bookbashuk Chapter 230 Parting on a sour note, selling magical artifacts
Chapter 230 Parting on a sour note, selling magical artifacts
Everyone says Cheng Yu is insatiably greedy, and seeing him today, it's certainly true!
Although these are extraordinary times, and he wasn't unprepared for the possibility of being asked for a price gouging, Cheng Yu still dared to ask for 120,000 spirit stones or a Golden Core spiritual item.
Even if all the pills in Qingya Pavilion are snapped up in the next few years, the profit will only be a few hundred thousand spirit stones. If they ask for 120,000 spirit stones, the family won't need to do any business.
Furthermore, regarding the Golden Core spiritual object, Zhang Lingyu is indeed much stronger than other cultivators of the same level, but he has never fought against the direct descendants of the Six Sects.
Those sect geniuses are all exceptionally talented, and with the magical artifacts given to them by their sect masters, they are more than capable of standing out from the crowd.
Moreover, this time, figures from the cultivation world of Chu and Yue, among others, have also come...
To snatch even a single Golden Core spiritual item from them would be considered an act of incredible luck.
To put it another way, even if Zhang Lingyu manages to snatch two Golden Core spiritual treasures, what would the clansmen think if he gave them to an outsider instead of the clan?
Cheng Yu is too old; his chances of achieving the Core Formation stage like Zhang Yuanhua are extremely slim.
To put it bluntly, if even people like this could achieve the Golden Core stage, wouldn't Golden Cores be everywhere?
Even if Cheng Yu successfully forms his core through this method, according to the rules of the cultivation world, he must join the Zhang family. This is no joke; the kindness of being taught the Dao is greater than heaven.
Sixty years? Who are you trying to fool?!
Seeing the young man's furrowed brows, Zhang Xingfu secretly lamented his situation. He regretted coming here; he and Cheng Yu were drinking buddies, and if he were blamed for this, it would implicate Ling Che, which would be disastrous.
To ease the tension, Zhang Xingfu said somewhat awkwardly, "Senior Cheng, although your alchemy skills are indeed excellent, isn't this price a bit too high?"
"Even Golden Core Immortals can't just take away Golden Core spiritual treasures so easily, let alone a Foundation Establishment family like ours?"
"That...that makes sense."
Cheng Yu pondered for a moment and realized that he had set the bar too high. Zhang Lingyu was capable, but could he compete with the disciples of other major forces in the Spirit Puppet Sect, no matter how capable he was?
"It seems that if I want to form my core, I have no choice but to desperately accumulate spirit stones and see if I can snag one at an auction in the future."
To quickly accumulate spirit stones, simply refining pills at will is not enough; one must find a powerful force to rely on. However, given the current disgrace, the only one willing to approach the Zhang family is the Zhang family.
So he lowered the price slightly and said with a smile, "I know your shop is just starting out, and 120,000 spirit stones was indeed too high. How about 100,000?"
'One hundred thousand...'
Zhang Xingfu silently calculated in his mind that his family still wouldn't earn much, but they could always make a little. He didn't dare to make a decision and turned to look at Zhang Lingyu beside him.
The latter simply said, "Eighty thousand spirit stones is all my family can offer. What do you think, senior?"
"Eighty thousand? You're kidding me! I'm a late-stage Foundation Establishment alchemist, don't you know how many people come to me begging for pills!"
"I've wasted so much time negotiating prices with you, and you've kept backing down. Do you really think I'm easy to bully?"
"Ten thousand spirit stones. Hire me if you want, or get lost."
When the old man heard that the price had dropped by another 20,000, his face immediately fell, and the anger hidden in his heart erupted. Without thinking twice, he launched into a tirade against Zhang Lingyu, just like the powerful figures who had come to his door before.
Not only that, he also released his aura outwards, sweeping fiercely towards the two of them.
The room temperature suddenly rose, far beyond what a Qi Refining cultivator could withstand. Zhang Xingfu felt a momentary dizziness, but it vanished without a trace in an instant.
Without a doubt, it was Zhang Lingyu who made the move.
"Cheng Yu, so what if you are in the late Foundation Establishment stage, or an alchemist? There are plenty of cultivators stronger than you in the vast Tianliu City. My family doesn't necessarily need to find you, nor do we need to take this opportunity to make a fortune."
Zhang Lingyu sneered, "Someone like you still dreams of forming a core? Don't you even look in the mirror and see how old you are? Forget about the inner demon tribulation and the lightning tribulation, do you even think you can successfully condense a core?"
"I advise you to honestly take on a few disciples to pass on your mantle, lest you die in your cave and no one claims your body!"
"you!"
"You rude brat!"
This series of sarcastic remarks made Cheng Yu furious. He intensified his aura, causing the entire room to tremble. If it got any stronger, it would blow the roof off!
