First Meeting with Elder Ren, Purchasing a Talisman Treasure

Elder Ren examined the three magical artifacts Xu Yang had produced, reached out to pick up the Blood Spirit Pearl, and said with a look of regret: "This Blood Spirit Pearl is a defensive magical artifact. It holds the highest value, but unfortunately, it is already damaged. Even if repaired, it will drop by one grade and become a high-grade magical artifact."

Afterward, Elder Ren set down the Blood Spirit Pearl and inspected the Blood-Flying Sword and the Blood-Transforming Bracelet one by one before looking up to tell Xu Yang: "Although this Blood-Flying Sword is a top-grade magical artifact, its quality is not the best. However, this Blood-Transforming Bracelet is of extraordinary quality and holds the highest value."

At this point, Elder Ren stroked his chin and continued: "One hundred and forty spirit stones for the Blood-Flying Sword, one hundred and seventy-five spirit stones for the Blood-Transforming Bracelet. As for this damaged Blood Spirit Pearl, it is only worth about eighty spirit stones."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yang was overjoyed and immediately bowed to Elder Ren: "This price is extremely fair. Thank you, Elder Ren, for your leniency. I am ready to proceed with the transaction."

"Haha! My Myriad Treasures Pavilion never cheats the young or the old. We have always been very fair in our dealings and would never let a fellow cultivator suffer a loss; otherwise, how could the Myriad Treasures Pavilion have grown to its current scale?" Elder Ren laughed heartily after hearing Xu Yang's words.

It is said that the Myriad Treasures Pavilion is indeed as Elder Ren described, always fair in business, which has earned it the recognition of many cultivators. However, one must never think the Myriad Treasures Pavilion is easy to bully; its influence is immense, and even the major powers within Yue Province dare not provoke it.

This is because the Pavilion Master of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion is a Nascent Soul Realm ancestor, a cultivator of the same level as the supreme elders of the major sects. Moreover, it is rumored that the Myriad Treasures Pavilion in Yue Province is merely a branch, and that branches of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion exist in other major provinces outside of Yue Province as well.

The Myriad Treasures Pavilion is a powerful cross-province merchant guild. However, this is only a rumor, and ordinary cultivators do not know if it is true or false; it is estimated that only the supreme elders of the major sects know the details.

Seeing that Xu Yang agreed to the sale, Elder Ren acted swiftly. He immediately put away the three magical artifacts and took out a Qiankun Bag, tossing it to Xu Yang. Xu Yang reached out to catch it, probed it with his divine sense, and immediately saw hundreds of spirit stones inside.

Xu Yang was ecstatic. With these spirit stones, he could buy the Talisman Treasure he wanted, giving himself an extra trump card. Thinking of this, Xu Yang quickly looked up and asked Elder Ren: "Elder Ren, I just saw outside that your pavilion deals in Talisman Treasures. May I ask what the value of such a treasure is?"

"Oh! You want to buy a Talisman Treasure? These are not cheap! The nearly four hundred spirit stones you just received are not enough to buy one," Elder Ren said, shaking his head at Xu Yang.

"I am well aware that Talisman Treasures are expensive, but I still wish to buy one. After all, they are powerful, and in critical moments, they can defeat enemies and save lives. Please, just name a price!" Xu Yang said through gritted teeth.

Seeing Xu Yang's determined expression, Elder Ren had no choice but to say: "Since you have made up your mind, I will give you a price and you can see if you can afford it. How about six hundred spirit stones? This price is already the lowest; if it were at auction, the price would be even higher."

Hearing this price, Xu Yang calculated in his heart and was immediately overjoyed. He had enough spirit stones to buy one Talisman Treasure. Without delay, Xu Yang scraped together his resources, placed six hundred spirit stones into a Qiankun Bag, and handed it to Elder Ren: "The spirit stones I have are just enough to buy one Talisman Treasure. Please check if the amount is correct, Elder Ren."

Elder Ren took the Qiankun Bag with a look of surprise and scanned it with his divine sense, immediately seeing that the six hundred spirit stones were exactly as stated. He said to Xu Yang in astonishment: "Good lad, your net worth is truly abundant. Most cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage are not as wealthy as you."

Setting down the Qiankun Bag, Elder Ren clapped his hands twice. Two servants immediately entered from outside. Elder Ren gave them instructions, and the two acknowledged the order and turned to leave.

Afterward, Elder Ren turned to Xu Yang and said: "I have already sent someone to fetch the Talisman Treasures. Please wait a moment." Xu Yang responded immediately and sat in place to wait.

Sure enough, a moment later, the two servants returned carrying a tray. After placing the tray in front of Elder Ren, they bowed and retreated, leaving the room.

Elder Ren glanced at the tray, raised his hand to push it toward Xu Yang, and said: "Take a look! There are three Talisman Treasures here, each made from a different magical treasure. You may choose one." Hearing this, Xu Yang immediately looked down at the Talisman Treasures on the tray.

He saw that the three Talisman Treasures had different patterns on their surfaces: one depicted a flying sword, one a ring, and one a three-story pagoda. Xu Yang picked them up one by one to examine them and immediately discovered their functions.

