The afterglow of the setting sun cast its light upon the bustling market, where people came and went, weaving through the lively stalls. In an inconspicuous stall, an old man with white hair and beard had a pile of ancient artifacts, numbering in the dozens: bells, tripods, swords, and even a ritual staff resembling withered wood.
These ancient artifacts all carried a mysterious Aura, attracting the attention of passing Cultivators, who stopped to observe. Each of these artifacts was extraordinary, ancient, weathered, and contained peculiar spiritual energy fluctuations, evidently treasures that had undergone the baptism of countless Years.
"Boss, where were these ancient artifacts dug up from? How much are they?"
"These ancient artifacts must have gone through tens of thousands of Years, right? Can they still be used?"
"Boss, how much for that Dragon Scale Sword? I'll take it!"
"Fellow Daoist, I saw this sword first, ..."
"..."
The small stall was exceptionally lively, with Cultivators gathered three layers deep, inside and out, constantly discussing. One treasure, in particular, attracted attention and sparked a scramble among the Cultivators.
The body of that ancient sword was inlaid with Dragon scales, and its hilt was a Dragon head, seemingly carved from the bone of a true spirit. As the ancient sword lay before the stall, Dragon Qi swirled around its body, emitting a faint Dragon Might, making it extremely eye-catching.
Li Mu gave a soft shout and, taking Xue'er with him, forcibly pushed his way into the crowd.
Under the insight of his Heavenly Talent - Identifying Myriad Spirits, the status and attributes of the numerous ancient artifacts and spiritual items at the scene were revealed to him as if a veil had been lifted, one by one entering his sight.
At this moment, hundreds of Cultivators gathered around the stall, their gazes focused on that Dragon Scale Ancient Sword. It was a sixth-rank Spiritual Artifact, and even after the baptism of long Years, its spirituality remained as it was initially, attracting everyone present.
The sword was well-maintained and even had the potential to return to the ranks of a seven-rank dao tool. This was an extremely powerful ancient Spiritual Artifact, yet this Dragon Scale Ancient Sword did not catch Li Mu's attention.
His gaze fell on another ancient, ordinary artifact: an ancient ritual staff, dry like a common wooden root. It had no ornate decorations, no powerful spirituality, yet it possessed a unique charm.
Under the Heavenly Talent - Identifying Myriad Spirits, all its attributes were revealed.
A slight smile appeared on Li Mu's face; he was determined to acquire this spiritual item.
.
Just then, a purple-robed Cultivator walked out from the crowd, a Soul Transformation expert. The purple robe was embroidered with the character 'Ji,' clearly indicating he was from the Ji Family.
"How much is this sword?" The purple-robed Cultivator looked at the stall owner, then at the Dragon Scale Ancient Sword, and asked directly.
The old stall owner looked up at him, then made an exorbitant offer, saying, "This sword, one hundred thousand upper Spirit Stones!"
As soon as these words were uttered, a commotion immediately arose. One hundred thousand upper Spirit Stones was an astronomical figure for ordinary Cultivators like them. However, the purple-robed Cultivator was unconcerned. He took a deep look at the ancient sword and said, "I'll take it."
As soon as his words fell, the surrounding Cultivators were agitated. Their beloved item was being bought by someone else, and they were naturally displeased. However, the purple-robed Cultivator showed no fear; a powerful Aura surged forth, suppressing everyone present.
The purple-robed elder looked at the old man with deep meaning and said, "First, inspect the goods."
The old stall owner smiled slightly, picked up the ancient sword, and with a gentle swing, a Dragon-shaped True Qi sliced through the air, soaring straight into the sky.
Before the stall, all the Cultivators instantly fell silent, their eyes filled with envy and longing.
The purple-robed Cultivator nodded in satisfaction. He took out a Storage Pouch and directly threw it to the old man.
Soon, witnessed by the Cultivators, the old stall owner and the purple-robed Cultivator completed the transaction. The purple-robed Cultivator took the Dragon Scale Ancient Sword and left gracefully, with no other incidents occurring.