"Cheng Yu, if you want to fight, we can go to the martial arts arena. I'll have some fun with you. If you try to fight here, the enforcement team probably won't let you off the hook."
Although the young man's tone was calm, it was extremely intimidating. Fighting was forbidden in Tianliu City, and the law enforcement team would show no mercy to anyone who violated the rules.
Cheng Yu's face darkened, and he had no choice but to withdraw his intimidation. He was all alone and had no one to rely on, unlike the other party who had a powerful backer. If he went in, he would have to spend money to find someone to help him get out.
"roll!"
He snorted coldly and then turned and left.
"Spiritual jade...this."
Zhang Xingfu hadn't expected things to turn out this way. He looked at the young man beside him, who simply said, "It's alright, isn't there still that one? Let's go give it a try."
"it is good."
The two immediately left Cheng Yu's residence and headed towards Wu Sheng. On the way, Zhang Lingyu saw that his uncle looked worried and realized that he had thoroughly angered this late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, who was afraid that it would be detrimental to the family in the future.
So he simply said, "Uncle, don't worry. This person is just a rogue cultivator with such a wicked character. How could he possibly be qualified to reach the Golden Core stage?"
"That's true, but I'm afraid he might secretly leak this information, which would be detrimental to us."
"So what? Now all the factions in Tianliu City have suffered setbacks there. The only thing that will be said is that he is as greedy as ever, so that the other forces will give up on him."
"Furthermore... it won't have much impact on my family. At most, it will just give people a bit of a laugh. They'll just say we only realized our mistake after hitting a wall, and they'll forget about it soon."
"That makes sense." Zhang Xingfu breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this and was no longer worried about the matter.
After nearly half an hour, the two finally arrived at Wu Sheng's residence. As rumored, the latter never refused any rogue cultivators who came to ask for pills.
They treated Zhang Lingyu and his group with great courtesy upon their arrival.
When he was offered a job, he declined. Firstly, he didn't want to be tied down, and secondly, many rogue cultivators came to him seeking pills, and if he were to refine them for Qingya Pavilion, he wouldn't have time to refine them for them.
However, Wu Sheng also said that if Qingya Pavilion is short of pills, they can come to him, and he will be at the top of the list.
Zhang Lingyu thought about it and agreed to the condition. As more and more cultivators from outside arrived...
They weren't the only shop in Tianliu City making preparations.
Currently, all parties are either hiring or transferring people from their own homes to expedite the refining of various magical artifacts and elixirs.
Qingya Pavilion is just starting out and doesn't have a high reputation. In addition, it doesn't have any secret pills, so it's not very attractive to cultivators. Most of its pills are still snatched up by the big powers.
In this way, a considerable amount of pills will definitely accumulate.
"Alright, we'll earn whatever we can. Until my family's business grows and expands, we should prioritize stability."
Snatching customers is cutting off someone's livelihood, and it might even offend people. He doesn't want to become a thorn in the side of other forces.
Although Wu Sheng agreed, Zhang Lingyu was still somewhat distrustful, so he suggested that the two parties sign a Netherworld Blood Pact. This kind of thing is not openly sold on the market. At that time, while he was still traveling with Jiang Shuyan, he asked for a few copies and the production method.
Fortunately, the other party was aware of its purpose and was afraid that the Zhang family would give him a heavy workload, so he signed the contract without hesitation.
As for the quality of the pills, Zhang Lingyu had also examined them and determined that they were sufficient for the use of those visiting cultivators.
Having resolved the most pressing issue, Zhang Xingfu was in an exceptionally good mood. After returning to Qingya Pavilion, he intended to rest for a while, but Zhang Lingyu pulled him into a secret room.
Usually, this is a time when something important needs to be said, so one immediately becomes extremely attentive.
Zhang Lingyu rummaged through his storage bag, emptying out a multitude of magical artifacts, pills, and cultivation techniques—so many things that Zhang Xingfu was dazzled.
Magical artifacts, elixirs, cultivation techniques, spiritual objects... all sorts of things were readily available, quickly filling most of the small secret room.
But these things don't belong to the immortal cultivators. The black and bloody aura filling the room proves that they belong to the demonic cultivators!
"This...this..."
He was terrified and looked at Zhang Lingyu in shock. These magical artifacts were clearly not something a Qi Refining cultivator would possess. He had been in charge of the shop for many years and had seen all kinds of things.
These are probably all Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators, and not just one person.
"Lingyu, did you kill all of these people?"
"Yes, I was out on some business, and I just happened to run into a few demonic cultivators on the way, so I killed them on the spot."
It must be said that the people Ouyang Miaoyan brought were no ordinary individuals; their wealth far surpassed that of the average Foundation Establishment cultivator.
