Chapter 230: Selling Magical Artifacts, Buying Materials

“I’m afraid I’ll be entering secluded cultivation to prepare for my breakthrough to the Ninth Layer of Qi Cultivation.”

The Demon Cultivator corpses she had acquired along the way, added to the body of the Blood-clothed Man who had already stepped into the Nourishing Body Realm, meant Shen Yunjiao had gathered enough energy for her advancement to the Ninth Layer of Qi Cultivation. All that remained were the final two steps: absorption and conversion into Mana.

“Alright,” Zhao Zuo replied. He didn’t know how much of her lifespan Shen Yunjiao would lose this time. From a selfish perspective, however, the Spring and Autumn Cicada still needed to absorb the power of time to advance.

“Actually, there’s something else,” Shen Yunjiao said, hesitating slightly before deciding to tell Zhao Zuo anyway.

“What is it?”

“Never mind, it’s nothing… It’s not important.” Seeing the worry in Zhao Zuo’s eyes, Shen Yunjiao swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

“I’m going to buy some materials, and then I’ll head back to the Moyun Sect.” Zhao Zuo didn’t press the issue and stated his own plans. His identity was practically transparent to those two Foundation Establishment Powerhouses; it would only take a simple investigation to confirm it.

Upon returning to the sect, he might even have to deal with the displaced anger from those who disliked Chen Xiaorong. This was the price he had to pay for rashly getting involved in the conflict between the Righteous and Demonic factions.

“So much for my days of quiet, secluded cultivation,” Zhao Zuo sighed softly.

“Protect yourself,” Shen Yunjiao urged.

“I know. You take care of yourself, too.” Zhao Zuo paused, then continued, speaking deliberately to Shen Yunjiao. “I hope you get what you wish for from this session of cultivation.”

“I will.”

Zhao Zuo drained his teacup, stood up, and pushed open the door, leaving the teahouse. Next, he needed to purchase the materials required to upgrade several of his Magical Artifacts.

This included the materials to upgrade his Clear Heart Jade Pendant into a Magical Treasure, as well as those needed to advance his Huayang Bead into an Upper-Grade Spiritual Object.

Both upgrades would undoubtedly be a huge expense. Fortunately, Zhao Zuo had a total of 87,000 Spirit Stones in his Storage Bag. Even after setting aside the 7,500 he had to repay Liu Heng, he should have some left over. He could even buy more Vajra Pills for his future Cultivation.

Zhao Zuo once again chose the Spirit Treasure Pavilion to buy his materials. He started on the first floor.

Qing Ci was the one who assisted him. After a round of haggling and negotiation, Zhao Zuo gathered all the materials needed to upgrade his Golden Light Mirror to an Upper-Grade Magical Artifact.

Among them, the Golden Blade Stone cost 2,300 Spirit Stones, the Golden Radiance Stone cost 1,300 Spirit Stones, and finally, the Mica Steel, known for its incredible hardness, cost 1,600 Spirit Stones.

After this first round of spending, Zhao Zuo had 81,800 Spirit Stones remaining.

Next were the Spiritual Objects needed to upgrade the Huayang Bead, which was itself a Middle-Grade Spiritual Object. It required five types in total. Three of these—the Fireproof Cloud Drops, the Celestial Mother Fire Lotus, and the Deep Mountain Cyan Flame Grass—could slightly enhance the strength of one’s Fire Spirit Root if consumed over a long period. Together, they cost 23,000 Spirit Stones.

The Celestial Mother Fire Lotus was the most expensive. Legend had it that this item grew high in the clouds, and only powerhouses at the Foundation Establishment Stage or above could venture deep into the sky to retrieve it. Because its spawning locations were essentially random, it commanded an extremely high price.

Zhao Zuo was skeptical of this somewhat outlandish story. Having experienced numerous sales tactics, he knew that ‘if you want to sell something for a high price, you need a good, captivating story to go with it.’

The other two materials needed for the Huayang Bead’s upgrade were cheaper: two Spiritual Objects used for Bone Marrow Cleansing and purging Pill Poison from the body. The two of them together cost 12,500 Spirit Stones.

The first three Spiritual Objects were to enhance the Huayang Bead’s long-term effect of strengthening a Fire Spirit Root, while the latter two were naturally to boost its ability to remove Pill Poison. This perfectly aligned with the characteristics the Huayang Bead currently exhibited.

The upgrade for the Clear Heart Jade Pendant required only two items.

