Silver Shadow

That Middle-aged Cultivator must have needed it urgently, which was why he spent twenty-seven Spirit Stones.

After all,

an ordinary adult Crimson Fiend Yao Python generally sold for only around twenty-three or twenty-four Spirit Stones in the Marketplace. Twenty-five Spirit Stones was already a slightly high price.

Twenty-seven Spirit Stones truly required running into someone in desperate need before they would be willing to pay.

However,

whether the other party had some urgent matter had nothing to do with Zhang Qingyuan.

At this moment,

with forty-two Spirit Stones tucked away,

this unprecedented fortune

had left Zhang Qingyuan's head feeling faintly dizzy.

That feeling

was like scraping by in his Previous Life on a monthly salary of four or five thousand, only to suddenly win the lottery one day and find more than a million in his pocket.

With such a huge sum in hand,

Zhang Qingyuan's thoughts began to stir as well.

More than forty Spirit Stones, even if all used for his own cultivation,

could not be spent up in a short while, and their effect on increasing his strength would be limited in the near term.

In the future,

if he wanted to obtain Cultivation resources, he would certainly have to take on missions that involved leaving the sect to hunt Demonic Beasts.

Having experienced this overnight windfall,

Zhang Qingyuan no longer had the slightest interest in low-yield tasks like farming. A year of hard work would not even earn a fraction of what he had made this time.

Though luck had played a part this time, the contrast in profits was enough to explain the issue.

Those Outer Sect Disciples who often went out and fought saw rapid Cultivation Progress

for good reason.

It was simply that

battle and slaughter

would, after all, bring danger.

Like this time with the Crimson Fiend Yao Python,

if he wanted to live better,

he naturally could not lack means to protect himself.

"Whether Magic Tools, Martial Skills, spells, or Secret Techniques, any of them will increase Combat Power faster than using all my Spirit Stones for cultivation."

"Things like Martial Skills and spells can be exchanged from the sect using sect contribution points, and they are cheaper than buying them outside."

"So now that I have Spirit Stones, it would be best to buy a cultivation Magic Tool in the Marketplace!"

When he had killed the Crimson Fiend Yao Python before,

the Standard Longsword issued by the sect that he carried had been directly snapped and corroded.

That had also given Zhang Qingyuan the idea of buying a better Magic Tool.

Thus,

after passing through several streets,

Zhang Qingyuan went straight ahead and arrived at a pavilion located in the center of the Marketplace.

Above it hung a plaque bearing the three words Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

It was a renowned merchant association in the Cultivation World.

It had a relatively complete selection of all kinds of cultivation goods.

Whenever Zhang Qingyuan had passed by this place before, he had never entered. He could only cast envious glances from outside.

There was no other reason.

At that time, he had not even possessed One Pill—no, not even a single Spirit Stone.

His purse had been empty.

With apprehension in his heart,

he entered the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

There were not many people inside,

only a sparse few.

Yet this was normal.

A cultivation shop like this was already considered high-end within the Marketplace. It was a place specializing in transactions using Spirit Stones, the classic sort that stayed closed for three years and ate for three years once it opened.

When Zhang Qingyuan entered, an Old Man with a smile immediately Stepped Forward from within the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

"Welcome to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. What does this young Daoist Friend require?"

Zhang Qingyuan steadied himself and bowed to the Old Man.

"Greetings, Senior. This junior has come to purchase a Magic Tool to improve his current strength. The price should preferably be below forty Spirit Stones. Does your pavilion have a suitable Magic Tool? I ask Senior to offer guidance."

The Hundred Treasures Pavilion had stood outside the Outer Sect of the Cloud Water Sect for many years, and its reputation among Outer Sect Disciples had always been excellent. Never had he heard of an Outer Sect Disciple being swindled there.

Of course, that might not be unrelated to its location within the territory of the Cloud Water Sect.

But regardless, this made Zhang Qingyuan unafraid to reveal his circumstances. He truly did not know much in this area. If he pretended to understand and bought an unsuitable Magic Tool, that would be bad enough; wasting these precious Spirit Stones without gaining even the slightest improvement would be the real trouble.

It would be better to let this professional offer him some advice, so that the Magic Tool he bought would suit him more closely.

