Divine Weapon Pavilion

Qin Fei had no idea that the enemy he feared most had somehow gotten into a clash with Yama Hall.

Now, he changed his outfit and slipped quietly out the door.

Two months had passed in the blink of an eye since his last secluded cultivation session.

During that time, he had crafted puppets with such frenzy that he had nearly forgotten to eat and sleep.

The results were plain to see. Three thousand Spirit Stones lay quietly in his Storage Bag, and a single glance at them filled him with satisfaction.

Although he had squeezed his cultivation time down to almost nothing, he had begun using Spirit Stones to cultivate once he had some savings.

To his delight, his progress had not slowed down; it had even become a little faster than usual.

The Spiritual Qi contained in Spirit Stones was exceptionally pure. Absorbing it directly was far better than drawing it from Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

The only drawback to this method was the frightening rate at which it consumed Spirit Stones.

Ordinary Rogue Cultivators simply could not afford it.

Qin Fei, however, no longer cared so much about that.

As he had put a large number of Heavenly Mystery Keys into circulation in Shangyu Market, the situation had grown increasingly murky.

Heroes from every quarter had joined the scramble for the keys, and people were fighting and killing one another almost every day.

Qin Fei did not know whether this was good or bad, but one thing was certain: no one had come to bother him again.

Yet as the situation grew more chaotic, he felt an even greater sense of urgency.

Only by constantly increasing his strength could he feel a little more at ease.

Qin Fei understood that lying low now was all so that, in the future, he could accumulate strength and unleash it in a great burst.

Only by truly reaching Foundation Establishment would he be qualified to make others take him seriously and truly escape his current lack of control over his own fate.

He darted through the alleys and soon arrived before a pavilion a full three stories high.

The pavilion was grandly built, and a huge horizontal plaque hung over the entrance, bearing three large characters:

"Divine Weapon Pavilion."

As the largest seller of Law Artifacts in Shangyu Market, the Divine Weapon Pavilion was known to virtually everyone.

Its Law Artifacts were renowned for their quality, and it had its own exclusive artifact refiners who could make custom pieces to suit customers' needs.

Although its prices were somewhat higher than those of ordinary shops, cultivators still held it in high regard.

Qin Fei pressed down the bamboo hat on his head, suppressed his cultivation to the Qi Refining Third Layer, and stepped inside at a measured pace.

Now that he had earned Spirit Stones, he could hardly leave them in his pocket to breed. He intended to improve his strength.

And the most direct way to do that was, of course, to buy Law Artifacts.

Plenty of cultivators were buying spiritual weapons in the pavilion, and many did not want others to know their identities, so they wore concealing outfits.

Qin Fei's attire was less conspicuous in here.

The shop was large, with all manner of spiritual weapons arranged around it: axes, battle-axes, hooks, forks, and everything else.

The weapons gleamed with a faint, cold light. A single glance was enough to sense how extraordinary they were.

Qin Fei made a circuit, and several items tempted him, but he held back.

Those spiritual weapons were good, but their grades were a little too low.

After looking around, he found that the highest grade on the first floor was first-tier middle grade; there were no Law Artifacts above that.

After pondering for a moment, he headed toward the stairs at the side.

Just then, a portly middle-aged man in a wide robe with long sleeves blocked his path.

"Fellow Daoist, everything sold on the second floor is a rare treasure. Only those who pass a verification of their funds may enter."

A thought stirred in Qin Fei's mind, and he feigned shock. "Verification of funds? How do you verify them? How come I've never heard of it?"

Seeing that Qin Fei was only at the Qi Refining Third Layer, the middle-aged man showed a trace of impatience, but he explained nonetheless.

"If you can produce more than a hundred Spirit Stones, you'll be qualified to go up to the second floor. Otherwise, go back where you came from."

It was not that he was deliberately targeting Qin Fei; this had always been the Divine Weapon Pavilion's rule.

Although ordinary Rogue Cultivators could not possibly afford the rare treasures, there were still people who never tired of asking about them.

Later, the Divine Weapon Pavilion had simply established this rule.

Good wine fears no deep alley; if someone was truly interested in the rare treasures, they would naturally ask.

A thought flashed through Qin Fei's mind. His face flushed red, and he pointed at the stairway and exclaimed, "You, you! I clearly saw someone go up just now. Why didn't he need his funds verified?"

"Heh, that man is a great Late Qi Refining cultivator. You think you're fit to compare yourself to him? Get going, or don't blame me for getting rough."

The middle-aged man waved a large hand, and several attendants behind him immediately closed in.

The customers buying Law Artifacts pointed and whispered, clearly looking forward to a laugh.

Qin Fei took two steps back, then put on the air of a wise man who knew better than to fight when the odds were against him and bolted out the door.

Laughter rang out behind him, but he did not pause, merging into the crowd.

The incident attracted no further attention. Everyone treated it as a joke and soon forgot it.

Not long afterward, however, two more figures arrived at the Divine Weapon Pavilion.

Both were fully equipped, wearing black cloaks and vicious ghost masks over their faces.

The one in front was particularly tall and gave off a terrifying presence.

"A great Late Qi Refining cultivator!"

The Rogue Cultivators in the shop hurriedly made way, and the shopkeeper greeted them with a smile.

The two ignored them, however, and headed straight for the second floor.

Qin Fei's face was hidden beneath his cloak. Seeing that no one stopped them this time, he smiled faintly.

Dressed in ordinary clothes, the Flame Martial Envoy looked like a tall, imposing cultivator.

Without using Divine Sense to examine it closely, no one could possibly notice anything amiss.

Qin Fei was not worried about that. In the world of immortal cultivation, using Divine Sense to probe others was a major taboo.

Unless one's cultivation utterly surpassed the other person's, doing so could easily provoke an unnecessary dispute.

Given the Flame Martial Envoy's strength, presumably no one would be willing to invite that trouble for no reason.

Sure enough, their way was clear from then on.

Once it released its Late Qi Refining presence, no one from the Divine Weapon Pavilion tried to stop them again.

The two reached the second floor. It was much quieter than downstairs, and the counters were considerably smaller.

A hunched old man sat directly opposite the entrance. Seeing them come up from downstairs, he rose slightly.

"What would you two honored guests like?"

"My senior brother isn't much for talking. Shopkeeper, do you have any defensive Law Artifacts here?"

The tall figure did not speak; instead, the person behind it stepped forward.

Qin Fei had come here mainly to find a few defensive Law Artifacts to protect himself.

For offense, he currently relied mostly on the might of his puppets, with the Still Water Sword to support them. That was enough for now.

For defense, he had only a suit of soft golden-thread armor, which could take effect only after an enemy struck his body.

He had therefore decided to add one or two more items to deal with crises that might arise at any moment.

The old man was somewhat curious about the two before him, but he asked no further questions. He went to a counter and said leisurely, "The defensive Law Artifacts are all here. Please take a look."

Qin Fei directed the Flame Martial Envoy over and glanced at them, but disappointment appeared on his face.

He spoke again.

"Shopkeeper, these Law Artifacts are good, but I want the finest. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to the Divine Weapon Pavilion."

The old man raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the Flame Martial Envoy.

The Flame Martial Envoy nodded. Beneath its sinister mask, not a trace of emotion could be seen.

For no apparent reason, a chill ran through the old man's heart. Only then did he crouch down and rummage behind the counter.

Before long, two exquisite wooden boxes were set on the counter.

"These are the defensive Law Artifacts treasured by our shop. Please, take a look."

He lifted the lid of the first wooden box, and a soft glow emanated from within.

Looking closely, Qin Fei saw that it was a small bronze bell.