Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Water Spirit Pearl
Upon hearing his question, the bearded stall owner looked troubled for a moment.
After a long while, he shook his head and said, “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that. But…”
The bearded stall owner paused for a moment, before continuing, “If I’m not mistaken, you’re not an itinerant cultivator, are you?”
“Oh?”
Chen Daoxuan’s interest was piqued when he heard this. He said noncommittally, “How did you figure it out, fellow Daoist?”
“A novice itinerant cultivator would have definitely panicked during that situation earlier. I noticed that fellow Daoist was not afraid at all. Clearly, you possess extraordinary confidence.”
“Fellow Daoist, seeing that you possess such confidence at such a young age, I imagine that you must be a disciple of some clan. I wonder if you are a member of the Wu clan, Zhao clan, or Yang Clan?”
Although this bearded man called Zhang San had a rough appearance, his thoughts were very meticulous.
At this moment, he was actually inquiring about Chen Daoxuan’s background.
The three cultivation clans he mentioned just now were the most famous foundation establishment cultivation clans in the hundred thousand mile sea region, apart from the Zhou clan.
Chen Daoxuan shook his head. “There’s no need to be so cautious, fellow Daoist. I’m not from a foundation establishment cultivation clan, but a disciple of a small clan. It’s not worth mentioning.”
As his thoughts were seen through by Chen Daoxuan, Zhang San’s face revealed an embarrassed expression.
He thought for a while, before making up his mind, after which, the bearded man spoke into Chen Daoxuan’s ear using voice transmission, “Are you interested in the refining method of the wind and thunder array disk?”
Hearing this, Chen Daoxuan was delighted. He did not expect to receive an unexpected harvest.
“I’m indeed interested. Our clan has been planning to cultivate a refiner in recent years. We are collecting the refining methods of all kinds of spiritual artifacts.”
Hearing this, Zhang San could not help but feel a sense of respect.
Clans that could cultivate a weapon refiner were all clans that were not weak.
After all, it was not that easy to obtain an artifact refining inheritance.
An ordinary Qi refinement realm cultivation clan simply would not have the strength or resources to cultivate an artifact refiner.
With this thought in mind, Zhang San’s tone became even more humble, “Fellow Daoist, please don’t blame me. I was being reckless just now!”
After saying that, Zhang San bowed deeply to Chen Daoxuan.
Chen Daoxuan naturally would not argue with the other party over the matter just now. Otherwise, when the Zhou clan’s law enforcement cultivators were here, he would not have let the other party off.
Zhang San also knew what to do at this moment to return the favor.
He took out a jade slip from his storage bag and said via voice transmission, “Fellow Daoist, please take a look. This is the refining method of the wind and thunder array disk.”
Hearing this, Chen Daoxuan took the jade slip from his hand and examined it with his spiritual sense.
The next moment, a large amount of information regarding the refining process of the array disk poured into Chen Daoxuan’s sea of consciousness.
However, because he had been tricked once, Chen Daoxuan was extra cautious this time around.
After carefully inspecting it, he discovered that the things recorded in this jade slip were likely true.
Chen Daoxuan asked without batting an eyelid, “May I know the price of this jade slip?”
Hearing this, Zhang San raised five fingers and said, “I can see that fellow Daoist is sincere in buying it. The price is 500 spirit stones!”
After saying this, the itinerant cultivator called Zhang San looked at Chen Daoxuan with a nervous expression.
500 spirit stones was a huge amount for a Qi refinement realm itinerant cultivator, so it was easy to see why Zhang San was nervous.
Outside Guang’an Prefecture, many cultivators would risk their lives for this amount of spirit stones.
Seeing Zhang San acting suspiciously, Chen Daoxuan nodded his head and said, “Sure!”
It was not a bad deal for him to spend five hundred spirit stones to buy the refining method of an array disk spiritual artifact.
Itinerant cultivators would likely not purchase the refining methods for spiritual artifacts but, for Chen Daoxuan, who wanted to develop his clan, it was worth it in order to strengthen the inheritance of his clan.
The two of them discussed matters for a while, after which they deliberately chose to head to the inn to rent out a guest room to complete the transaction.
Openly trading in the street market was unwise.
Not to mention Zhang San, even Chen Daoxuan also did not dare to participate in such foolishness.
Five hundred spirit stones was not a small sum. If it was placed on the ground, it could be piled into a small hill. If they had openly traded such a sum, they would inevitably attract the attention of thieves and scoundrels.
