’If I use the Ink Bamboo Sword’s value of five hundred Spirit Stones as a benchmark for comparison...’

’A typical Five Metals Flying Sword sells for around six hundred Spirit Stones.’

’The Red Cover Treasure Pearl Umbrella has a low user requirement, and with so many Treasure Beads lavishly added, an asking price of eight hundred Spirit Stones isn’t too outrageous.’

’Unfortunately, my pockets are empty, so I have to haggle ruthlessly.’

"These two Magical Artifacts have been sitting here for a long time, haven’t they? As long as they’re just gathering dust in the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, they’re just dead objects, no matter how valuable."

Bai Zichen had to admit that the Magical Artifacts in the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion were clearly a cut above those from his own Sect’s Artifact Refining Hall.

’Perhaps without market competition, the Artifact Refiners in the Sect have lost their motivation to innovate.’

"Besides, I’m buying two at once. Naturally, I should get a better price."

In the end, Zhi Lang couldn’t bear to let such a big sale go. He put the three wooden boxes away and said he needed to go ask the branch manager for approval on the price.

Bai Zichen wasn’t in a rush. He picked up a cup of Spirit Tea, took a light sip, and gestured that he would wait.

The woman in the palace-style dress stood quietly to the side. As a Mortal, she couldn’t possibly interject in a transaction involving Magical Artifacts.

Seeing a lull in the proceedings, she quickly stepped forward to refill his tea. Then, she gracefully moved to Bai Zichen’s side, and her soft hands began to gently massage his shoulders.

A single transaction of nearly a thousand Spirit Stones. In the more than half a year she had worked as a Guest Officer, she had never handled a sale of this magnitude.

"Fellow Daoist, I had to pull a lot of strings, but my superiors have agreed to lower the price a little more..."

Zhi Lang came jogging back, holding up nine fingers.

"Nine hundred Spirit Stones, and the deal is done. You’re getting a huge bargain, Fellow Daoist. It’s like you’re getting the Hundred-Refined Celestial Silk Robe for only one hundred Spirit Stones."

"Eight hundred fifty! You won’t find anyone in the Market who will offer a higher price. It’s time to sell!"

"Eight hundred and ninety! I’ll waive my personal commission, just to make a friend of you!"

"Alright, I’ll be your friend too, Brother Zhi. I’ll add another ten!"

"Eight hundred and eighty, not a single Spirit Stone less... I’m definitely going to get chewed out by my superiors for this price. If you can agree to it, I’ll just have to deal with them later."

"Eight hundred and seventy. That’s my final offer. One more Spirit Stone, and I walk out of here right now."

Bai Zichen downed two cups of Spirit Tea in a row. This haggling was more intense than actual Combat, and his mouth was completely dry.

"Fine, fine. Consider it a loss for the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion... Eight hundred and seventy Spirit Stones. Pay up, and you can take these two Magical Artifacts."

"What’s the procedure for selling Magical Artifacts and Elixirs to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion? ... I’m a little short on Spirit Stones..."

Bai Zichen gave an embarrassed cough. Counting the loot he’d taken from the Que Family’s Twin Wolves, he only had about three hundred and thirty Spirit Stones in his storage bag.

"What! Are you messing with me? The Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion isn’t some street stall! You’d better have an explanation!"

This time, Zhi Lang was truly furious, jumping to his feet in anger.

"Brother Zhi, calm down. I just said I don’t have enough Spirit Stones on hand, not that I’m not buying. I recall the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion also has a buyback program. I have other items I can use to cover the difference."

Bai Zichen rubbed his nose and placed two Magical Artifacts and a bottle of Elixirs on the table.

"That’s good to hear... However, for buybacks, the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion only pays eighty percent of the market price. If you think that’s too low, you’re free to go set up your own stall and sell them yourself."

Zhi Lang snorted twice, picking up the Magical Artifacts from the table to inspect them closely.

"A Smoke-Spraying Gourd. It’s been refined with a stream of poisonous smoke. A Mid-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator would only get dizzy, nauseous, and feel like vomiting if they inhaled it... Its lethality is too weak. Eighty-five Spirit Stones, at most."

