Ganwu City, Treasure Pavilion.
Lu Qingshan remembered coming here for a transaction when he first arrived in Ganwu City. He had sold a few Force Weapons and even received a five-star membership at the shop, so this was his first stop this time.
"Welcome to the Treasure Pavilion..."
As Lu Qingshan entered the shop, a sales assistant immediately came forward to greet him.
"Where is your supervisor, Ruyan?"
Lu Qingshan asked.
These sales assistants had limited authority, and the things he wanted to buy and sell this time were too precious. Rather than waste time, he went straight to the supervisor with whom he had enjoyed a reasonably pleasant transaction last time.
"So you are Supervisor Ruyan's guest, sir. I'll notify her right away."
Before Lu Qingshan had even finished a cup of tea, Ruyan came down from the second floor. Her eyes brightened slightly when she saw him, and a sweet smile appeared on her exquisitely beautiful face.
"How may Ruyan be of service to you this time, sir?"
Supervisor Ruyan walked over and sat opposite Lu Qingshan.
Lu Qingshan smiled faintly, unmoved by Ruyan's teasing gaze.
"Do you sell any treasures for Domain Lords to accumulate Origin Force?"
"Sir, our Treasure Pavilion does sell products for Domain Lords to accumulate Origin Force. May I ask which kind you need...?"
As she spoke, she used a smart projection to display all the products Lu Qingshan needed.
"Moonlight Spirit-Concentrating Grass... ten billion Universe Coins per stalk."
"Blood Dragon Fruit... one hundred and thirty billion Universe Coins each."
"Mystic Ice Jade Marrow Fruit... one Hunyuan Unit each."
"Seven-Colored Glazed Fruit... ten Hunyuan Units each."
"Dragon Blood Bodhi Seed... one hundred Hunyuan Units each."
The most cost-effective option, E-grade nutrient solution, was not sold here. Apparently, it was also a product whose sale was restricted by the Virtual Universe Company and was not easy to obtain.
The other treasures were essentially all natural treasures produced in Cosmic Secret Realms.
You got what you paid for. For example, a single Dragon Blood Bodhi Seed, the most expensive option, could directly raise someone from Domain Lord first stage to the peak of Domain Lord ninth stage.
But its price was equally daunting.
One hundred Hunyuan Units!
An ordinary World Lord's entire wealth only amounted to around ten Hunyuan Units. Even powerful World Lords acknowledged by an Origin Law could rarely produce so much money.
A single Dragon Blood Bodhi Seed could bankrupt a World Lord.
Then there was the Seven-Colored Glazed Fruit, which came from the Seven-Colored Secret Realm, an exceedingly dangerous secret realm within the Ganwu Universe Country. Only powerful World Lords were qualified to venture into it, and who knew how many World Lords had fallen there? Naturally, the treasures it produced were exceptionally precious.
A single Seven-Colored Glazed Fruit could raise Lu Qingshan's strength from Domain Lord level 6 to Domain Lord ninth stage. Like nutrient solution, it had no side effects. Its only drawback was its exorbitant price.
Ten Hunyuan Units! Why not just rob people!
In the end, the impoverished Lu Qingshan had only two choices: Blood Dragon Fruit and Mystic Ice Jade Marrow Fruit.
As for the cheapest option, Moonlight Spirit-Concentrating Grass, cheap goods were no good. It could improve his strength, but its effects were very limited, and Lu Qingshan had no interest in it...
"Give me ten Blood Dragon Fruits."
Lu Qingshan quickly made his choice.
Although a single Mystic Ice Jade Marrow Fruit far surpassed a Blood Dragon Fruit and could raise him by two stages, its price was still a little steep. Ten Blood Dragon Fruits cost only a little more, but their combined effects were almost twice those of a Mystic Ice Jade Marrow Fruit. Being careful with his money, Lu Qingshan naturally chose the more cost-effective option.
Besides, improving a little more slowly would make it easier to adapt to the changes in his strength.
Ultimately, it was only the difference between one month and one year. He could afford to wait that long.