Acting on the principle that it was better to have less trouble than more trouble, the two of them cautiously chose to complete the transaction in the inn.
After Zhang San completed the transaction, he cupped his hands toward Chen Daoxuan and left the itinerant cultivator market.
With such a large sum of spirit stones in hand, Zhang San was probably more worried than anyone else. After all, in terms of cultivation, he was only slightly ahead of Chen Daoxuan, being only at the fourth level of the Qi refinement realm.
On the other hand, Chen Daoxuan was in a wonderful mood.
Even though he had only spent less than half a day in the itinerant cultivator market, he had already managed to obtain a hard-to-come-by refining method of a spiritual artifact.
Moreover, it was not a common offensive or defensive spiritual artifact, but an auxiliary spiritual artifact like an array disk.
Spurred on by his good mood, Chen Daoxuan kept up his efforts and continued to stroll around the street stalls.
By the time he returned to the spot where Zhang San had set up his stall, it had already been occupied by another itinerant cultivator.
He shook his head, and continued to walk forward.
It was not until he arrived in front of a haggard-looking black-robed old man that Chen Daoxuan stopped.
He had an impression of this cultivator in front of him. When he and Zhang San were butting heads earlier, it was this black-robed old man who kept trying to undermine Zhang San.
In a sense, he could be considered to have helped Chen Daoxuan out of his predicament.
Compared to Zhang San’s fake enthusiasm, the black-robed old man’s demeanor was cold. Even though Chen Daoxuan was standing in front of him, he pretended not to see him and continued to sit quietly on the mat with his eyes closed.
As cultivators were always in closed-door cultivation, they were naturally eccentric and esoteric characters, so Chen Daoxuan did not find it strange.
“Senior, how much is this water spirit pearl of yours?”
Chen Daoxuan asked with an expression of surprise on his face when he saw a spirit pearl emitting pure water spiritual essence at the stall.
The water spirit pearl was a unique cultivation resource produced by the Zhou clan on Spirit Shell Island.
This kind of spirit pearl had the effect of filtering and purifying spiritual essence.
In other words, when a cultivator absorbed the spiritual essence that was filtered and purified by the water spirit pearl, the efficiency of refining that spiritual essence would greatly increase, thereby increasing the cultivator’s cultivation speed.
Of course, this kind of treasure also had its limits.
Generally speaking, a first-grade water spirit pearl could only be used for a month at most before it would lose its spiritual essence purifying effect and become an ordinary pearl.
Under normal circumstances, it was very difficult for such a treasure to fall into the hands of itinerant cultivators. Normally, it would even have to be ordered in advance by the various large clans. He did not know how the old man in front of him had obtained one.
When the black-robed old man heard Chen Daoxuan’s question, he opened his wrinkled eyes and said coldly, “One hundred spirit stones. No bargaining!”
“Uh!”
Chen Daoxuan, who had been originally filled with joy, was instantly stunned when he heard those words.
According to the market price, the Zhou clan’s first-grade water spirit pearls only cost fifty spirit stones each, yet the black-robed old man in front of him had directly doubled that price.
No wonder no one had bought it even after so many people had come and gone for so long.
This was no longer about selling things at a premium, this was simply daylight robbery!
Perhaps it was because it had been put on sale for too long, and perhaps because no one had bought it, but seeing Chen Daoxuan’s regretful expression, the black-robed old man explained further, “Young friend, take a good look. This water spirit pearl is a high-grade first-grade spirit pearl.”
“Although a hundred spirit stones is a little expensive, the water spirit pearl is precious to begin with. It is normal for its price to be a little higher.”
Hearing this, Chen Daoxuan was skeptical.
After all, he had never seen the water spirit pearl sold by the Zhou clan before. The only reason he could recognize this pearl was because thirteenth uncle had once told him about the characteristics of this type of spirit pearl.
“Ah, think whatever you want, young friend!”
Seeing that Chen Daoxuan was still hesitating, the old man, who was not exactly a good salesman, simply closed his eyes and did not speak further.
“Alright, one hundred spirit stones it is then.”
It was difficult to buy water spirit pearls to begin with, so if what the old man said was true, it would not be too much of a loss. In addition, the old man had helped Chen Daoxuan a little just now, so buying one of his spirit pearls at a premium would be considered as returning the favor to him.
Just as the two of them were about to complete the transaction…
“Wu Wu Wu!”
A shrill alarm suddenly sounded throughout the entire Guang’an Prefecture immortal city…