Chapter 30: Treasures Hidden in a Poor Shop

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Treasures Hidden in a Poor Shop

The girl led Ye Xuan toward her shop. At first, he had assumed it was located among the rows of shops lining the main street, but that turned out not to be the case.

To reach it, they had to walk through a narrow alley and turn at several small intersections along the way.

From a distance, Ye Xuan could see the shop. It was poorly maintained, with weathered wooden walls and a rather dusty floor.

Despite its unconvincing appearance, the cultivation supplies available inside seemed fairly complete, at least judging by what Ye Xuan could see from outside.

Several cultivation accessories were displayed on the walls, along with weapons and other items.

When Ye Xuan entered the shop, he found the interior quiet and deserted.

"What do you need? I might have it in stock."

Ye Xuan glanced briefly at the two men behind him. He asked them to wait outside, explaining that he would feel more comfortable shopping without anyone watching over him.

The two men exchanged glances before clearing their throats and agreeing.

They would wait outside, but they made it clear that they wouldn’t leave until they received their money.

The girl standing in front of Ye Xuan felt relieved. At least she was safe for the moment and no longer had to endure their intimidation.

"Thank you for helping me earlier," the girl said.

"That depends on what you have to offer. If your shop has plenty of valuable items, I might be able to help you," Ye Xuan replied.

"I’m sure you’ll find something valuable here. I’ve spent years collecting these items from various cities," she answered.

"Would you like me to show you my collection of combat technique scrolls?"

Ye Xuan nodded slightly, allowing the girl to walk into the back room while he remained in the front, examining the items displayed throughout the shop.

There aren’t any good items here. I wonder why she bothered buying all this stuff.

[You’re judging too quickly, Ye Xuan.]

What do you mean?

[Look ahead!]

The young man glanced in the direction Qingyu indicated. On the shop’s wall hung a sheathed sword.

It was black, with golden patterns that appeared to have faded over time.

He reached out and took the sword, holding it with both hands.

After drawing it from its sheath, he saw that the blade was still in good condition, showing neither wear nor cracks.

To Ye Xuan, it looked like an ordinary sword. However, his attention became fixed on the characters engraved along its blade.

I can’t read these characters.

[Those are ancient characters, used by certain Spiritual Beast clans.]

[You’re lucky that my clan and I also studied those ancient characters.]

Ye Xuan smiled and asked Qingyu to translate the inscriptions.

The white serpent slithered closer to his hand and examined the writing from top to bottom.

[Cleaving mountains. Summoning eternal lightning. The world bows in submission.]

What does that mean?

[I don’t know. However, I can sense a faint qi aura coming from this sword. It’s safe to say that it’s an ancient sword once owned by someone from the past.]

[Try channeling your lightning qi into it.]

Ye Xuan followed Qingyu’s advice, focusing his mind as he channeled his spiritual qi into the blade.

Something unexpected happened.

The lightning qi within Ye Xuan seemed to activate something inside the sword, causing the ancient inscriptions to glow once more.

A powerful surge of sword qi erupted from the blade.

[I knew it. This sword resonates with the lightning element.]

Could this sword be connected to your clan?

[No. It doesn’t belong to my clan.]

The sword displayed extraordinary power simply by receiving Ye Xuan’s lightning qi.

He realized that he might have found a suitable replacement for his damaged sword.

Even so, given the mysterious nature of this lightning sword, Ye Xuan wasn’t ready to jump to any conclusions.

Before long, the girl returned from the back room carrying a wooden box filled with combat technique scrolls.

Ye Xuan turned toward her and walked over, examining the scrolls more closely.

"I’m not sure whether there’s a combat technique you’ll like, so feel free to look through all of them."

Ye Xuan waved his hand, allowing the scrolls to float in front of him.

There were 32 scrolls in total, each containing a different elemental affinity, as indicated by their colors.

Among them, he picked out a red combat technique scroll that clearly contained the fire element.

When he unfurled it, Ye Xuan could clearly see that the technique was at the Yellow Stage.

"Mystic Flame Finger?"

The girl explained that she had obtained it while shopping in Yanhuo City.

