Buying a Magic Tool

Handing all these Talismans over to the shopkeeper would have earned him thirty-five Spirit Stones.

However, Wang Daoyuan's plan for life was to "make a fortune in silence." He could not draw attention or make a show of himself, lest he expose the secret of the Spirit Pearl Space.

In the end, he handed the shopkeeper only one hundred and eighty Talismans, receiving fifteen Spirit Stones. Added to the twenty Spirit Stones he had saved over the years, he could finally be said to have a little wealth.

This month's task was complete, and he could squander the remaining time as he pleased. With nothing to do, Wang Daoyuan carried his entire fortune—a staggering thirty-five Spirit Stones—and wandered along the main streets of the market.

Of course, he was not simply strolling the streets without purpose. Whenever he came across a shop selling Magic Tools, he would always go in to examine them and ask about their prices.

The Wang Clan lacked Magic Tools. Wang Chengzhu had not left behind any Hundred Cultivation Arts inheritances, and after the Lineage suffered a great disaster, it had smashed pots and sold iron to obtain inheritances in alchemy and talisman crafting.

As for artifact refining, it was a craft that crossed many fields, encompassing formation techniques, hammering, fire control, and other skills. It was difficult to learn, consumed many resources, and reliable artifact refining inheritances were hard to find. The only things one could buy were basic introductory knowledge and methods for crafting a few First-order Magic Tools. Even if one learned them, they were of little use.

Even if they trained a Second-grade Artifact Refiner, they could not recoup the cost unless he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm or became a Third-grade Artifact Refiner. With so many artifact refining materials, they might as well trade them directly for spirit herbs and train several more alchemists or Talisman Masters.

Formation Masters, meanwhile, were not something a Foundation Establishment Lineage could cultivate. Compared with pills, artifacts, and Talismans, cultivators had far less demand for formations.

Only when certain Lineages or sects needed to set up a Mountain Protecting Grand Formation would they seek out a Formation Master.

Yet whenever a force wanted someone to set up a formation, it would seek a Formation Master with at least some reputation. Low-level Formation Masters had no room to survive at all. Only some cultivators learned it as a hobby when they had nothing better to do, merely so they would not be left staring into the dark when encountering a formation. Whether they could actually set one up did not matter.

The Wang Clan had no artifact refining inheritance and had never attempted to develop one. Furthermore, the Lineage had previously been suppressed, and Spirit Stones had always been in short supply. Thus, the Wang Clan was rather short on Magic Tools. Most underage disciples had none, and Wang Daoyuan was among them.

After wandering the streets for an entire day, Wang Daoyuan had basically grasped the prices of ordinary First-order Magic Tools: low-grade First-order Magic Tools cost between ten and twenty Spirit Stones; mid-grade First-order Magic Tools cost between twenty and fifty Spirit Stones; High-grade First-order Magic Tools cost between fifty and one hundred Spirit Stones.

With Wang Daoyuan's assets, he could buy a mid-grade First-order Magic Tool.

After comparing goods at three different shops, Wang Daoyuan took a liking to the Profound Sun Sword at Divine Weapon Pavilion. The Profound Sun Sword was priced at thirty Spirit Stones. It was three chi and three cun long, three cun and three fen wide, dark red throughout, and gave off a heavy, solid feeling.

The sword's refining methods were conventional and proper. It had no shortcomings, but neither did it possess anything particularly astonishing. What truly attracted Wang Daoyuan was the Profound Sun Sword's materials. Its main material was black iron, a common raw material for First-order Magic Tools, while its auxiliary material was Profound Sun Stone.

Profound Sun Stone was an attribute-less First-order artifact refining material. Its defining traits were hardness and resistance to corrosion.

Therefore, the Profound Sun Sword was far sturdier than ordinary mid-grade First-order Magic Tools. Even High-grade First-order Magic Tools would find it difficult to destroy, and it feared no corrosion from poisonous liquids.

Though Wang Daoyuan did not understand artifact refining, he knew something about artifact refining materials. The raw materials for the Profound Sun Sword alone cost more than fifteen Spirit Stones. Adding the spirit charcoal consumed during refinement and the labor involved, thirty Spirit Stones was truly a fair price.

Wang Daoyuan visited every artifact refining shop in the old market, yet he did not find a Magic Tool more suitable for himself than the Profound Sun Sword.

As he entered Divine Weapon Pavilion, a young man came forward to greet him. He said enthusiastically, "Fellow Daoist, wasn't I right? In all of Qingli Market, you absolutely won't find a more affordable mid-grade First-order Magic Tool than the Profound Sun Sword."

Wang Daoyuan could not be bothered to haggle. He had already done so while "comparing goods at three different shops," but this young man would not yield to either soft words or hard tactics and stubbornly refused to lower the price. Wang Daoyuan took out thirty Spirit Stones, handed them to the young man before him, picked up the Profound Sun Sword, and headed outside.