Ruyan's eyes lit up upon hearing Lu Qingshan's choice. Ten Blood Dragon Fruits-another transaction worth over one Hunyuan Unit.
This Two-Leaf Ganwu Practitioner whose name she did not know was truly her lucky star.
"However, I don't have enough cash. I'll use this Life Fruit as payment, and buy some other things with what's left..."
Lu Qingshan took the Life Fruit he had left over from before out of his Space Ring.
There was no helping it. He had sunk almost all his money into himself and was now too poor. He only had around three hundred billion Universe Coins, nowhere near enough to buy the Blood Dragon Fruits.
"Oh, a Life Fruit. Almost none of its life energy has dissipated..."
Ruyan's eyes brightened, and she hurriedly said, "Our Treasure Pavilion is willing to buy this Life Fruit for 2.3 Hunyuan Units."
That price...
Lu Qingshan considered it, then nodded.
The price was a little low. If it were put up at the Ganwu Auction, it should fetch upwards of 2.5 Hunyuan Units.
However, selling it directly to the Treasure Pavilion saved time, so it was not unacceptable. Besides, he had too little money right now and was not yet qualified to attend the Ganwu Auction.
For an entry-level auction of this kind at the High-level Universe Country level, even the minimum requirement for attendance was ten Hunyuan Units. One had to be at least a three-star client of one of the universe's two major banks.
Thinking of how Luo Feng had possessed the funds to attend such an auction while still at Star Level, and had even bought the Yan Shen Armament and Moshan Clan skin to nurture a Moshan Clan clone, while he himself was almost a World Lord yet did not even qualify to attend, Lu Qingshan once again felt the depths of his poverty.
It seemed he would have to consider how to make more money with next year's two return opportunities.
"All right, I'll sell it to you."
Lu Qingshan said no more.
"Sir, the ten Blood Dragon Fruits total 1.3 Hunyuan Units. As a five-star member of our Treasure Pavilion, you receive a five percent discount, bringing the total to 1.235 Hunyuan Units. After deducting that, you have 1.065 Hunyuan Units left. Would you like to see if there is anything else you need?"
Ruyan's eyes were full of anticipation for the transaction.
After all, with both a purchase and a sale, the Treasure Pavilion would make more profit, and her commission would naturally rise with the tide.
"Your Treasure Pavilion should have Lanke Fruit, right?"
Lu Qingshan asked after some thought.
Lanke Fruit was a precious treasure used to nurture plant life forms. Though it was inferior to Life Fruit, its advantages were its low price and good value.
"Sir, the Lanke Fruit you need is in stock right here in the shop. It is generally sold in sets of a hundred, at two hundred billion Universe Coins per set. Roughly two sets of Lanke Fruit can raise a Cloud-Touching Vine seedling to Universe level 1."
"Give me four sets."
Naturally, Lu Qingshan did not intend to use these four hundred Lanke Fruits himself. He planned to give them to his two disciples, so the value of the returns would at least exceed ten Hunyuan Units.
There would be no problem securing the qualifications to attend the auction.
Four sets of Lanke Fruit meant another eight hundred billion Universe Coins gone. Even with the five percent discount, they still consumed most of Lu Qingshan's remaining Universe Coins. Of the proceeds from selling the Life Fruit, roughly two hundred billion Universe Coins remained. Adding his original savings, he had around five hundred billion.
That did not include the 250 billion Universe Coins he owed Yi Wei, emperor of the Silver Blue Empire. The debt was not due yet, and Lu Qingshan did not plan to repay it early. After all, they had agreed on interest at the time.
Adding the debt to his father-in-law, the funds Lu Qingshan had on hand were now infinitely close to zero.
Fortunately, he only needed to wait a little over half a year before his wallet would be full again.
"Supervisor Ruyan, throwing in two Cloud-Touching Vine seedlings for me shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Ruyan's smile bloomed like a flower. "Sir, you are an honored guest of our Treasure Pavilion. They are only two Cloud-Touching Vine seedlings. Naturally, we won't be stingy."
(End of chapter)