"Hmm. With fewer than forty Spirit Stones, you cannot buy a particularly good defensive Magic Tool. This Old Man sees that your Spirit Essence is upright and balanced, deep and mellow. You should be cultivating one of the Cloud Water Sect's most widespread Cultivation Methods, the Cloud Water Art. As it happens, the pavilion received several Magic Tools during This period of time. One offensive Magic Tool among them is highly compatible with this Water Essence Art. How about taking a look at it?"

As the Old Man's smiling eyes swept over him, Zhang Qingyuan felt a chill rise from the bottom of his heart, as though every aspect of his cultivation had been seen through by the other party.

There were no secrets at all!

"I ask Senior for guidance."

Zhang Qingyuan became even more respectful, not daring to show the slightest offense.

The Hundred Treasures Pavilion sometimes did business with experts of the True Essence Realm. Could this Old Man possibly be a True Essence Realm expert like Headmaster Liu?

The Old Man nodded.

Then he retrieved a silver longsword from the back room and placed it before the counter.

The blade was slender and bright white throughout.

The instant it was drawn from its sheath, it seemed as though a bolt of lightning flashed through the air.

Even from half a meter away,

Zhang Qingyuan could faintly sense the sharp, icy aura it Emitted.

"This sword is named Silver Shadow. It is a Low-grade Magic Tool, but its primary forging material is Century Cold Iron, a Spirit Material capable of forging Mid-grade Magic Tools. It is only because the one who forged it was a novice that its grade fell during the forging process.

"But in terms of power, it does not fall short of any Low-grade Magic Tool, and may even surpass them.

"Moreover, if you regularly use Spirit Essence to scour it, washing away the impurities in its main material, the Century Cold Iron, and then find a skilled Artifact Refiner, you might even be able to upgrade it to a Mid-grade, or even High-grade Magic Tool.

"In terms of both power and potential, it is the finest among Low-grade Magic Tools.

"Of course,

"the most important point is that this sword is compatible with the Water Essence Art of the Cloud Water Sect. Spirit Essence flows through it smoothly, as easily as moving one's fingers.

"And if one can cultivate the Water Essence Art to the Fourth Layer, one can further trigger the chill within Silver Shadow. During battle, thread after thread of coldness will continuously seep into the enemy's Inside the Body on its own, causing sluggishness and obstruction in the circulation of their Spirit Essence."

Having said that,

the Old Man glanced at Zhang Qingyuan with narrowed, smiling eyes, seemingly with deeper meaning.

"If this sword were placed in the hands of a cultivator who had cultivated the Water Essence Art to the Fourth Layer, its power could even exceed that of an ordinary Mid-grade Magic Tool, reaching the level of a top-tier Mid-grade Magic Tool. Unfortunately, the Water Essence Art of the Cloud Water Sect is famously difficult to cultivate. Those who can reach the Fourth Layer while still in the Spirit Essence Realm are almost as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns, while those Stronger than the Spirit Essence Realm have long ceased using Low-grade Magic Tools.

"Therefore, this sword is worth more than an ordinary top-tier Low-grade Magic Tool, yet somewhat less than a Mid-grade Magic Tool.

"The price is forty Spirit Stones."

Forty Spirit Stones.

The price of an ordinary top-tier Low-grade Magic Tool.

It was not cheap,

but neither was it overly expensive.

Without a doubt,

Zhang Qingyuan was tempted.

Especially when the Old Man said that in the hands of a cultivator at the Fourth Layer of the Water Essence Art, it could even display the power of a top-tier Mid-grade Magic Tool, Zhang Qingyuan had already decided that Silver Shadow was the one.

Buying a Magic Tool that could display the power of a top-tier Mid-grade Magic Tool in his hands for the price of a top-tier Low-grade Magic Tool—

no matter how he looked at it, it was a bargain.

Gritting his teeth,

and forcibly enduring the pain of a massive expense, Zhang Qingyuan took out forty Spirit Stones and completed the transaction.

As he walked out through the Great Gate of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion with his heart dripping blood,

Zhang Qingyuan felt both pained

and delighted.

The instant he obtained Silver Shadow, he could feel that the longsword in his hand was indeed faintly resonating with his own Spirit Essence.