Many Cultivators cast ill-intentioned glances at the old stall owner. This old man, with only an Early Stage Nascent Soul cultivation, carried a Storage Pouch with one hundred thousand upper Spirit Stones!
However, the old man seemed oblivious, as if he had some backing, and continued to sell spiritual items without fear.
The most valuable Dragon Scale Ancient Sword had already been bought, and the remaining ancient artifacts had lost their spirituality, making them of extremely low value. Few people showed interest, and the few who tried to inquire about prices were scared away by the old man's exorbitant quotes.
Aside from some ill-intentioned onlookers, the old man's stall, once crowded, gradually became sparse.
"Lord Li, there's nothing good to see. Shall we go too?" Xue'er whispered softly into Li Mu's ear, sensing the ill intentions of the people around. After the ancient sword was bought, this stall became very uninteresting.
"Wait a bit longer, I find a few ancient artifacts quite interesting." Li Mu smiled and shook his head. His gaze swept across the stall, falling on each ancient artifact. His Heavenly Talent - Identifying Myriad Spirits was activated, and the attributes of all spiritual items once again entered his sight.
"Old man, I want all these ancient artifacts. Can you give me a discount?" Li Mu stepped forward, looked at the stall owner, and asked boldly.
"All of them? Are you sure?" The old man looked up, somewhat surprised, his eyes, filled with the vicissitudes of Years, stared at Li Mu as he asked in astonishment.
"Yes, I want all of them," Li Mu smiled and nodded, stating firmly.
The surrounding onlookers all turned their heads.
The old man pondered for a moment, then quoted, "If you want all of them, each will be 5,000 upper Spirit Stones. There are twenty-five in total, so give me 120,000 upper Spirit Stones, and you can take them all!"
Hearing this quote, Li Mu couldn't help but laugh wryly. This old man was treating him like an ignorant fat pig to be slaughtered.
The ranks of these ancient artifacts varied, from fourth-rank to sixth-rank. However, their spirituality had been eroded by the long Years, and now only faint spirituality remained. Their power was far less than one or two tenths of their original power. The value of this batch of ancient artifacts was far less than newly refined Spiritual Artifacts.
The reason why the best-looking sixth-rank Dragon Scale Ancient Sword was sold for one hundred thousand upper Spirit Stones was because it was extremely well-preserved, and it had dropped in rank from a seven-rank dao tool, so it was completely worth the price.
Currently, apart from the ritual staff that sealed its spirituality, which had a value no less than the Dragon Scale Ancient Sword, the value of the other ancient artifacts, to other Cultivators, was not even worth 1,000 upper Spirit Stones.
However, these ancient artifacts had accumulated a lot of the power of Years over tens of thousands of Years, and their artifact patterns and refining methods had great reference value. Li Mu was willing to take them all into his possession. Firstly, to refer to Artifact Refining techniques and learn their special artifact patterns. Secondly, the power of Years accumulated in these ancient artifacts, more or less, could just help the Time Luck Spirit Turtle recover a portion of its power of Years.
"One hundred twenty thousand upper Spirit Stones? That's too expensive, old man. How about this: a flat price of twenty thousand upper Spirit Stones?" Li Mu smiled faintly, bargaining unhurriedly.
"What are you kidding about?" The stall owner's face darkened, and he said coldly, "If you can't afford it, then scram. Don't waste my time here!"
"I am also an Artifact Refiner. Although these ancient artifacts still retain their rank, after the erosion of time, their power is less than one or two tenths of their original power, and they are unreliable. I am purchasing this batch of ancient artifacts for twenty thousand upper Spirit Stones merely for reference in Artifact Refining techniques. If you sell them to other Cultivators at a high price, and an accident occurs, wouldn't you be harming others? Aren't you afraid of people coming to trouble you?" Li Mu smiled indifferently, looking at the stall owner and explaining frankly.
As soon as these words were uttered, a commotion immediately arose among the bystanders.