The flying sword Talisman Treasure was an offensive one; it could manifest a magical flying sword to attack an opponent. The ring Talisman Treasure was also an offensive one; it could release a fire ring magical treasure to unleash Samadhi True Fire to attack an opponent.

As for the remaining Talisman Treasure, it was a defensive one; it could manifest into a three-story pagoda that would hover above the controller's head, casting down a screen of light to defend against an opponent's attacks.

Although Xu Yang really wanted the pagoda Talisman Treasure, he knew that offense was the best defense, so he ultimately chose the ring Talisman Treasure. The Samadhi True Fire released by this treasure was powerful, even surpassing the flying sword Talisman Treasure.

Seeing that Xu Yang had chosen the ring Talisman Treasure, Elder Ren waved his hand, and the tray disappeared, having been stored away in his Qiankun Bag. Seeing this, Xu Yang stood up and said to Elder Ren: "The transaction is complete. I will not disturb you any further, Elder Ren. I shall take my leave."

Hearing this, Elder Ren nodded at Xu Yang and said: "Go then! If you have any good items in the future, you can still sell them to my Myriad Treasures Pavilion. I guarantee you won't be shortchanged!"

Xu Yang nodded at Elder Ren to show he understood. Then, he bowed to Elder Ren and turned to leave the place. Upon reaching the outside, Xu Yang headed straight for the first floor; he wanted to pick out a high-grade defensive magical artifact there.

Because the Indeterminate Ring was damaged and he had already disposed of it, he currently had no defensive magical artifact to protect himself, which would be too dangerous if he were to engage in a fight. Fortunately, he still had over a hundred spirit stones in his Qiankun Bag, which was enough to buy a defensive magical artifact.

Arriving on the first floor, Xu Yang slowly wandered around. After some observation, he selected a defensive magical artifact: a small bell called the Yellow Heaven Bell. This bell was only the size of a palm, orange-yellow in color, and gave off a sense of heaviness.

After selecting this artifact, Xu Yang immediately found a nearby attendant to ask for the price of the Yellow Heaven Bell. In the end, Xu Yang spent one hundred spirit stones to purchase the small bell.

After this round of spending, Xu Yang's pockets immediately became empty. Having originally had over seven hundred spirit stones, he had once again become a pauper, with only a few spirit stones left. Seeing this, Xu Yang sighed deeply in his heart; these spirit stones really didn't last long!

After buying the Yellow Heaven Bell, Xu Yang left the Myriad Treasures Pavilion. He then went to look at the left side of the marketplace, where most of the stalls were set up by rogue cultivators. The various items being bought and sold were a dazzling array of goods that left Xu Yang feeling overwhelmed.

Thanks to the Treasure Appraisal Catalog, Xu Yang was able to recognize more than half of these items. The other half consisted of very rare things or strange objects that no one recognized.

These strange objects were not entirely without value; on the contrary, among them might be true treasures of heaven and earth. The reason no one recognized them was simply because the low-level cultivators lacked sufficient knowledge. Therefore, cultivators above the Foundation Establishment Realm often visited these stalls to try their luck, hoping that if they were lucky, they could buy precious items at a low price.

Xu Yang strolled around here and did indeed discover some good things. He was interested in two or three of the strange objects, but alas, his purse was empty, so he could only feast his eyes on them. He had to leave the place with a look of chagrin.

At the same time, Xu Yang learned his lesson from this experience: from now on, no matter when or where, he would always keep a certain amount of spirit stones in his Qiankun Bag for emergencies.

After leaving the rogue cultivators' stalls, Xu Yang's trip to the marketplace was complete. He did not linger, walked straight out of the marketplace's illusion array, and took flight on his sword, heading rapidly toward his sect.

Xu Yang spent the better part of the day returning to the territory of Wu Prefecture. To avoid being discovered by the Blood Refining Sect cultivators, Xu Yang landed his flying sword and used a light-body technique to continue his journey on foot.

As he walked, Xu Yang pondered to himself: "Sword flight is indeed fast, but my speed drops significantly once I am on the ground. It seems I must find a movement technique to make up for my shortcomings."

Just as Xu Yang was calculating how to learn a movement technique, a scream suddenly came from ahead, drawing his attention. The area ahead was open and deserted, and he did not know where the scream had come from.

Seeing this, Xu Yang's divine sense surged out to scan the surroundings. At the same time, he moved rapidly forward. Because his divine sense was still too weak, the range he could scan was very narrow, so he had to increase his scanning range by moving quickly.

After moving forward for a while, Xu Yang's expression suddenly changed, and he immediately accelerated. In a short while, he arrived at an open flat land. Before his eyes, he saw familiar faces like Lei Dong and Zhao Kun, who were in a fierce battle with the subordinates led by Yin Shihong.

Xu Yang stood to the side and watched for a moment before flying up. A massive wind blade appeared and slashed toward Yin Shihong. Yin Shihong's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly flew backward. The wind blade struck the ground, creating a huge fissure.

Such a large commotion immediately startled the others. Both sides stopped fighting and looked toward Xu Yang. Seeing Xu Yang's face, Lei Dong and the others were filled with joy, while Yin Shihong and his men looked grim.

Xu Yang took in the expressions of both sides. He was somewhat surprised; he had not expected that after more than a year, they would still remember him.