Seeing the pile of Spirit Stones on the counter glimmering under the lamplight with an enticing sheen, the goateed shopkeeper's eyes went wide!
The laziness and disdain vanished from his face, replaced by an almost obsequious warmth.
"Enough! Of course it's enough!"
He hurriedly swept the Spirit Stones into the counter, his smile blooming like a chrysanthemum.
"Junior Brother, please wait a moment. I'll get your goods right away!"
The shopkeeper's attitude had made a complete about-face.
He could see it as clearly as a mirror: the Chore Disciple before him was definitely not as simple as he appeared!
A chore disciple couldn't possibly have this kind of money.
The only explanation was that he was running errands for some esteemed Inner Sect Senior Brother, or even a True Inheritor Disciple!
He absolutely couldn't afford to offend someone like that!
The shopkeeper quickly made up his mind and deftly took a Wood box from the shelves behind him.
He carefully counted out twenty plump First-rank Demon Cores and put them inside.
At the last moment, he seemed to remember something. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed two more from another box and added them.
"Junior Brother, since this is your first time at my shop, these are a gift from me personally. Please come by again!"
He respectfully handed the Wood box to Zhou Xuan, his smile so sincere it couldn't have been more genuine.
Zhou Xuan was overjoyed, but kept his expression composed as he nodded and put the Wood box into his Universe Bag.
"You're too kind."
He replied coolly, then added, "Also, give me a hundred sheets of blank first-rank Talisman paper, a bottle each of top-quality cinnabar and demon beast blood, and a few wolf-hair brushes."
"Certainly! Please wait a moment!"
The shopkeeper responded faster than anyone, turning at once to prepare the goods.
In his eyes, Zhou Xuan was clearly making such a lavish purchase on behalf of some master's disciple. He had to make sure everything was taken care of.
Everything Zhou Xuan had asked for was the lowest-grade merchandise, dirt cheap.
For the hundred sheets of Talisman paper, plus the cinnabar, beast blood, and brushes, the shopkeeper charged him a mere two Low-grade Spirit Stones, almost as a token.
While the shopkeeper busied himself packing the goods, Zhou Xuan didn't stand idle either.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he wandered around the shop as if bored.
His mind, however, had already sunk into the depths of his consciousness, where he frantically contacted the system.
"System, scan! List all the Gold Touch Value that can be converted from everything in here!"
[Ding! Command received.]
The next second, the entire world before Zhou Xuan changed.
The ordinary-looking ores, spirit herbs, and beast bones on the shelves all became lines of numbers gleaming with Metal-colored light.
[Low-rank Fire Copper Ore, can be converted into 2 Gold Touch Value.]
[Withered Blood Coagulation Grass, can be converted into 1 Gold Touch Value.]
[Broken Wolf Demon Skull, can be converted into 3 Gold Touch Value.]
Zhou Xuan's breathing grew ragged in an instant.
His heart pounded wildly, and uncontrollable greed blazed up from deep within him like a wildfire!
He'd struck it rich!
What kind of general store was this?
It was an untouched Metal mine!
He stared at the dazzling array of goods on the shelves, practically drooling.
He even felt an urge to rush over, put his hands on the shelves, and shout, "Absorb everything!"
But the crazy thought lasted only a second before he forcibly suppressed it.
He took a deep breath, and his eyes cleared.
No!
If he really dared to do that, the Marketplace's enforcement squad would beat him into a pulp on the spot before the system could finish absorbing anything.
A gentleman loves wealth but acquires it by proper means.
Bah, I'm no gentleman, but I do value my life!
Forcing down the urge to convert that nearly burst out of him, Zhou Xuan silently told himself:
"System, switch to Enlightenment mode."
The scene before him changed again.
The numbers representing the conversion values, gleaming with Metal-colored light, vanished, replaced by lines of numbers representing the cost of repairing or improving each item.
[Low-rank Fire Copper Ore, refining its quality requires 5 Gold Touch Value.]
[Withered Blood Coagulation Grass, restoring its medicinal properties requires 3 Gold Touch Value.]
Different items and different qualities required different amounts of Gold Touch Value for Enlightenment.
Zhou Xuan's gaze swept over the shelves as he rapidly calculated which items offered the best value.
But just as his eyes passed over an inconspicuous corner at the very back of the shop, his body suddenly stiffened!
In that corner, piles of broken scraps had been dumped. The shopkeeper had apparently turned it into a junk appraisal area.
On a green copper fragment no bigger than a fingernail, covered in rust and looking as if it had been picked out of a pile of scrap metal, floated a terrifying number that made his scalp tingle and his soul tremble!
[??? (fragment), repairing it through Enlightenment requires Gold Touch Value: 1000!]
One thousand!
Zhou Xuan's mind buzzed, going completely blank!
Thinking he must have read it wrong, he blinked hard and looked again.
No mistake!
It was one thousand!
Repairing the Black Iron Shield had cost him only fifty points!
Repairing the Universe Bag had cost him only a hundred!
Yet this tiny scrap of copper, no bigger than a fingernail, required a full thousand Gold Touch Value to repair through Enlightenment!
What the hell did that mean?
At the rate of three Gold Touch Value per Low-grade Spirit Stone, a thousand points came to more than three hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones!
That sum would make even an ordinary Inner Sect Disciple wince, let alone a Chore Disciple like him!
What shocked him even more was that all the information on this thing was question marks!
[Name: ???]
[Grade: ???]
[Origin: ???]
The system couldn't even identify it!
Zhou Xuan's heart felt as if it were about to leap right out of his throat!
An unprecedented, powerful premonition branded itself deep in his soul.
He had to get it!
No matter the cost, he had to get his hands on this thing!
This was without a doubt the greatest opportunity he'd encountered yet!
Zhou Xuan's body trembled slightly with overwhelming excitement.
But in the space of a single moment, the shock and astonishment on his face gave way to a calm as still as an ancient well.
He forcibly suppressed the storm raging within him, then pretended to be nonchalant as he slowly walked toward the corner.
His steps were slow and his gaze casual, as if he were just an ordinary customer who had taken a passing interest in the junk.
"Junior Brother, I've packed up your things!"
The shopkeeper called out warmly from behind him.
Without turning around, Zhou Xuan casually waved a hand, his eyes settling on the appraisal area piled with broken Dharma Artifacts and unidentified materials.
He crouched down, picked up a Dharma Sword broken in half and inspected it, then lifted a lump of dark, ugly stone and weighed it in his hand, letting just the right hint of disdain show on his face.
Only then did he stand, dust off his hands, and turn to the beaming shopkeeper. In a lazy voice tinged with confusion, he asked:
"Shopkeeper, what's all this stuff in the corner?"
"Why is it all broken and battered? You even sell this kind of junk?"
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