The first was Heart-Clearing Jade Spirit Marrow. This was a type of Spirit Water that could only be nurtured in the core of a Clear Heart Jade mineral vein. Consuming it could suppress one’s Heart Demon and bring the Heart Realm to a state of peace. It was an auxiliary material used when attempting to break through to the next Realm during the Foundation Establishment Stage, and it was a relatively rare Second-Tier Spiritual Material.

Since it was a Second-Tier Spiritual Material, it couldn’t be found on the first floor. Zhao Zuo ascended the stairs to the second floor. The person selling him materials this time was again the gentle and elegant middle-aged beauty with an extremely alluring figure, whose name was Zhihua.

After a brief inquiry, Zhao Zuo confirmed the price of the Heart-Clearing Jade Spirit Marrow. The price was fixed and fair, with no room for bargaining.

Eight thousand Spirit Stones per drop. Upgrading the Clear Heart Jade Pendant required two drops, for a total cost of 16,000 Spirit Stones.

The other required material was a counterpart to the Heart-Clearing Jade Spirit Marrow. It was called Gathering Spirit Jade Spirit Marrow, and it formed under the same conditions, but in the core of a Gathering Spirit Jade mineral vein. Its effect, after consumption, was to temporarily enhance the Spiritual Root’s absorption speed of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power. It was an auxiliary Spiritual Material needed for a Qi Cultivation Stage cultivator attempting to break into the Foundation Establishment Stage.

It was also a Second-Grade Spiritual Material, priced at 6,500 Spirit Stones per drop.

The quantity required this time, however, was slightly different from the Heart-Clearing Jade Spirit Marrow. He needed three drops.

After completing his purchases, Zhao Zuo was left with 10,800 Spirit Stones. He then bought another 110 Vajra Pills, spending 4,000 Spirit Stones… which left him with 6,800 Spirit Stones.

“Thank you for your patronage, valued customer. Please come again.”

Amidst those gentle words, Zhao Zuo left the Spirit Treasure Pavilion in a daze. He had walked in carrying a fortune, feeling ambitious enough to buy out the entire store. But as he left, his legs felt unsteady, as if he had been completely drained.

‘The Spirit Stones aren’t gone,’ Zhao Zuo tried his best to convince himself, ‘they’ve just taken a different form to stay with me.’ Although he knew this was a necessary expense for his Cultivation, he couldn’t help but feel the sting.

‘I finally get rich for once, and the Spirit Stones are gone before I can even get used to having them.’

Zhao Zuo sighed softly to himself. Then, he looked toward Moyun Mountain and took a firm step forward. He didn’t know what tempests awaited him, but since he had willingly walked into the storm, there was no longer any chance to back out.

As he walked, the pain of spending his Spirit Stones quickly faded, replaced by new thoughts.

The mist was so thick he could barely see his hand in front of his face. Following the guidance of the disciple Token at his waist, Zhao Zuo passed through the Sect Protection Array. The first things he saw were two black stone pillars, about ten meters tall, and next to them, a black stone engraved with the admonitions of the first-generation patriarch.

The familiar gate, the familiar mountain path, even the somewhat recognizable flowers and trees—everything around him looked no different from when he had left. And yet, Zhao Zuo felt a faint sense of unfamiliarity in the scenery.

It wasn’t that the landscape had changed, but that his own state of mind was different.

In leaving and returning, Zhao Zuo was no longer the person he once was.

Zhao Zuo ascended the mountain steps, his pace light and powerful, his bearing composed.

In a fleeting moment of distraction, a tall figure in coarse linen robes appeared before him. The man’s squarish face was filled with a righteous air, giving off a very gentle and magnanimous impression.

“Junior Brother Zhao, I have been waiting for a long time,” Li Ge said in a flat tone.

“You are…?”

Zhao Zuo was startled for a moment but quickly regained his composure and asked politely. He could tell the person before him possessed the strength of the Foundation Establishment Stage, but he didn’t know his identity.

‘However, for him to appear here and block my path, he must be someone from the Moyun Sect.’

‘The next thing to confirm is… does he belong to the faction that wants Chen Xiaorong dead, or the one that doesn’t?’

Zhao Zuo had a nagging feeling that this man had told him his name before, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember it, retaining only a very vague impression.

“Earth Fire Hall. Vice Venerate. Li Ge.”

“Technically, you should consider yourself my junior brother,” Li Ge stated faintly.

“So it is Lord Vice Venerate.” Zhao Zuo offered a greeting. The position of Vice Venerate could be understood as the designated successor to the Venerate, making him a quasi-high-ranking member of the Moyun Sect. At the same time, his power was certainly at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Of course, he also had a more terrifying identity… the number one person below the Golden Core Realm in the surrounding three kingdoms.

“I want to ask, what is your relationship with Junior Sister Chen?”