He had already seen it on the way to Tianliu City. The total amount of spirit stones was nearly 100,000, five high-grade Foundation Establishment magic weapons, nine mid-grade ones, twelve low-grade ones, and more than thirty Qi Refining level ones. As for cultivation techniques, spiritual items, pills, and talismans, there was no time to estimate them.
The most valuable item here is Situ Zhan's Blood Axe. Although it was damaged by his flying sword, it can still be used after a little repair.
Another item belongs to Ouyang Miaoyan and is called the Golden Binding Ring. Its effect is somewhat similar to the Spirit Binding Rope, except that it lacks the ability to absorb mana. Although its quality is only mid-grade Foundation Establishment, it is no worse than ordinary high-grade items.
This item can change size according to the cultivator's will. Because a small amount of Crane Cry Gold was added during its forging, its toughness is quite good.
Aside from keeping the better quality and more practical items for personal use or within the clan, it's best to exchange the rest for spirit stones as soon as possible.
Zhang Lingyu smiled and said, "Although I've lived in Tianliu City for a few years, I'm not very familiar with these underground gray industries. Does Uncle know anything about them?"
Zhang Lingyu smiled and said, "Although I've lived in Tianliu City for a few years, I'm not very familiar with these underground gray industries. Does Uncle know anything about them?"
"These things are good, but they are demonic artifacts and are not suitable for use by the cultivators in our clan. It would be better to exchange them for something more useful for our clansmen."
"Don't worry, your Uncle Xingfu knows quite a lot."
Zhang Xingfu continued, "Tianliu City is a mixed bag, but it is ultimately the domain of the Six Sects. On the surface, they all appear to be leaders of the immortal path, but in reality, none of them are clean."
"Or the biggest gray industry would be the Jade Serpent Fortress. After all, most of the cultivators in this sect have strange personalities, being both righteous and evil. Otherwise, they wouldn't have so much friction with the Jade Light Pavilion."
Zhao Kingdom is considered a medium-sized country in the cultivation world of Donghua Continent, yet it has six major Nascent Soul forces. In the early stages, things were relatively good, but as the number of disciples increased, cultivation resources naturally became insufficient.
In fact, there were several small battles among the six sects. If it weren't for the demons of the Wanling Mountains and the major demonic sects of Chu, they would have already fought each other.
Among them, the Jade Serpent Fortress is the most warlike. Due to the nature of its cultivation methods, the places where it cultivates are often rife with miasma and poisonous creatures, which makes it quite disliked by the other five sects.
"The shop of the Jade Serpent Fortress in Tianliu City is called the Serpent Sunflower Pavilion. On the surface, it seems to sell legitimate things, but every night a large number of shady things are sold."
"Then...could you please help me sell these magical artifacts, Uncle?"
"Alright, that's naturally not a problem. Anyway, the Snake Sunflower Pavilion doesn't care about the origin, and these are all the property of Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators, so they certainly won't refuse."
Zhang Xingfu readily agreed. In order to further investigate the intelligence, he had also participated in the underground auction of the Snake Sunflower Pavilion.
As for whether his identity will be discovered, the answer is definitely no.
The six groups have a tacit understanding with each other and will not arbitrarily seize their assets. In addition, since they are doing business for a long time, they naturally keep the identities of their customers confidential.
After the matter was settled, the two left the secret room one after the other. Zhang Xingfu promised that he would sell these things before Zhang Lingyu left.
Having been traveling all day and rushing to Tianliu City without stopping, Zhang Lingyu was quite tired. Since she had already decided to stay here for a month, she could go to Lin Qing's place tomorrow.
It was called a rest, but it was really just meditation and spiritual practice.
As the number of outside cultivators in Tianliu City increased daily, his pressure grew, so he dared not rest for a moment and immediately intensified his cultivation.
Since it was nighttime, I decided to practice the "Spiritual Profound Soul Nourishing Scripture" and try out the Moon Marrow Spirit Water.
The bright moonlight shone on the bed. Zhang Lingyu took out a jade bottle. As he opened the bottle, waves surged in his mind, urging him to drink the entire bottle of Moon Essence Water.
But this was not the time. Restraining his inner desires, he carefully absorbed only a drop. As the spiritual water entered his mouth, a cool sensation went straight to his heart.
He could clearly feel that his soul seemed to have solidified a bit more, so he dared not be careless and immediately began to absorb it by circulating his cultivation technique.
With the practice in progress, the speed at which he absorbed moonlight increased dramatically.
"It's just as effective as the tradition said!"
A smile appeared on Zhang Lingyu's face. At the current pace, it would take about one to two years to complete the first volume of the "Spiritual Profound Soul Nourishing Scripture," which would consume about two bottles of Moon Marrow Spirit Water.
At that time, a soul comparable to that of a cultivator in the early stages of the Golden Core realm will be an absolute great help.
As for cultivation level, the Purple Sun Spirit Fruit is enough to advance to the later stage, but reaching the peak is probably impossible.
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