The beautiful attendant quickly quoted the prices.
“Fire Snake Technique, two hundred Spirit Stones.”
“Wood Vine Entangle, one hundred eighty Spirit Stones.”
“Stone Spirit Mountain Suppression, one hundred eighty Spirit Stones.”
“Intermediate Cloud Rain Technique, two hundred forty Spirit Stones.”
“Geng Metal Sword Qi, two hundred eighty Spirit Stones.”
“Fellow Daoist will need to pay a total of 1,280 Spirit Stones.”
Lu Qinghe was taken aback. He hadn’t expected middle-grade techniques to cost this much. Low-grade techniques never exceeded ten Spirit Stones apiece.
Yet middle-grade techniques started at 180 Spirit Stones at the very lowest – more than ten times the price.
“The price is too steep,” Lu Qinghe said. “Any room for a discount?”
He had over 3,800 Spirit Stones on him, true, but watching so many vanish at once still stung.
The attendant smiled. “Fellow Daoist, these are already our most favorable prices. I’m confident the techniques sold at the Treasure Pavilion here in Qingyun Immortal Market are the most affordable and highest quality you’ll find anywhere.”
Lu Qinghe didn’t believe a word of it. Every merchant said the same thing.
Seeing him fall silent, the attendant spoke again. “If Fellow Daoist is sincere about purchasing, then for a transaction exceeding a thousand stones, I can take it upon myself to offer a discount of ten Spirit Stones.”
Ten stones was ten stones. One shouldn’t look down on ten Spirit Stones. Back in the Taixuan Sect, a Menial Disciple needed several years of labor just to scrape together that amount.
Lu Qinghe asked, “Do you carry any cultivation art that can conceal one’s cultivation base? Preferably something that could fool a Foundation Establishment cultivator.”
At the early and middle stages of Qi Condensation, it was difficult to perceive another’s cultivation without them actively using their strength.
But at the late stage of Qi Condensation, spiritual sense transformed into Divine Sense, and from that point one could probe another’s true level.
Advancing to the fourth layer alone had already drawn the attention of Bai Yutong and the Outer Sect Elder. He’d managed to talk his way past it, and fortunately neither of them knew he possessed Five Spiritual Roots – they assumed he had four.
If anyone learned that a Five Spiritual Roots cultivator was breaking through this quickly, he’d be marked.
The attendant raised an eyebrow, curious why he’d want such an art.
She considered for a moment. “Arts like that are exceedingly rare – especially ones capable of deceiving a Foundation Establishment cultivator. However, the Treasure Pavilion does have one in its collection.
“The only issue is that it’s a high-grade cultivation art, and the price reflects that: 2,000 Spirit Stones. But once cultivated to great completion, unless a Foundation Establishment cultivator possesses extraordinary Divine Sense, they’ll find it very difficult to perceive Fellow Daoist’s true cultivation.” The source of this chapter is novelping dot com.
Two thousand Spirit Stones. Even Lu Qinghe, flush with coin as he was, felt the blood drain from his face.
“Fellow Daoist, your Treasure Pavilion might as well be highway robbery.”
He was fairly certain that actual bandits couldn’t amass Spirit Stones this fast. But this art – he had to have it.
The female cultivator replied evenly, “Fellow Daoist, this is a high-grade cultivation art. High-grade arts are inherently expensive. In the entire Qingyun Immortal Market, only our Treasure Pavilion could produce something like this.
“Other shops would be doing well just to stock middle-grade arts.”
That much, Lu Qinghe believed. Forget the Qingyun Immortal Market – even within the Taixuan Sect, high-grade techniques were treasures beyond the reach of ordinary disciples.
He weighed his options. “I can pay 1,800 Spirit Stones. If Fellow Daoist agrees, I’ll take it – along with the five middle-grade techniques.”
The female cultivator shook her head. “The Pavilion would take a loss at that price. 1,950 Spirit Stones. I’ll concede fifty.”
“1,900.”
