In front of a street stall.
“I mean, all six fragments together for one spirit stone.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Take them all.”
The stall owner looked perfectly matter-of-fact. What, had he expected one spirit stone per fragment?
He wanted to laugh, but forced his mouth into a grimace, putting on an expression like he’d suffered a crushing loss.
Worthless magical treasure fragments?
He’d just been throwing out random prices.
“No refunds once the money and goods have changed hands.”
Damn, what a crushing loss.
The locals really had no manners!
Li Xunhuan left in a huff, as if he’d suffered a terrible injustice.
Once he was far away, he dropped his naïve newcomer act, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.
No matter which way the wind blew, he’d come out ahead.
【Third-tier low-grade artifact-refining materials, magical treasure fragments】
More importantly, on the other end of the Scales,
【Second-tier high-grade magical artifact, Soul-Severing Hook,】
He’d made a killing.
“Come take a look!”
As he strolled along the bustling street, surrounded by vendors’ cries, Li Xunhuan’s eyes lit up, as if he’d heard the most beautiful sound in the world.
This wasn’t a street stall; it was clearly his path to wealth.
A quarter of an hour later, he could barely keep the grin off his face.
He really was going to get rich.
It seemed he’d found a bug in the Equivalent Balance.
Here’s a fun fact: one mid-grade spirit stone equals one hundred low-grade spirit stones, and the Equivalent Balance treated them the same way.
Here’s a less fun fact: in the Mortal World, the unspoken rules worked the same way.
However, because mid-grade spirit stones were scarce, one of them could fetch a hundred and twenty or even thirty low-grade spirit stones.
So here was the question:
What if—just hypothetically—
he gathered one hundred low-grade spirit stones in the real world and traded them through the Equivalent Balance for one mid-grade spirit stone,
then broke it down into smaller denominations in the real world, getting one hundred and thirty spirit stones?
Then he could repeat the first step.
That way, he’d conjure thirty extra spirit stones out of thin air.
So how would the Equivalent Balance deal with that?!
He decided to put it to the test.
“Shopkeeper, do you buy mid-grade spirit stones?”
“We do, we do! And not only that—we’ll pay a premium!”
The shopkeeper stared at him, dumbfounded, as if Li Xunhuan were some foolish young master.
Mid-grade spirit stones weren’t just currency. They had many uses in cultivation and setting up formations, and were worth far more than low-grade spirit stones.
Li Xunhuan nodded and handed him a mid-grade spirit stone.
It was everything he owned.
He successfully got 130 low-grade spirit stones.
The next second,
“Shopkeeper, I can see you do good business. I’ve got one last mid-grade spirit stone left. What do you say?”
A few minutes later, the shopkeeper sent Li Xunhuan out with a beaming smile, as if escorting the God of Wealth himself.
“We hope to see you again!”
He looked for all the world like a brothel’s procurer.
Foreign exchange was a breeze, like picking money up off the street.
Making money was addictive.
But Li Xunhuan knew when to stop. Once he’d amassed a thousand low-grade spirit stones, he called it quits.
For one thing, the Seven Great Sects had few shops in Tainan Valley. There was no need to visit the others; it wasn’t safe.
For another, a thousand spirit stones were already enough to buy a supreme-grade magical artifact.
Myriad Treasures Tower.
The seven-story shop was magnificent, even more imposing than the shops of the Seven Great Sects.
A chain store spanning the Myriad Heavens and Worlds, just as its name suggested.
Li Xunhuan entered.
A middle-aged man in a green shirt came over with a warm smile.
“Esteemed guest, please follow me to the second floor.”
Li Xunhuan was confused. “Boss, does everyone make their trades on the second floor?”
The middle-aged man gestured with one hand and explained,
“You jest, sir. Our shop is the largest in Tainan Valley, with nothing but fine goods and everything one could ask for. Only our most esteemed guests may trade on the second floor.”
That was a lie.
Tainan Valley was a marketplace for rogue cultivators. They had many rare treasures and were easy to take advantage of, so the place was important.
At the same time, rogue cultivators were poor; most couldn’t even afford to enter the shop.
