Inside the Heart-Refining Furnace, a fairly renowned establishment in the upper city.
Li Ping sat facing a tall old man with snow-white hair and a rosy complexion, carefully explaining his requirements for the magic artifacts he wanted forged.
The pair of venom fangs taken from a second-tier mid-grade Flower-Scaled Python lay on the stone table between them.
Beside the old man stood a dark-skinned young man with a somewhat wooden expression, his hands hanging at his sides. Judging by his respectful manner, he seemed to be the old man's disciple.
After a long while, once Li Ping had finished laying out all his requirements, the old man stroked his long beard and sank into thought.
A moment later, he slowly nodded, his voice steady and strong. "Fellow Daoist Yan, I understand your requirements. Using this pair of serpent fangs you provided as the main material, I can forge a set of nine flying needles for you. Would that arrangement satisfy you?"
"Nine flying needles? That will do." Li Ping nodded. "Let's draw up the contract deed!"
Since he still planned to attend the upper city's exchange gathering for Foundation Establishment cultivators next month, Li Ping followed his white-haired cultivator guide to an inn after settling the artifact refining arrangements.
At the inn's entrance, Li Ping flicked a spirit stone from his hand, sending it before the old cultivator. "That will be all. You needn't follow me anymore. This is your payment," he said mildly.
"Thank you for your generous reward, Senior!" The old cultivator accepted the spirit stone and hastily offered his thanks.
Only then did he respectfully take his leave, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.
Watching his retreating figure, Li Ping could not help falling into thought.
There was a reason people said big cities