"That's right, the spirituality of these ancient artifacts has largely been extinguished. How can they be worth five thousand upper Spirit Stones?"
"Yes, this old man must be crazy, thinking that after selling a high-priced ancient sword, he can sell these scraps at a high price?"
"Old man, don't be too greedy. Quit while you're ahead!"
...
Listening to Li Mu's words, the Cultivators watching from all around spoke up in his defense, offering advice.
The Dragon Scale Ancient Sword had already made the old man a fortune. Cultivators who couldn't afford to buy such high-grade ancient treasures at a low price, seeing the old man trying to cheat people, spoke out in support of Li Mu.
Facing the admonitions of the Cultivators, the stall owner laughed in anger, looking at Li Mu: "You're an Artifact Refiner too?"
"It's genuine!" Li Mu smiled slightly, took out the Advanced Guest Elder token of the Wanbao Pavilion from his waist, and displayed it to the old man.
...
The old man's gaze fell on the Guest Elder token in Li Mu's hand, and the expression on his face instantly froze. His eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost.
He never expected that this Cultivator, who looked no older than twenty, was actually an Advanced Guest Elder of the Wanbao Pavilion. Originally, his face still bore an expression of displeasure, but upon seeing the Guest Elder token, he immediately reined it in.
"This... Your Excellency, twenty thousand upper Spirit Stones is truly too little. This batch of ancient artifacts of mine is of superior quality; it should at least be forty thousand upper Spirit Stones!" The old man recovered, looked at Li Mu, and bargained unwillingly.
Li Mu hesitated slightly, thinking he didn't want to cause more trouble, so he nodded and agreed to the transaction. He took out a Spirit Stone Storage Pouch, then put forty thousand upper Spirit Stones from the nine storage spiritual pearl into it and handed it to the old man.
The old man happily accepted the Spirit Stone Pouch and counted the amount.
Li Mu waved his hand, and the twenty-five ancient artifacts disappeared.
The money and goods were exchanged; the transaction was complete.
Li Mu did not delay, quickly leaving the market with Xue'er.
After the two had walked far away, the old stall owner also packed up his stall and turned to leave. Unbeknownst to him, a group of mysterious people appeared behind the old man, following closely.
"Lord Li, why did you spend so many Spirit Stones to buy these broken things? Is it really just for reference in Artifact Refining techniques?" Xue'er blinked her large, watery eyes at Li Mu, asking with a smile.
Ever since the Nine-Tailed Sky Fox Bloodline underwent a sharp transformation, Xue'er's perception in terms of emotions and language had become astonishingly powerful. She could clearly sense the deeper meaning contained in Li Mu's words, which were not entirely sincere.
Li Mu laughed heartily, and affectionately flicked her forehead: "Adults' matters, children shouldn't inquire!"
"What! Where am I small!" Xue'er protested, pulling Li Mu's arm and clinging to him.
This time, it was Li Mu's turn to get a headache.
During this period, not only had Xue'er's body changed tremendously, but her emotional growth rate was also advancing by leaps and bounds. Li Mu couldn't help but feel a little wary of the power of the Nine-Tailed Sky Fox Bloodline within her.
In a flash, night fell, and darkness swallowed Barren Ancient City, covering the land.
A silent Spirit Ship cut through the night sky, disappearing above Barren Ancient City in the blink of an eye.
Inside the cabin of the Earth Element Spirit Ship.
Li Mu took out the twenty-five ancient artifacts he had purchased this time and placed them on the table. Then, he picked up the ritual staff.
Under the Heavenly Talent - Identifying Myriad Spirits, its unknown attribute information was displayed.
