The Tianhai disciple, therefore, surmised that Meng Qi probably came from a medium-level sect and was one of the more talented disciples there, seeing that she was given the privilege of entering Beyond The Heaven at a fairly young age.
Regardless, no matter how talented she might be, she likely didn’t have many spirit stones.
Cultivators who had reached the Void Comprehending or Comprehending Perfection stage might not be too concerned about worldly possessions like spirit stones, but young disciples within sects still had to consider such matters. Refinery cultivators, who produced and sold various artifacts and magic weapons, enjoyed relatively high incomes compared to the majority of cultivators. This disciple was already in the ninth realm of the Nascent Soul stage and held some status within his sect, and yet the most he could afford for personal spending was only several hundred seventh-grade spirit stones.
He assumed that this customer probably wasn’t much better off than himself. That’s why, although Meng Qi had asked to see the best defensive artifact, he had presented a fourth realm item — a commonly used defensive item that was still useful for Nascent Soul cultivators. The price of a fifth-realm artifact might be tens or even hundreds of times that of a fourth-realm one, despite a Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn’t be able to fully unleash the power of a fifth-realm artifact due to their insufficient spiritual energy.
“Fourth-realm…” Meng Qi didn’t say much. She picked up the bracelet and examined it. Just like medicines, artifacts, and magic weapons were divided into nine realms. A Nascent Soul cultivator could use a fifth-realm artifact, but due to their limited aura capacity, could only harness the power of a fourth-realm artifact. Thus, having an artifact that matched one’s abilities was more important than having a higher-level item that couldn’t be fully utilized. After all, the price of a fifth-realm artifact might be tens or even hundreds of times that of a fourth-realm one.
Meng Qi hesitated for a moment. Among those who entered the Minor Ten Absolutes Mountain, there should be no Nascent Soul besides of her. A fourth-realm artifact would be the most suitable for her current cultivation base, but it might not be very effective in the Minor Ten Absolutes Mountain. After thinking for a while, Meng Qi raised her gaze to the disciple and asked, “Excuse me, Fellow Daoist, do you have spell-embedded defensive artifacts?”
“What?” The disciple was momentarily taken aback, thinking he had misheard. “Did you just say… spell-embedded artifact?”
“Yes,” Meng Qi nodded. While Nascent Soul cultivators could only harness the fourth-realm power even when using a fifth-realm artifact, there was a special category of artifacts that were embedded with accompanying spells. The power unleashed by the spell was unrelated to the user and depended solely on the artifact itself. If she could buy a fifth-realm or even a sixth-realm artifact with a strong defensive spell, it might save her life in critical situations.
“We do have them,” the disciple replied, his gaze flickering slightly, “but the prices are relatively more expensive.”
“Hmm…” Meng Qi hesitated. How much expensive might it be? She had never patronized Tianhai Pavilion in her previous life, so she didn’t have a clear idea of how much these items should cost. Considering that refinery cultivation had only recently risen to prominence in the last few hundred years, there likely weren’t many such special artifacts available, making them rare commodities.
Even so…
“Could you show me?” In the end, Meng Qi decided to have a look before making her decision. She still had a few thousand profound-grade spirit stones on hand, enough to bid even the items in Heaven Auction House. In any case, she should be able to buy two or three artifacts from Tianhai Pavilion.
The disciple naturally noticed Meng Qi’s hesitation, but after contemplating for a moment, he said, “Fellow Daoist, please follow me.” He led Meng Qi towards the back door of the shop. Passing through a short corridor, they entered a slightly larger room than the storefront. “A moment, please,” the disciple said, opening a nearby cabinet and carefully taking out a black box.
“Fellow Daoist, please have a seat.” The disciple gestured for Meng Qi to sit at the only table in the room, taking a seat opposite her. He then carefully opened the box and turned it toward Meng Qi. Inside the box was a small golden bell, about half the size of Meng Qi’s palm, with no visible patterns on it. Even without touching it, Meng Qi could feel the spiritual aura circulating on its surface.
