantial. Though they were not worth many spirit stones, they took up far too much space.
Now, aside from his Talisman Making Tools and a stack of books, Su Fan's Storage Bag had been thoroughly emptied.
More than seven hundred spirit stones—that was what he had earned in a single morning.
When had Su Fan ever seen so many spirit stones? He was grinning like an idiot.
Even as he walked, he felt as though he were floating.
Having just made a small fortune, Su Fan excitedly headed to Myriad Treasures Tower.
He did not hold back, buying more than a dozen talismans in one go.
They were all High-grade Talismans, costing him more than two hundred spirit stones.
There was no helping it. At a time like this, the prices of mid-grade talismans had risen far too much.
High-grade Talismans had already been outrageously expensive to begin with, so their prices had barely increased.
Although he had to spend considerably more spirit stones, High-grade Talismans were clearly the better deal in terms of value.
After experiencing a crisis once, when it came to life-saving items, he would buy them even if it meant selling his blood.
One legendary escape artifact: a High-grade Earth Escape Talisman.
One essential treasure for robbing homes and plundering households: a High-grade Invisibility and Qi Concealment Talisman.
One of the most absurdly powerful group-annihilation treasures in history: a High-grade Ice Needle Arrow Rain Talisman.
One devastating weapon capable of dealing with all kinds of demons and ghosts: a High-grade Heavenly Thunder Evil Suppressing Talisman.
Two legendary devastating weapons: High-grade Taiyi Golden Sword Talismans.
Two supposedly most effective treasures for striking from the shadows: High-grade Law Banning Talismans.
Two protective treasure artifacts capable of withstanding attacks from Late Qi Refining cultivators: High-grade Five Elements Spirit Armor Talismans.
Finally, there were several High-grade auxiliary talismans: Body Fixing Talismans, Evil Suppressing Talismans, Tiger Roar Talismans, and Body Binding Soul Sealing Talismans.
He had really gone all out. Every talisman he bought was one of Myriad Treasures Tower's finest.
It was said that most of these premium talismans came from the famous Taiyi Immortal Sect of the Central Plains.
Buying them had felt fantastic, but after taking out so many spirit stones, Su Fan's heart was bleeding.
The shop assistant was dumbfounded too.
Who the hell was this idiot? He looked as poor and down-and-out as could be, yet he was astonishingly generous.
Could he be a sect disciple pretending to be a pig while eating the tiger, preparing to ambush some enemy?
More than two hundred spirit stones would have been enough to buy a low-grade magic artifact at Myriad Treasures Tower.
Who in their right mind would spend so many spirit stones entirely on talismans? What a hopeless fool.
After walking out of Myriad Treasures Tower, Su Fan finally felt at ease.
He did not dare make any other claims, but with these talismans, he could walk sideways through Shaoyang Market Town.
Even against a Mid Qi Refining Stage cultivator, he dared to exchange a few moves.
Of course, if he encountered a Late Qi Refining cultivator, he definitely would not win—but escaping should not be a problem.
There were nearly ten thousand Rogue Cultivators around the market town. How many Late Qi Refining cultivators could there be?
Besides, once someone had reached the Late Qi Refining Stage, would they even care about the few trifling possessions in his hands?
"Hundred Herbs Pavilion" was the largest pill shop in the market town.
Su Fan entered the shop, but there were not many people inside.
Although the prices of pills had risen as well, the increase was nowhere near as outrageous as that of magic artifacts and talismans.
Especially pills for the early Qi Refining stage—their prices had risen by less than thirty percent.
No matter how fiercely the battle between immortals and demons raged, it had little to do with low-level cultivators like them.
In the Cultivation World, they did not even qualify to be cannon fodder.
Su Fan bought ten bottles of Qi Nurturing Pills at the shop, spending one hundred and twenty spirit stones.
There were one hundred Qi Nurturing Pills in total. If he used them sparingly, they could last him nearly a year.
Spirit stones really did not go far. He had just made a small fortune, and before the spirit stones had even warmed in his grasp, nearly half of them were gone.
But he knew this money could not be saved.
Su Fan returned to the inn, changed his clothes, and appeared in the market town again.
He was very cautious, constantly using various methods to observe what was happening behind him.
Perhaps because there were too many fat sheep in the market town today, those bandit cultivators did not even bother with a poor wretch like him.
Su Fan arrived at the northwestern corner of the small town, where all the Artifact Refining Shops in the market town were concentrated.
As soon as he entered the alley, he could clearly hear wave after wave of hammering.
The place was already packed with people, most of them Rogue Cultivators preparing to head to Qin State and take a gamble.
Su Fan browsed from shop to shop. The prices of magic artifacts were eye-watering; even the prices of magic swords had more than doubled.
There were not many people at a shop up ahead, so Su Fan went to its entrance.
No wonder nobody was browsing. This place specialized in magic swords and other close-combat weapons.
The shop was not large, and its front room was packed with all kinds of magic swords.
A muscular, burly man happened to emerge from inside. When he saw Su Fan, he clasped his hands.
"Fellow Daoist, come in and take a look..."
Su Fan smiled and nodded before entering the shop.