“Done. Fellow Daoist’s total comes to 2,180 Spirit Stones.”
“Let me inspect the techniques first.”
The female cultivator promptly handed over six jade slips. Most were sealed to prevent theft of their contents.
Lu Qinghe examined each one, confirmed the arts were genuine, and only then handed over 2,180 Spirit Stones.
The attendant’s eyes widened. She truly hadn’t expected him to produce that sum so readily.
Her smile deepened. This was a major customer. On this single transaction alone, her commission would exceed a hundred Spirit Stones.
“Does Fellow Daoist require any other treasures? The Treasure Pavilion carries everything one could desire.”
Lu Qinghe shook his head. “Your Pavilion’s goods are too expensive. My entire clan’s savings over several years have been spent clean.”
“Farewell.”
He swept the jade slips into his Storage Bag, turned, and walked out of the Treasure Pavilion.
The female cultivator watched him leave. The smile slid from her face, and she turned toward the second floor.
She arrived before a lavish chamber and spoke through the door. “Pavilion Master, a minor cultivator at Qi Condensation fourth layer just completed a transaction worth over 2,000 Spirit Stones. He purchased one middle-grade technique for each of the five elements, as well as that special art – the Thousand Faces Phantom Spirit Art.”
Lu Qinghe had no idea this beautiful attendant possessed late-stage Qi Condensation cultivation. Had he known, he might well have been alarmed.
The attendant asked, “Pavilion Master, shall we keep an eye on him?”
A languid voice drifted out. “The Treasure Pavilion does not engage in such unsavory dealings. Once a customer leaves our doors, their affairs are none of our concern.
“Our Pavilion has spread its business across the entire cultivation world on the strength of its reputation. However – should he return to make purchases of this scale, I wouldn’t mind meeting him.
“So long as he cultivates the Thousand Faces Phantom Spirit Art, we won’t mistake him for anyone else.”
“Understood, Pavilion Master.”
She bowed and withdrew.
Lu Qinghe, of course, knew nothing of what transpired inside the Treasure Pavilion. He only knew that spending over two thousand Spirit Stones on cultivation arts had bled him dry.
His original plan to acquire a high-grade Magical Artifact was now dead in the water.
If he bought one, he’d have nothing left for the things he truly needed.
In the end, Lu Qinghe spent five hundred Spirit Stones across several pill shops, purchasing fifty bottles of Spirit Gathering Pills. He spent another five hundred on five bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills.
His Spirit Stones were nearly gone again – but these pills would sustain his cultivation for a long while yet.
Lastly, he spent eighty Spirit Stones on a single Thousand Mile Swift Travel Talisman.
He’d considered buying a pill formula as well, but the price was far too steep, and he abandoned the idea. He didn’t even know whether he possessed any talent for alchemy.
Lu Qinghe departed the Qingyun Immortal Market. He did not use Sword Riding. Instead, he activated the Thousand Mile Swift Travel Talisman, and in a single turn his body blurred into a phantom that vanished into the vast mountain wilderness.
Several figures appeared outside the market gates, staring after the spot where he’d disappeared.
One of them cursed. “Damn it – a Thousand Mile Swift Travel Talisman! The bastard was that cautious?”
He refused to accept that this fat sheep had slipped away. The man had sold who knew how many jin of Spirit Rice, then dropped thousands of stones at the Treasure Pavilion.
Another asked, “Leader, do we chase?”
The leader clenched his jaw. “Chase.”
He led his men after the vanishing trail. He knew the odds of catching up were slim, but he couldn’t bring himself to let it go.
Meanwhile, in the heart of the immortal market, the Enforcement Squad captain reported to a middle-aged man. “Market Master, the one who sold over ten thousand jin of high-quality Spirit Rice has left. He’s no fool, either – realized he’d been marked, bought a Swift Travel Talisman, and vanished in a flash.”
The middle-aged man was the master of Qingyun Immortal Market – Perfected Qingyun, a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the fifth layer.