【azure wood ritual staff (Damaged)】
【Rank: Seven-rank Dao Artifact】
【Attributes: Azure Wood Domain (Sealed), Azure Wood Light (Sealed), Touch of Life (Sealed), Myriad Wood Spirit Domain (Sealed)】
【Status: Artifact damaged, spirit lacking, functions remain, self-sealed.】
【A seven-rank dao tool - azure wood ritual staff, refined from seven-rank Profound Wood Crystal, seven-rank Lunar Essence, and seven-rank Azure Wood Spiritual Root. This staff has undergone countless battles, its artifact body is damaged, and its artifact spirit is partially lost. After tens of thousands of Years, the artifact spirit has dissipated, and its artifact nature is no longer apparent. The spirituality of this artifact cannot be revived. However, the artifact array, after tens of thousands of Years, contains hundreds of thousands of strands of mystic wood essence, and still has a high value for refinement.】
After seeing all the attributes of the ritual staff, which looked like withered wood, a brilliant smile appeared on Li Mu's face.
He had searched high and low for it, only to find it effortlessly!
During this time, Li Mu had been urging Manager Lin to help him collect mu yi essence. However, due to the war, strategic materials like mu yi essence were difficult for him to procure for a while.
Now, it was good. The mystic wood essence contained in this ritual staff alone, a wood-element supreme treasure of a higher rank than mu yi essence, was more than enough to replace one hundred thousand strands of mu yi essence. Moreover, it was also more suitable for the seven-rank Azure Jade Ginseng King to absorb.
Now, to awaken the Azure Jade Ginseng King, the only thing lacking was the power of Years from the Time Luck Spirit Turtle, this supreme treasure for divination of Years.
Li Mu's gaze fell on the twenty-four ancient artifacts. He began to examine their artifact patterns, categorizing them according to their attribute information, and then refining them to extract the power of Years within them.
Li Mu picked up one of the ancient mirror Spiritual Artifacts, looked at its attributes, and fell silent.
【Heavenly Theft Mirror】
【Rank: Rankless Scrap Artifact】
【Attributes: Karma Vision (Damaged), Karma Chain (Damaged), Space-Time Ripple (Damaged), Thousand-Thread Karma Net (Damaged)】
【Status: Artifact array destroyed, artifact spirit damaged.】
【A seven-rank Karma Artifact - Heavenly Theft Mirror, refined from seven-rank Karma Crystal, seven-rank Space-Time Ripple Stone, and seven-rank Karma Thread. This artifact has undergone tens of thousands of Years, its artifact body is damaged, and its artifact array is destroyed, turning it into a scrap artifact.】
If this ancient mirror Spiritual Artifact had not been damaged, it would certainly have been a seven-rank Dao Artifact, and one that could peer into Karma and have divinatory effects, many times better than the Time Luck Spirit Turtle he had refined.
Li Mu's Divine Thought entered it, attempting to peer into its internal artifact patterns and artifact array.
Unfortunately, after the erosion of long Years, this ancient mirror Spiritual Artifact had become a scrap artifact. Its internal artifact array was severely damaged, with only some residual artifact patterns remaining...
Li Mu took out a white Jade Slip and meticulously recorded these precious residual artifact patterns one by one.
With this unexpected gain, Li Mu continued to carefully examine the next ancient bell Magical Artifact.
【golden origin Spiritual Bell (Damaged)】
【Rank: Fifth-rank Spiritual Artifact】
【Attributes: Golden Bell Shield (Sealed), golden origin Spiritual Light (Sealed), Golden Light Confinement (Sealed), ...】
【Status: Artifact damaged, spirit lacking, some functions remain.】
...
【River Suppressing Eight-Legged Tripod】
【Rank: Fifth-rank Spiritual Artifact】
【Attributes: Tripod Suppressing Mountains and Rivers (Sealed), Eight Legs Standing Firm (Sealed), Inner Tripod Space (Sealed), Myriad Rivers Returning to One (Sealed)...】
【Status: Artifact damaged, spirit lacking, artifact spirit self-sealed.】
...
Li Mu's eyes gleamed as he counted the ancient artifacts one by one. His Divine Thought attached to the core of the artifact arrays, comprehending the exquisite Artifact Refining techniques and artifact patterns within, completely engrossed and unable to extricate himself. (End of Chapter)