"Hm? This Bone Whistle is rather interesting... Are there still Artifact Refiners in Black Mountain making these kinds of Disposable Magical Artifacts?"

Bai Zichen had taken out the loot he’d seized after killing the Que Family brothers. This was a perfect opportunity to use a channel like the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion to launder the goods.

Zhi Lang must have been a professional Treasure Appraiser; as soon as the two Magical Artifacts were in his hands, he could identify their specific functions in the blink of an eye.

"The Bone Whistle itself is only a Mid-Grade Magical Artifact, but the lethality it unleashes is top-tier even among Top-Grade Magical Artifacts... It’s a Disposable Magical Artifact. It transforms into a White Bone Arrow to attack an enemy, and regardless of the outcome, the whistle turns into a pile of bone dust."

"This one is worth more... I can give you one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones for it."

"Oh, Purple Ginseng Pills. This elixir isn’t common. Perfect quality, medicinal potency fully preserved... For this bottle, I’ll give you two hundred and forty Spirit Stones."

Zhi Lang shot him a glance, growing even more certain about Bai Zichen’s identity. Elixirs that could advance the cultivation of even Late-Stage Qi Refining cultivators rarely found their way into the hands of Loose Cultivators.

Even if one were lucky enough to acquire such a thing, they wouldn’t just turn around and sell it for Spirit Stones.

If sold individually at a stall in the plaza, each pill could fetch at least forty-five Spirit Stones.

Bai Zichen did a quick mental calculation. ’That’s only four hundred and forty-five Spirit Stones in total.’ He gritted his teeth, took out the Purified Water Bottle, and tossed an empty storage bag onto the table as well.

"A Mid-Grade Magical Artifact. The refining technique is rather clever... one hundred Spirit Stones..."

"A used storage bag... seventy-five Spirit Stones..."

Bai Zichen added two hundred and fifty Spirit Stones, finally managing to scrape together the enormous sum.

"Excellent. Please check them one more time, Fellow Daoist. Once the transaction is complete, all sales are final. We don’t do returns here at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion."

With the transaction complete, Zhi Lang’s smile became enthusiastic once more.

Bai Zichen swept his Divine Sense over the items and confirmed that the Hundred-Refined Celestial Silk Robe and the Red Cover Treasure Pearl Umbrella in the wooden boxes were genuine and hadn’t been swapped.

He stored them in his own storage bag, then sat back down to make small talk for a bit.

This shopping trip had shown him that while the goods at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion were expensive, their quality was truly superb. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

’After I reach Foundation Establishment, if I don’t manage to befriend an Artifact Refining Master who can custom-make items for me, I’ll probably have to come back here to buy Spiritual Artifacts.’

After chatting idly for about an hour, Bai Zichen subtly pushed away the palace-robed woman, who had been getting progressively closer, and stood up to leave.

Zhi Lang stood at a third-floor window of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, watching Bai Zichen’s back until it disappeared into the crowd. Only then did he turn and enter a sealed, dark room.

"That man spent nearly a thousand Spirit Stones in one go. Did you place a secret mark on him?"

A hoarse voice spoke from the darkness. Despite being in a sealed room, the speaker was clearly aware of everything that had just happened on the third floor of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.

Zhi Lang shook his head and said thoughtfully, "No. I have a feeling he’s not as simple as he looks. Even though he’s only at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, the moment I prepared to place the mark, my intuition screamed that I would fail and be discovered. After thinking it over, I decided to give up. He’s no rootless Loose Cultivator. He’s either a disciple of the Qingfeng Sect or a Direct Lineage heir from one of those great Cultivation Families."

"...A pity. The two Magical Artifacts, plus whatever else he’s carrying, would probably have been enough for us to afford a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object."

"We should lay low for a while. Although my secret marks are hard to detect and you always make your move far from the Market, if we do this too often, we’re bound to slip up."

Zhi Lang’s face was grim, a stark contrast to the friendly, smiling Merchant from before. He seemed like a completely different person.

"Word has come. Once that business over there is settled, we’ll make our move in Black Mountain... This time, we’re going to take a huge chunk out of the Qingfeng Sect!"