Faced with Shopkeeper Tian’s quote, Li Xunhuan didn’t rush to respond.
“How many spirit stones for this sword?”
“The Demon-Slaying Sword costs five hundred spirit stones.”
“Then that makes exactly one thousand spirit stones. No problem, right? Let’s be friends.”
Friends?
What kind of friend was worth a generous discount that practically cleared out the whole stock?
Li Xunhuan pretended not to notice his expression. He looked at him with the eyes of a little white rabbit and asked,
“Can I pay with mid-grade spirit stones?”
In the room, Tian Buli’s eyelid twitched. He had a bad feeling.
Mid-grade spirit stones?
Could this really be some young master who’d run away from a great family?
A rogue cultivator?
Rogue cultivators didn’t deserve to own mid-grade spirit stones.
Only cultivation families had a stable source of spirit stones, and would set some aside for formations and their clansmen’s breakthroughs.
Tian Buli sized Li Xunhuan up again. He looked like he’d been raised in comfort.
That fit.
Since he was a disciple of a cultivation family, he wasn’t like a rogue cultivator. He was one of their own, so a small loss didn’t matter.
At this price, he could consider it a favor to one of his own.
“Of course you can, young man.”
Li Xunhuan put on the look of someone who had just started venturing into the jianghu and had managed to bargain his way into a good deal—pleased, but trying to hide it.
“Here are ten mid-grade spirit stones. Please change the extra into low-grade spirit stones for me. It’s inconvenient otherwise.”
“No problem. I’ll give you the best rate.”
Tian Buli was increasingly sure that he was dealing with a disciple of a cultivation family. A rogue cultivator might get lucky enough to obtain one or two mid-grade spirit stones.
Ten?
That was a cheat code.
Li Xunhuan put the Heavenly Thunder Seed into his storage bag and held the Demon-Slaying Sword, clicking his tongue in admiration.
This was a top-grade magical artifact.
Yet a hint of amusement flashed in his eyes.
You shopkeepers think you can bully a newbie? Today, this newbie is going to teach you a lesson.
Its original price was one thousand five hundred spirit stones. He’d gotten it for one thousand, which meant he’d made five hundred low-grade spirit stones.
He’d paid with ten mid-grade spirit stones and received three hundred low-grade spirit stones in change.
When he arrived, his net worth was ten mid-grade spirit stones.
When he left, his net worth was three mid-grade spirit stones, plus the Heavenly Thunder Seed and the top-grade magical artifact, the Demon-Slaying Sword.
He’d made a killing.
On the second floor, by the stairwell.
Tian Buli warmly saw Li Xunhuan off.
“You’re welcome back anytime.”
“Thanks!”
What a nice guy.
Li Xunhuan thanked Shopkeeper Tian and turned to go downstairs.
At one point, he’d even considered using three mid-grade spirit stones to do it all over again, getting something for nothing.
It was annoying. These spirit stones seemed to multiply the more he spent.
With so many people around, Shopkeeper Tian didn’t walk him out so as not to attract attention and make Li Xunhuan’s training more difficult.
Robber cultivators weren’t known for being discerning.
Li Xunhuan understood, too. He wandered around upstairs, pretending to be a penniless guy who couldn’t afford to buy anything, then left in a huff.
He strolled down the long street, drifting with the crowd as he divided his attention and entered the space in his mind.
Divine objects conceal themselves. The golden balance still looked utterly mediocre.
【Second-tier top-grade magical artifact, Demon-Slaying Sword】
Activate.
The target was clear: a flying magical artifact.
【Second-tier high-grade magical artifact, Windrider Boat】
【Second-tier high-grade,】
Li Xunhuan wasn’t surprised. Because of their materials, formations, and uses, flying magical artifacts had always been more valuable than other artifacts of the same grade.
Then what was the Heavenly Thunder Seed worth?
【Second-tier top-grade magical artifact, Void-Escaping Shuttle. Refined with magic treasure materials, it moves at incredible speed】
【Second-tier top-grade magical artifact, Amber Red Ling, for both protection and flight】
Wasn’t this just a goddess’s ribbon?
He was a man. That wouldn’t do.
Still, Li Xunhuan could tell from this that the Heavenly Thunder Seed was extremely valuable, only a hair’s breadth below a magic treasure.
Whoever refined this thing had really wasted its materials.
So what would happen if he added a little auxiliary material?
Could it break through its limits?
【Third-tier low-grade magical artifact, assembled magic treasure: treasure ship.
Its core components were top-grade magical artifacts, its key parts high-grade magical artifacts, and it was a combination flying magic treasure made up of countless magical artifacts】
Well, look at that. It had a bit of a cyberpunk feel.
A little too flashy.
【Third-tier low-grade magic treasure, imitation ancient treasure: Wind Fire Wheels. Boosts speed in the air, with different effects depending on the user’s cultivation】
He was tempted. Truly tempted.
