The Cheap Ghost Head Shield

"Oh! You want a mid-grade magical artifact?"

The woman's seductive eyes swept over Song Wen. He was an utterly ordinary Corpse Demon Sect disciple, all covered up and secretive. Other than being able to tell that he acted cautiously, there was nothing remarkable about him.

Yet such an ordinary outer sect disciple had actually resisted her charm technique. It was truly strange.

The woman felt a flicker of curiosity toward Song Wen.

Pointing to a nearby counter, she said, "The mid-grade magical artifacts are over here. I'll introduce them to you one by one..."

"How many spirit stones for this small shield?"

After the woman's brief introduction, Song Wen pointed at a shield barely an inch wide and asked.

The shield was entirely black, with a ghost head carved into its face. The carving was lifelike and vivid, as though a terrifying ghost creature truly crouched upon the small shield, ready to burst through it at any moment and choose someone to devour.

The woman smiled sweetly, her charm overflowing.

"You have a good eye, Senior. This Ghost Head Shield was refined from Yin Spring Stone and more than a dozen other treasures. It is indestructible. Moreover, it seals a ghost creature at the fifth level of Qi Refining within it, allowing you to command a ghost in battle. It combines offense and defense in one. The price is 200 spirit stones."

Song Wen was somewhat surprised by her price. It was not expensive—rather, he found it a little too cheap.

Generally speaking, mid-grade magical artifacts sold for two to three hundred spirit stones. Defensive magical artifacts tended to be pricier, and a mid-grade defensive artifact would usually sell for more than 300 spirit stones.

This small shield even had a ghost creature sealed within it. Its price should have been higher still.

Although he was surprised that the Ghost Head Shield was priced so low, Song Wen did not voice his doubts. He only wanted to complete the transaction as quickly as possible and leave this shop without alerting the woman before him.

"150 spirit stones." Cheap or not, he still had to haggle.

"Senior, our shop's profits are thin. Prices are nonnegotiable," the woman said.

"160 spirit stones." Song Wen continued bargaining.

After some back-and-forth, Song Wen bought the Ghost Head Shield for 180 spirit stones.

After putting away the Ghost Head Shield, Song Wen immediately left the shop without wasting a moment. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the bustling crowd.

"Xiao He, get out here."

The seductive look vanished from the woman's face in an instant as she shouted sharply toward the shop's rear courtyard.

A moment later, a sixteen-year-old girl walked out.

"Miss, you called for me?"

The young lady said coldly, "Didn't I tell you that I must not be disturbed when I'm using the shop's customers to practice my charm technique? Why did you keep sending me voice transmissions just now?"

Xiao He had just been about to explain when, before she could speak, the young lady continued.

"Today has truly been unlucky. I never expected that even a mere third-level Qi Refining cultivator could resist this young lady's charm technique."

Her tone brimmed with resentment, as though Song Wen were some heartless scoundrel who had toyed with her feelings and abandoned her.

Knowing her young lady's temperament well, Xiao He knew that she was angry. Afraid that her young lady would redirect her rage onto her, she hurriedly chimed in.

"That man was probably impotent, or else he was fond of men. Otherwise, how could he possibly resist your charm, Miss?"

The young lady shot Xiao He a look and said, "Don't speak nonsense. Either that man possesses a rare magical artifact that resists spiritual attacks, or he has cultivated a technique that strengthens the soul or stabilizes the sea of consciousness."

Xiao He's eyes lit up at this.

A magical artifact that resisted spiritual attacks! Or a soul-cultivation technique!

Both were rare and precious things in the cultivation world.

Xiao He made a throat-slitting gesture and lowered her voice. "Miss, should we...?"

Song Wen had only displayed the strength of the third level of Qi Refining. Killing him and taking his belongings would be as easy as turning over one's hand, and greed surged within Xiao He.

However, the young lady shook her head. "Fighting is forbidden within the market. And the corpse Baleful Intent around him is dense. He should be a Corpse Demon Sect disciple. Once he leaves the market, he will likely return directly to his sect. We will have no chance to act."

After a brief silence, the young lady seemed to recall something and said to Xiao He.

"By the way, you still haven't explained why you kept sending me voice transmissions just now."

While Song Wen had been in the shop, Xiao He had repeatedly sent her voice transmissions. Yet every time Xiao He had just begun, the young lady had forcibly cut her off.

Xiao He said, "Miss, I wanted to tell you that you sold that Ghost Head Shield too cheaply. Its cost was 200 spirit stones, and its listed price was 400 spirit stones."

"Ah! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

The young lady hurried out of the shop and looked around, hoping to spot Song Wen.

But how could she possibly find him? He had long since disappeared without a trace.

"It's over. We lost money on this sale again," the young lady muttered bitterly to herself.

"Miss, why don't we find somewhere else to practice your charm technique? If this keeps up, we'll lose our entire fortune."

It turned out that the two were merely employees of this shop, responsible for selling magical artifacts.

They had originally thought that with the young lady's charm technique, male cultivators would surely become utterly infatuated and willingly pay high prices for the magical artifacts. She could practice her charm technique along the way, killing two birds with one stone.

Instead, the young lady seemed to have a poor memory. She constantly mixed up the prices of magical artifacts, and always sold them too cheaply.

In just three days, the two had already lost several hundred spirit stones.

"Then where else can I practice my charm technique?" the young lady asked.

"A brothel!"

The young lady's brows drew together slightly, as though she were considering it. "A brothel? But I'm not ready yet."

"Ah, Miss! A woman will be pressed beneath a man sooner or later. What difference is there between being pressed by one man and being pressed by ten thousand?"

Song Wen entered a cultivator restaurant, removed his disguise in its back hall, and drank two cups of spirit wine inside. Only after confirming that no one was following him did he leave the restaurant.

Next, Song Wen wandered among the various stalls.

Though most items sold from street stalls were rather poor, strange objects occasionally appeared among them.

Since he was heading out this time to carry out a sect mission, it was always better to prepare a few more methods.

After making a full round, Song Wen realized he had overthought things.

Rare items did occasionally appear at street stalls, but the odds of him happening upon one were far too low.

"Senior Brother Xu, do you have anything with tremendous power?"

Unable to find what he wanted among the stalls, Song Wen spotted a familiar stall owner and simply asked directly.

This Senior Brother Xu was a late-stage Qi Refining outer sect disciple. He spent all year mingling with Rogue Cultivators and had seen far more of the world than disciples like Song Wen, who lived within the sect year-round.

Song Wen had bought corpse Baleful Intent from him several times, and the two had gradually become acquaintances who nodded to one another in greeting.

Senior Brother Xu glanced up at Song Wen, a faint smile on his face.

"Oh, it's Junior Brother Extreme Yin. When you say tremendous power, just how great do you mean?"

"At the very least, something capable of threatening late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, or even peak Qi Refining cultivators," Song Wen said.

"I do have something here that meets your requirements, Junior Brother, but..."

Senior Brother Xu's words were somewhat ambiguous. After pondering for a long while, he continued.

"You should see it for yourself."