The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 429 - 253: Relentless Pursuit
Guangcheng Palace originally had a plethora of disciples, and the guests who came for the grand ceremony were also willing to scour for treasures here. Consequently, the Duobao Pavilion in front of Ning Xiaoxian was almost bursting at the seams with people, shoulder to shoulder. Fortunately, most cultivators disliked others being too close, and they maintained some distance between each other; otherwise, it really resembled the bustling markets she had seen in her previous life.
The Duobao Pavilion was divided into two floors. The second floor had counters operated by the pavilion, where sellers could consign their items for the pavilion to sell on their behalf, but the commission would be about twenty percent. Ning Xiaoxian had accumulated a lot of elixirs, so she simply entrusted all of them to the pavilion for sale. There were also other treasures in the counters, such as various magic artifacts and talismans, but the prices were astonishingly high, and even though she had money, she didn’t want to be fleeced so severely.
The first floor was a free trading area with cultivation techniques, elixirs, spirit grass, magic artifacts, and even spiritual pets for sale. After all, this place wasn’t a vegetable market; loud hawking was not allowed, and sellers could only wait quietly for buyers to approach. Negotiations between buyers and sellers also had to be conducted in muted tones. Overall, this floor was a mixture of the good and the bad. Whether one could pick out treasures or be swindled out of even their undergarments depended on the individual’s discernment abilities. Anyway, the pavilion clearly stated its policy: All trades are voluntary, and no responsibility is taken. Although her ability to appraise treasures was not great, with Changtian and Qiongqi—two old demons by her side—the chances of fooling her were slim.
After browsing for a while, she bought a Sky Flipping Seal, a Carriage Mushroom, and six Protective Magic Rings. The Sky Flipping Seal is one of the most commonly used magic artifacts among the various Immortal Sects. However, as with all "common goods" in any world, its main features were practical and durable—consuming little spiritual power and delivering satisfactory effects. The Sky Flipping Seal she purchased was adorned with cloud patterns and appeared black and unremarkable. Although it was not eye-catching, it was very convenient for ambushing cultivators at the Golden Core Stage. She had been injured at the hands of a cultivator from Tianlan Courtyard previously and after much reflection, she realized she had too few handy magic artifacts. While Changtian had many treasures, she couldn’t utilize them with her current Divine Power reserves, so she decided it was best to buy some practical mid-grade magic artifacts here.
Spiritual plants, nurtured by nature’s spiritual energy and the essence of the sun and moon—due to unknown reasons did not transform into spirit monsters derived from their plant forms. Their essence remained condensed without dispersing, eventually becoming Carriage Mushrooms. Initially, the form of a Carriage Mushroom resembles livestock, with the ox shape being the most common. High-quality ones can take human form, with the top-grade ones resembling a horse pulling a cart. This Carriage Mushroom in her hands had only shaped into a horse and cost her 1,800 spirit stones. This was due to the Carriage Mushroom possessing spiritual intelligence and a mastery of Earth Escape, able to travel thousands of miles in an instant and not easy to capture, hence their high price.
But with this item, combined with the Elixir recipe in Changtian’s possession, she could refine many new Spirit Pills.
Protective Magic Rings are challenging to craft but do not require one’s own spiritual energy to use. Just by crushing the ring before a crisis, one can create an invisible Vigorous Air Shield around themselves, defending against powerful foes. Everyone knows that such life-saving items are worth spending a lot on. However, Protective Magic Rings were easy to counterfeit, and eight out of ten stalls on the first floor of the pavilion sold them, but as for their effectiveness, well, that’s debatable. It was only after visiting six or seven stalls and with guidance from Changtian that she bought these rings. Even with her nearly peak bargaining skills, she still ended up spending over 80,000 spirit stones!
Every time she thought of these glittering treasures flying out of her wallet like they had grown wings, her heart ached. Fortunately, she consoled herself with the thought that the Ruoshui Ferry brought in a monthly income of 20,000 to 30,000 spirit stones, which somewhat comforted her wounded soul.
The next item that caught her eye was a small blue metal fragment. It was simply tossed in a pile of miscellaneous goods. After she picked out several blank White Jade Tokens, she also picked out the fragment and said, "I’m buying so many Jade Talismans. You might as well throw this in as a freebie."
The stall owner glared and said, "No way! I spent 200 spirit stones to buy this, how could I give it away for nothing?"
Ning Xiaoxian exclaimed in surprise, "200 spirit stones, you spent 200 spirit stones to buy this junk? Serves you right for getting stuck with it." Her look at the stall owner was like seeing a fool, almost infuriating him to rage before she gave a couple of scoffs, decided not to buy the tokens, and walked away.
Seeing that she had no intention of turning back, the stall owner couldn’t help but call out, "Add another 100 spirit stones, and it’s yours."
She acted as if she hadn’t heard, continuing to walk away.
Due to the rules here, the stall owner dared not shout after her and could only hurry to say, "Ninety spirit stones, take it, take it!"