Then he heard the young man call out, "I hope Fellow Daoist will treat this sword well."

Wang Daoyuan halted, turned around, and asked, "Could it be that this sword has some connection to Fellow Daoist?"

"To be honest, the Profound Sun Sword was crafted by my own hand. It was also the first Magic Tool I refined that was qualified to be displayed here for sale," the young man replied.

Wang Daoyuan was immediately intrigued. "So Fellow Daoist is actually an Artifact Refiner. My apologies for my disrespect! Please rest assured, Fellow Daoist. This sword is also my first Magic Tool, and I will certainly treat it well.

"I am Wang Daoyuan of the Wang Clan of Jade Spring Peak. May I know Fellow Daoist's honored name?"

"I am Zhao Liang of Divine Weapon Pavilion."

"I will surely have to trouble Brother Zhao in the future. Farewell."

"Brother Wang is welcome to visit often. I will not see you out."

After leaving Divine Weapon Pavilion, Wang Daoyuan found a small artifact refining workshop and bought a set of black clothes along with a bamboo hat draped in a long black veil. The veil could block out divine sense probing, making it ideal for concealing his face.

He found a secluded place, changed out of his white Daoist robe bearing the Lineage insignia, and put on his newly purchased outfit. Most Rogue Cultivators in the market dressed this way, so he would not stand out.

Wang Daoyuan sought out several shops dealing in spirit grain and sold off his spirit grain in batches.

Since he had begun growing spirit grain in the Spirit Pearl Space, he had already harvested two crops and accumulated more than a thousand jin of spirit grain. There was no way he could eat that much himself, and keeping it in his hands was useless. It was more worthwhile to exchange it for Spirit Stones.

He sold only several dozen to a little over a hundred jin of spirit grain at each shop. Such a small amount did not attract too much attention.

Naturally, the shops' purchase prices were lower than market prices. His thousand-odd jin of spirit grain sold for one hundred and five Spirit Stones.

With this huge sum tucked away, Wang Daoyuan felt somewhat excited. Previously, the peak of his assets had been thirty-five Spirit Stones. This time, they had tripled.

With money in hand, exchanging it for cultivation resources was still the most worthwhile choice. Spirit Stones could also speed up cultivation, but their effect was far inferior to certain spirit pills that raised one's cultivation. Using Spirit Stones directly to improve one's cultivation was not a good option—except, of course, for mid-grade Spirit Stones and above.

Spirit Stones were the universal currency of the cultivation world. They contained spiritual energy and could be used for cultivation. Unless otherwise specified in a transaction, Spirit Stones generally referred to Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Good water should not flow into outsiders' fields. If he wanted to buy pills, he naturally ought to support his own family's business.

Wang Daoyuan swaggered into Pill Talisman Pavilion. Wang Daocheng immediately came forward to receive him warmly. "Is Fellow Daoist here to buy pills or Talismans, or to sell something? Our shop has every kind of first- and second-order pill and Talisman. We also purchase pill and talisman materials in large quantities—the larger the amount, the better the price."

Wang Daoyuan said in an aged voice, "This old man wishes to sell some Talismans, then purchase some Spirit Gathering Pills, Spirit Ink, and First-grade High-grade Talisman Paper."

Wang Daocheng said, "So Senior is also a Talisman Master. My apologies for my disrespect! Spirit Gathering Pills are two Spirit Stones each, First-grade High-grade Talisman Paper is one Spirit Stone for two sheets, and Spirit Ink is ten Spirit Stones per jin. How much does Senior require?"

Wang Daoyuan sold all his First-order Talismans, then bought forty sheets of First-grade High-grade Talisman Paper, two jin of Spirit Ink, and thirty Spirit Gathering Pills.

Seeing such a large transaction, Wang Daocheng beamed with joy and said respectfully, "Senior, your Talismans come to a total of fourteen Spirit Stones.

"The items you purchased total one hundred Spirit Stones. Our little shop has just opened, and this is our first transaction of such size, so I'll give you a ten percent discount. That comes to ninety Spirit Stones. You still need to pay seventy-six Spirit Stones."

Wang Daoyuan took out the Spirit Stones, handed them to Wang Daocheng, and turned to leave.

Wang Daocheng grinned from ear to ear as he handed Wang Daoyuan an iron token. "Senior, please come again. Hold this token when shopping at our store, and you may continue to enjoy a ten percent discount in the future."

Wang Daoyuan secretly laughed. As expected of Ninth Great-Uncle's grandson. He may still be somewhat green, but his tongue is certainly nimble.

This business would have been the same at any shop, so it was better to support his own family's business. Meat that rotted in the pot was still meat in one's own pot; whether they gained or lost, it remained within the family.

However, if Wang Daocheng learned that the "Senior" he had been addressing over and over was actually his seventh younger brother, he would definitely beat him up.