She had purchased it because she needed fire-element techniques to expand the selection available in her shop.

The name alone was enough to pique Ye Xuan’s interest.

He rolled the scroll back up and placed it on the table alongside the mysterious lightning sword.

"Is there anything else?" the girl asked.

Ye Xuan shook his head. He couldn’t find any other items that interested him, so he decided to choose those two items.

"All right. I’ll put everything away, then."

[Wait!]

"Wait!" Ye Xuan called out, startling the girl.

With a confused expression, she stopped and turned back toward him.

The young man extended his hand, allowing Qingyu to slither along his arm before reaching the counter.

Her eyes were fixed on the wooden box containing the technique scrolls.

The girl understood what Ye Xuan wanted. She placed the box back on the table and allowed his white snake to enter it.

"What is she doing?"

"It seems she’s found something interesting," Ye Xuan replied.

Not long afterward, Qingyu tossed a gray scroll out of the wooden box. She emerged again, gripping the scroll in her mouth and presenting it to Ye Xuan.

[I found something for you. Take a look.]

Ye Xuan followed Qingyu’s suggestion and began opening the scroll. He examined its contents carefully, from the name of the technique to its stage.

"Ninefold Lightning Scripture?" Ye Xuan remarked. "It says the initial stage is... Yellow Stage? What does that mean?"

"I obtained it from someone’s bag of holding. I couldn’t sell it because the required elemental affinity is so rare and specific."

"That’s true. Not many cultivators have lightning power within their bodies."

Do you want me to learn this technique?

[Yes.]

Ye Xuan rolled the scroll back up and handed over the three items he intended to purchase.

The girl began calculating the total price, which came to only around 50 spirit stones, nowhere near enough to cover her debt.

"This isn’t enough to cover what you owe them," Ye Xuan remarked.

"T-That’s all right. I’ll find another way to pay off the rest," the girl explained.

The young man fell silent for a moment before clearing his throat and nodding.

He paid her 50 spirit stones and stored the items in his bag of holding.

"Thank you for shopping here," the girl said.

Despite being burdened with debt, she looked nothing like someone going through hardship.

Ye Xuan sighed and bid her farewell before leaving the shop.

As soon as he stepped outside, the two burly men turned toward the shop and walked inside.

They raised their voices, demanding payment from the girl, while Ye Xuan continued watching them.

[You have plenty of spirit stones. At the very least, helping her would make a significant difference in her life.]

Yeah... I was thinking the same thing.

Ye Xuan walked away from the shop, already formulating a plan of his own.

He waited at the entrance of the narrow alley, watching the steady flow of people along the city’s streets.

Half an hour passed before the two burly men finally emerged and walked through the alley.

The girl was nowhere to be seen.

When they encountered Ye Xuan again, their expressions immediately turned stern.

"What do you want?"

"How much of her debt remains?" Ye Xuan asked.

"She only paid 40 spirit stones, so there’s still 80 left."

Ye Xuan patted his bag of holding and tossed a black bag containing 100 spirit stones toward them.

One of the men caught it and checked its contents.

"That should be enough to settle her debt," Ye Xuan explained.

The two burly men exchanged glances before nodding.

They confirmed that the girl’s debt had been fully paid and promised they wouldn’t bother her again.

Ye Xuan responded with a cold nod.

"Give her the remaining stones. Tell her that her debt has been settled!"

With his business concluded, Ye Xuan walked away from the alley, leaving the two men to settle the final details of the debt with the girl.

[You’ve obtained the technique you needed, and even an ancient sword. What are you going to do now?]

I haven’t had the chance to study the formation scroll Senior Wang gave me. Perhaps I’ll find a nearby place where I can train and cultivate.

[All right. I’ll help you with that.]

"Junior... Ye?"

As Ye Xuan walked alone through the city’s streets, he stopped when he heard someone calling his name.

There was only one person he knew who had a voice like that and always addressed him in such a manner.

Ye Xuan turned around and looked behind him. His eyes met hers for a brief moment.

His eyes widened. He hadn’t expected to encounter this woman in a city so far away from the Sky Cloud Sect.

"Senior Sister Wu?"