He was just bored.
He looked the cultivator before him over. The man’s hands were fair and smooth, and he wore a brocade robe typical of Jiayuan City, making his wealth hard to judge.
But what if—
What if this man really was wealthy?
“What? What do you take me for?”
Li Xunhuan stopped, an incredulous look on his face. He exclaimed in shock,
“Boss, do you think I’m some rich, handsome young master? I’m just a rogue cultivator.”
“Uh…”
The middle-aged man hadn’t expected him to be so honest. Then he heard,
“Lead the way. This rogue cultivator is going to give your shop a good inspection today.”
He couldn’t help laughing.
They reached the second floor and entered a room on the left.
It was spacious, furnished with elegant, antique-style pieces. Everything was Mortal property.
As Li Xunhuan looked around, the middle-aged man poured tea at the table in the center and introduced himself,
“I have the honor of serving as the shopkeeper of Myriad Treasures Tower, Tian Buli. How may I address you?”
“My name’s Jiao Enjun.”
“So you’re Brother Jiao. I’ve heard much about you. Please, have some tea.”
【Mortal Grade, Biluochun tea, non-toxic】
Li Xunhuan accepted the tea without hesitation, drinking it as if he were guileless and had no reason to be wary.
Seeing this, Tian Buli smiled even more warmly and struck up a friendly conversation.
“Is this your first time going out, Brother Jiao?”
“Ah, no. Impossible. Don’t be ridiculous. I’m an old hand.”
“Hahaha, forgive my slip of the tongue.
But you’ve come to the right place, Brother Jiao. Myriad Treasures Tower is the foremost merchant guild in Tiannan. We certainly won’t disappoint you.”
Li Xunhuan studied Shopkeeper Tian for a long time. After a struggle played across his face, he clutched his storage bag and said in a low voice,
“Bring out the best magical artifacts in your shop.”
Tian Buli liked naïve newcomers best. He clapped his hands, and someone brought over several brocade boxes.
“Brother Jiao, have a look.”
Tian Buli opened the first brocade box, revealing a mediocre, antique-looking long sword.
“The Demon-Slaying Sword! A supreme-grade magical artifact, forged with a little iron essence. It’s incredibly sharp. Wield it, Brother Jiao, and you’ll surely slay demons and vanquish evil, becoming a great hero!”
Do you think I’m an idiot?
He’d obviously just made up the name.
As for the iron essence, there might be some in there, but certainly only a tiny bit.
Without waiting for Li Xunhuan to react, Tian Buli opened the other brocade boxes and began introducing their contents.
“Supreme-grade magical artifact, Snow-Drinking Saber.”
“Supreme-grade magical artifact, Soul-Severing Spear.”
“What do you think, Brother Jiao?”
Li Xunhuan’s heart burned with excitement. If all of these belonged to him, he’d be armed to the teeth.
“I’ll take them all—”
“Really?”
“I can’t afford them.”
“Oh.”
Tian Buli’s spirits plunged from their peak to rock bottom, and he fell silent.
“What’s in the last brocade box?”
“A Heavenly Thunder Seed, a single-use treasure refined from captured heavenly lightning. Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator can’t withstand it.”
“Shopkeeper, I’ll take this one.”
This was what Li Xunhuan had come for.
The Heavenly Thunder Seed’s actual function wasn’t important to him.
But as far as its materials were concerned, it was more precious than a supreme-grade magical artifact.
Heavenly lightning—even a single trace of it would be coveted by Core Formation cultivators.
Refining it into a Heavenly Thunder Seed was a waste of resources.
Surely the Equivalent Balance would give him a satisfactory answer.
Shopkeeper Tian’s spirits soared again. He’d managed to make the sale after all. He asked one last probing question,
“Brother Jiao, you’re not messing with me, are you?”
“I wouldn’t dare. I’m just a lowly Qi Refining Stage cultivator.”
“That’ll be a thousand spirit stones.”
“Wait, are you robbing me?”
Shopkeeper Tian blinked without replying, thinking that robbing him was exactly what he was doing.