But he probably wouldn’t be the only one. Anyone who saw them would want them.
His little body couldn’t take that kind of risk.
..
In the end, Li Xunhuan went all-in with the magical treasure fragment and Heavenly Thunder Seed he’d obtained on his trip to Tainan Valley, along with the junk he’d picked up during his time as City Lord.
He found a “barely acceptable” exotic treasure.
【Second-tier top-grade magical artifact, Strange treasure Auspicious Cloud. It can ride the wind and soar through the clouds, and also has various functions, including invisibility and flight. It can be attached to a robe or used on its own as an auspicious cloud】
He got a golden result!
What did it mean to cultivate?
To travel across the Northern Sea at dawn and the Cangwu Mountains by dusk.
Who wouldn’t want to be like a true Divine Immortal, standing on an auspicious cloud and coming and going as they pleased?
A Mortal riding a sword?
A brute!
Absolutely not!
So this was the one!
The balance blazed with golden light, and the exotic treasure appeared in the space.
Some information appeared in Li Xunhuan’s mind.
The treasure’s foremost feature was its speed enhancement.
In the Qi Refining Stage, its user would be ten times faster than a cultivator of the same realm using the Wind Manipulation Technique.
At Foundation Establishment, five times faster.
With core formation cultivation, the user could instantly travel several hundred yards（the standard speed for the Nascent Soul stage）, and reach a flying speed of 3,000 kilometers per hour（nearly three times the speed of a Core Formation cultivator）.
Its secondary function was invisibility. Even a Core Formation cultivator’s divine sense couldn’t detect or lock onto it.
Not bad at all.
His assigned mission was complete, and it was time for him to leave.
Li Xunhuan stopped, turned around, and strode back the way he had come.
He wasn’t keeping the Demon-Slaying Sword, either.
That name was taboo.
【Second-tier top-grade magical artifact, Azure Cloud Sword. A small amount of iron essence was added during its refinement. It weighs 499 pounds, but after being refined, its weight can be controlled at will.】
More importantly, it was a soft sword.
He was a rogue cultivator. A low-grade magical artifact like the Azure Edge Sword was enough for him.
After leaving the marketplace, once he had reached an uninhabited area,
he soared into the sky with a single step.
A hundred meters above the ground, an auspicious cloud suddenly appeared, indistinguishable from the clouds around it.
Standing on it, Li Xunhuan felt as if he were on solid ground.
A layer automatically formed around the auspicious cloud, shielding it from the wind and concealing its spiritual sense.
With a thought, the auspicious cloud turned around and headed for Jiayuan City.
Wuhu, up we go!
At that moment,
Li Xunhuan?
Call him Erlang Shen!
..
Twenty li outside Jiayuan City, three brothers were hiding on a small hill.
One was One-Eye, one had a severed arm, and one was perfectly normal.
The normal one was the eldest brother.
The one with the severed arm asked One-Eye,
“Third Brother, are you sure Li Xunhuan left the city?”
One-Eye thumped his chest and assured him the information was reliable. “Of course. It came from my second aunt’s nephew’s—”
“Stop. Just make sure you’re certain.”
Of the three, the cold-blooded hero with the severed arm cut him off.
He licked his lips and said,
“I hope it happens soon. I can’t wait to eat his flesh.”
Watching him, the eldest brother felt deeply guilty.
“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have become a robber cultivator for the Yu Family and dragged you two into this.”
The second brother with the severed arm recalled what had happened that day. A hint of fear and hatred flashed in his eyes.
“It’s not your fault, Big Brother. It’s Li Xunhuan’s. We’re all in the Black Fiend Sect, yet he’s living it up in the city while we fight for our lives out here.
It’s not fair. He deserves to die.”
One-Eye nodded fiercely. He’d lost his eye at the Yu Family’s as well.
With the Yu Family’s Foundation Establishment patriarch still alive, he couldn’t get revenge, so he could only go after Li Xunhuan.
Usually, the three always followed the eldest brother’s lead, but now the situation was reversed.
The eldest brother, who was the most twisted of them all, thought his second and third brothers had gone too far.
Collateral damage?
That was fine by him. He was frightened, too, and could use Li Xunhuan to vent his anger.
So, Li Xunhuan, blame your bad luck!
..
Elsewhere, Li Xunhuan flew to the outskirts of Jiayuan City, then suddenly stopped.
Cultivators had always been around Jiayuan City. He couldn’t just appear in front of them, could he?
That would be too unfair a use of his overwhelming advantage.
He switched to light-footed movement and headed for Jiayuan City.
Twenty li out, as he neared a small hill, the corner of his eye twitched. Something felt wrong.
A man’s seventh sense?
No. It was a martial artist’s instinct for danger.
First, I want to make it clear: I didn’t delete the comments.