“This is a Red Golden Bell crafted by a senior elder in our sect, a fifth-realm artifact,” the disciple explained slowly. “It comes with a water element Bishui Spell, also of fifth-realm.”
Bishui Spell?
Meng Qi reached out and picked up the Red Golden Bell. Her fingers caressed the delicately-made fifth-realm artifact. Not all techniques belonged to specific sects. In this case, the Bishui Spell was a water-element spell known to many spell cultivators, with the effect of summoning waves to protect the conjurer, though its power was relatively ordinary.
“Are there any others?” Meng Qi put the Red Golden Bell down.
“Well…” The disciple had been watching Meng Qi’s expression the whole time, and he hadn’t expected her to reject even this fifth-realm artifact. “We do have others,” he hesitated, “but, Fellow Daoist… you should understand that the price of a fifth-realm artifact is already considerably higher than that of a fourth-realm one, and those embedded with a spell are even more expensive.”
“Mm,” Meng Qi nodded. She was aware of this; after all, she had sold a batch of pills at a high price for the same reason.
“Then…” The Tianhai Pavilion disciple looked hesitantly at Meng Qi, but he was actually not worried that she would default on payment. In Beyond The Heaven, any transaction was guaranteed, and sellers didn’t need to worry about customers refusing to pay or forcibly taking away items, nor did they have to worry about someone engaging in price gouging. After a moment of contemplation, the disciple couldn’t help but say, “Do you know how much this fifth-realm Red Golden Bell cost?”
“How much?” Meng Qi really didn’t know.
The disciple’s expression changed, and he slowly extended a hand. He stretched out all five fingers, “Fifty ninth-grade spirit stones.”
Meng Qi: ???
Huh?
Is it really that cheap?!
Meng Qi blinked in disbelief, looking at the Tianhai Pavilion disciple, and then back at the Red Golden Bell.
It only costs fifty ninth-grade spirit stones?
Meng Qi had not originally planned to buy this Red Golden Bell. She still had around four thousand profound-grade spirit stones on hand, each could be exchanged for a thousand ninth-grade spirit stones. Meng Qi had initially thought that this Red Golden Bell, as a fifth-realm artifact, might be priced in profound-grade spirit stones. Although she could still afford it, her fund was limited, and she had to spend them wisely. Besides defensive artifacts, she also planned to buy some other things today, so she had no intention of spending one or two hundred profound-grade spirit stones to buy an artifact that was not very useful for her.
However… fifty ninth-grade spirit stones…
Meng Qi blinked her eyes, then blinked them again. If it was this cheap, she might as well buy one.
The Tianhai Pavilion disciple, watching Meng Qi’s momentary shock, couldn’t help but raise the corner of his lips, revealing a faint smile. He didn’t look down on or mock the girl; he simply thought she might be a naïve young genius from some medium-sized sect. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have obtained the qualifications to enter Beyond The Heaven at such a young age. She seemed to have been well-protected since childhood and hadn’t traveled outside much. In her sect, she probably didn’t need to use many spirit stones for daily life, which explained her lack of knowledge about their value. The price of fifty ninth-grade spirit stones clearly had given her a great shock.
The disciple’s smile deepened, and as Meng Qi remained stunned, he reminded, “The fourth-realm artifact just now costs only one hundred eighth-grade spirit stones. Fellow Daoist, you might as well reconsider that one. Maybe it is more suitable for you.”
“Thank you, but no need.” Meng Qi returned to her senses and shook her head.
“Then…” The disciple smiled politely, showing neither contempt nor annoyance after having his time wasted, “Fellow Daoist, if you ever need anything in the future, please feel free to return. While I wouldn’t dare to claim that the items refined by our Tianhai Pavilion are the best in the Three Realms, they are certainly among the best in the Three Thousand Worlds.”
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