The burly man picked up a magic sword, swung it a few times, and then handed it to Su Fan.
"This sword was forged just yesterday. Its main material is refined steel mixed with two ounces of Dark Iron. A Li Fire Talisman Array is engraved on the blade. When you channel spiritual energy into it during a fight, the edge will carry Southern Li True Fire, which can break through cultivators' protective shields."
Su Fan touched several of the arrays on the sword and seemed rather unimpressed.
Engraving spell arrays onto a magic sword was purely a useless gimmick.
A battered sword like this would have gone for only a dozen or so spirit stones a month ago.
He weighed it in his hand, then handed it back to the burly man.
"Too light. Do you have something heavier...?"
The burly man glanced at Su Fan and said, somewhat surprised, "A body cultivator? I couldn't tell."
He turned around and put the sword back, then took out a greatsword as black as ink.
"This sword is made by mixing Black Profound Steel with Dark Iron. It weighs thirty-seven jin and is peerlessly sharp. If you want it, thirty spirit stones."
Su Fan took it and weighed it, then shook his head. "Still too light..."
The burly man took it back with an expression that said Su Fan simply could not afford it, then picked up another magic sword and held it out.
"This one should do, right? The blade was forged from Black Patterned Steel and weighs forty-nine jin. Eight spirit stones, and it's yours."
Su Fan did not even take it. He simply shook his head.
The burly man grew annoyed, glared at Su Fan, and waved him over.
"Come with me..."
He led Su Fan to the back courtyard. Several forges burned with roaring flames, and waves of scorching heat rushed toward them.
When they reached a corner of the courtyard, the burly man pointed at a battered magic sword stuck there.
It was called a magic sword, but it did not even have a guard. Its black blade was mottled and pitted, and the material wrapped around the hilt had rotted away. It looked like a stick driven into the ground.
"If you can swing this sword, take it for one spirit stone."
After saying that, he looked at Su Fan with a chuckle, wearing an expression of someone waiting to see a joke.
Su Fan walked over and gripped the hilt with one hand, trying to lift the sword. In the end, he could not raise it at all.
Aside from being battered and dilapidated, the magic sword seemed no different from the others. He had not expected it to be so heavy.
He turned his head and glanced at the burly man behind him.
The fellow was watching him with a broad grin, his face full of schadenfreude.
The meaning was clear: Who told you to act so damn cocky?
Su Fan smiled, reached out, gripped the hilt, and heaved the magic sword up.
Holding the magic sword in both hands, he swung it several times in succession around the courtyard.
It had to weigh two or three hundred jin. Even with his body strengthened by the Dao Seed, swinging it was slightly strenuous.
As his strength continued to grow, it should become easier and easier to handle.
The burly man was dumbstruck. This kid looked thin and scrawny, yet he possessed such astonishing strength.
He had also achieved some success in body tempering. He could lift the sword with all his strength, but he could not swing it like Su Fan.
Su Fan took out a spirit stone and handed it to the shopkeeper.
"Senior, what material is this sword made of?"
The burly man accepted the spirit stone glumly, looking rather vexed.
"How would I know? I thought I'd picked up a treasure. It wouldn't melt in the forge, and I couldn't smash it apart. It's been sitting there for nearly five years."
After saying that, he glanced at Su Fan and said, "Kid, you've reached great accomplishment in body cultivation, haven't you?"
Su Fan chuckled and said, "I've cultivated the path of body tempering for more than twenty years. If I still couldn't achieve anything, I might as well go back home and farm."
The burly man burst out laughing and slapped Su Fan on the shoulder.
"Fine, you got yourself a bargain. Hurry up and carry it away, so I don't have to see this broken sword again..."
Su Fan hoisted the sword onto his shoulder, clasped his hands toward the burly man, and turned to leave the shop.
After walking a long way from the shop, he finally took out the sword and examined it carefully.
The sword was a full one and a half meters long and about as wide as a palm. On its pitch-black blade, one could vaguely make out densely packed talisman arrays.
However, the patterns on the arrays were already covered in rust, making it impossible to see their original forms.
Su Fan had bought this sword simply because it was cheap.
And it was heavy enough. With his current strength, ordinary magic swords did not feel right in his hands.
Although it was somewhat battered and its mottled blade looked exceptionally ugly,
in Su Fan's eyes, a weapon for striking from the shadows was better the less conspicuous it looked.
As for finding some hidden treasure, Su Fan had never entertained that thought. The shopkeeper had surely studied it for countless years.
If it really were a treasure, how could it possibly have fallen into his hands?
Su Fan tossed the magic sword into his Storage Bag and then went to a spirit rice shop, where he bought two thousand jin of spirit rice.
He also bought a large batch of seasonings and nearly a thousand jin of fresh Demonic Beast Meat.
At a shop that dealt in mundane supplies, he ordered more than a dozen water vats and jars of various sizes, along with a large quantity of vegetables, and had the shopkeeper deliver them to his door.
The two Storage Bags could not possibly hold so much spirit rice and meat, so he had no choice but to use a carrying pole to shoulder several hundred jin of spirit rice before leaving the market town.
With this replenishment of daily necessities, he had enough supplies to stay home and lie flat for quite some time.
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