Three weeks later,
Lin He's door stood wide open. Delight shone on his face, and even his stride had the vigor of a prowling tiger. His cultivation had clearly advanced considerably.
"To think just one bottle of pills let me break through the bottleneck. Dual spiritual roots really do give me excellent aptitude."
Three weeks earlier, Lin He had conned five bottles of pills out of Han Li and immediately returned to his quarters to enter seclusion and break through his bottleneck. Even he had been surprised by how smoothly it went. Just like that, he had reached the eighth level of Qi Refinement.
Meanwhile, three drops of Spirit Liquid had condensed in his portable space. Seeing this, Lin He promptly set off for the Heavenly Star Sect Market.
The Heavenly Star Sect was renowned for its formations, but Lin He had not come to buy any. After traveling for more than half a day, he had to descend to the ground. Flight-restricting wards surrounded the market, forcing visitors to proceed on foot.
After walking several li, Lin He finally entered the market. The grandest building, standing at its center, was the Star Pavilion run by the Heavenly Star Sect.
With his purse painfully light, however, Lin He had no intention of going inside. Instead, he prowled among the smaller shops nearby and soon spotted his destination-a little shop that made outrageously bold claims.
Its owner was an old man surnamed Xu, with graying hair and a ruddy complexion. The shop's sign was highly enticing: it claimed he could refine Top-Tier Magical Artifacts, and if the refinement failed, the shop would compensate the customer with twice the materials' value in spirit stones.
An unfamiliar cultivator would instinctively dismiss such grand claims as boasting. Lin He, however, knew the plot and understood that Old Xu really did have some skill.
In the original story, Han Li had brought him materials from a rank-two Ink Flood Dragon. Old Xu had successfully refined several exceptional Top-Tier Magical Artifacts from them, which had even caused the Ghost Spirit Sect's young master to suffer a crushing loss.
Lin He had initially thought selling the Demon Beast materials outright would be more convenient. After doing the sums, however, he realized that having them made into artifacts before selling them would earn him more, so he immediately set his sights on Old Xu.
Besides this little artifact-refining shop, there was a shop selling talismans nearby, as well as one selling spirit beasts. Lin He still decided to enter Old Xu's shop first. After all, he did not have even a single spirit stone on him.
When Lin He entered, Old Xu was reading a book. He looked up, saw that his visitor was a Qi Refinement cultivator, and immediately lost interest, lowering his head to resume reading.
A burly man named Xiao Hei, who stood beside him, promptly stepped forward to greet Lin He.
"Would you like to buy an artifact or commission one?"
"Commission one!"
Lin He's answer was short and direct. A flicker of delight passed through the burly man's eyes, and he hurriedly asked with eager courtesy,
"What sort of artifact would you like to commission?"
"A High-Grade Magical Artifact!"
Hearing that someone wanted to commission an artifact, Old Xu could not help looking up to study Lin He. When he heard that it was a High-Grade Magical Artifact, he rose and walked over.
He did not believe an eighth-level Qi Refinement cultivator could produce any worthwhile materials. At that level, even dealing with an Upper Level One Demon Beast was difficult, let alone anything stronger. The best such a cultivator could offer would be materials from Lower Level One or middle-tier rank-one beasts, and those had long since ceased to interest Old Xu.
Lin He could plainly see the skepticism on Old Xu's face. Without a word, he took something from his Storage Bag, flashed it before the old man's eyes, and put it away again.
"Sir, you... was that just...?"
Though Old Xu was elderly and had little lifespan remaining, cultivators did not suffer from dim, failing eyes. His eyesight was excellent. Despite the fleeting glimpse, he had clearly seen a wolf's head-and one of no low rank.
"Shopkeeper, can we go inside to discuss this now?" Lin He asked with a smile.
Old Xu immediately became much more attentive. For him, reaching Foundation Establishment was already hopeless. His remaining ambition in life was to use high-grade Demon Beast materials to refine even better artifacts.
"Of course! This old man was remiss earlier. Please forgive me, sir. Come, please come inside!"
Old Xu also remembered to instruct the burly man, "Xiao Hei, make some tea. Hmm... a pot of good tea."
Xiao Hei's cultivation was low, and his knowledge was far more limited, so he naturally had not discerned as much. Still, the change in Old Xu's attitude told him an important customer had arrived. He quickly acknowledged the order and went to prepare tea.
Rubbing his hands together, Old Xu excitedly led Lin He into the rear courtyard and asked in a deeply ingratiating tone,
"You moved so quickly just now that I could only make out a wolf's head. Might you allow this old man to examine it more closely first?"
Lin He naturally did not refuse. He took out the wolf's head for Old Xu to examine. Sure enough, the old man knew his business. Before long, he cried out,
"This is... the head of a Three-Eyed Fire Wolf! And a Peak Level One Three-Eyed Fire Wolf at that!"
"You have a keen eye, shopkeeper," Lin He praised him, then asked the most crucial question,
"Can this head be refined into a Top-Tier Magical Artifact?"
Old Xu turned the wolf's head over in his hands, reluctant to put it down. After some thought, he said, "With materials from an early-stage rank-two Demon Beast, this old man could at least refine an ordinary Top-Tier Magical Artifact. But with Peak Level One materials, it is harder to say. With good luck, I might produce a Top-Tier Magical Artifact. At worst, though, I could still make a High-Grade Magical Artifact. These three spiritual eyes are excellent materials, after all."
As though something had occurred to him, Old Xu hurried to add, "Naturally, all of that assumes the refinement succeeds. If you entrust these materials to me, sir, all will be well if I succeed. But if I fail, this old man cannot compensate you at twice their value."
The old man was rather shrewd. Seeing how valuable the materials were, he immediately made his terms clear.
Lin He did not quibble over it and simply nodded his agreement. Old Xu grew tremendously excited, but just as he was about to begin, Lin He stopped him. The old man immediately thought he understood and said rather awkwardly,
"It seems this old man was too impatient and forgot to explain. These three spiritual eyes can be refined into an illusion-type support artifact. It would be quite useful in a magical duel."
"That is not what I meant, shopkeeper." Lin He shook his head. "Take a look at this..."
Under Old Xu's astonished gaze, Lin He then took out a complete set of Demon Beast materials.
"This... sir, you must have slain a Three-Eyed Fire Wolf single-handedly. Otherwise, you could never have obtained such intact materials."
Old Xu was utterly stunned. An eighth-level Qi Refinement cultivator had slain a Peak Level One Demon Beast alone, and preserved its materials so perfectly. It was simply unbelievable.
"You flatter me, shopkeeper." Lin He shook his head. "In truth, this Demon Beast's body was so tough that I could only sever its neck.
"To refine it into artifacts, we will have to use the shop's Top-Tier Magical Artifacts to process it first."
Old Xu paid that issue no mind at all. Instead, he was swept into a frenzy of excitement. "Rest assured, sir. That is a trifling matter. This old man will spare no effort in making Top-Tier Magical Artifacts for you!"......
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Lin He emerged from the shop with a broad smile, while an excited Old Xu saw him to the door, not forgetting to add,
"If you obtain any good materials in the future, sir, please visit my little shop again."
Lin He nodded and headed eagerly toward the shop selling spirit beasts.
Shortly after Lin He left, a sinister-faced middle-aged man suddenly appeared. He watched Lin He's retreating back, then entered the artifact-refining shop.