Eternal Life: Hundredfold Rewards-Chapter 50 - 49: Shabby Market, Broken Spirit Pearl

Chapter 50: Chapter 49: Shabby Market, Broken Spirit Pearl

"A market a few miles southwest of Black Snake City? Alright, I understand."

Upon hearing Murong Fan’s words, Qi Chuan nodded slightly.

After conveying this message to Qi Chuan, Murong Fan did not linger any longer. He clasped his fists in farewell once again and turned to leave.

Watching Murong Fan’s figure disappear into the distance, Qi Chuan also turned his gaze towards the southwest direction.

In that distant direction, there seemed to be a stretch of low hills with dense forests growing upon them.

It appeared to be quite desolate.

However, markets in the Cultivation Realm are generally not built where mortals gather, so this is normal.

"Since there’s a market there, I might as well go and deal with this half-destroyed Top Grade Magical Artifact of mine."

Qi Chuan pondered, his heart speaking to itself.

This half-destroyed Top Grade Magical Artifact in his hand, with its talisman array completely dissipated, was entirely unusable. It could only be dismantled into raw materials for processing. Moreover, since most of the main materials were ruined, and some ancillary materials were even more worthless, its value greatly diminished.

Nonetheless, overall it was still quite valuable.

Since it couldn’t be used in the short term, it was better to exchange it for cultivation resources.

It was just a few miles away, so it was convenient to handle it at this nearby market.

Thinking so, Qi Chuan set off towards the hills southwest, reaching quickly due to the short distance.

There, in the hills, he found an inconspicuous little valley, surrounded by dense forest, making it difficult to notice any abnormality from a distance.

However, a cultivation marketplace indeed existed within the little valley.

In the valley market, there was only a single street, with buildings on either side housing several shops.

The shops were relatively complete, selling magical artifacts, talismans, elixirs... and so forth.

However, the items sold were not expensive; most were Tier One Middle-Lower Grade, with Middle Grade being quite rare, and Upper Grade considered the treasure of a shop.

On the street sides, some loose cultivators had laid out stalls, and the items sold there were even more inferior, basically not worth mentioning.

"Can this place handle a half-destroyed Top Grade Magical Artifact?"

Walking down the street, Qi Chuan glanced at the shops on either side with slight disbelief in his heart.

Although the value of his half-destroyed Top Grade Magical Artifact had significantly reduced, it still possessed some degree of worth.

In these low-cost, small operations, it was likely that they couldn’t offer a high price.

As for the loose cultivators’ stalls along the street, the transactions were not conducted with Lower Grade Spirit Stones but with something even more inferior known as Broken Spirit Pearls.

Broken Spirit Pearls were essentially the leftover fragments when a Spirit Stone Mine was cut into regular Lower Grade Spirit Stones.

One Lower Grade Spirit Stone was worth a hundred Broken Spirit Pearls.

Clearly, the business at these loose cultivators’ stalls was quite meager.

If he took out the half-destroyed Top Grade Magical Artifact, it might even frighten them.

"Let’s walk around first, and if there’s no suitable place to sell it, I’ll head back."

Qi Chuan spoke to himself internally.

Then, he began to stroll along the street, weaving through the loose cultivators coming and going. Without wearing the Inner Sect uniform of the Wind Moon Sect, he did not stand out—just looked a bit young amidst the seasoned loose cultivators, many of whom were quite old.

"Hmm? This shop seems promising."

A moment later, Qi Chuan stopped in the center of the street, gazing at a shop ahead to his left, bearing the signboard with the characters "Qingfeng Pavilion."

This Qingfeng Pavilion was a three-story building, taller than its surrounding structures. In terms of area, quality of materials, and decor, it was quite decent, showing an elegant style that made it stand out among the valley marketplace shops.

Numerous loose cultivators were entering and exiting the pavilion, and business seemed brisk.

It presumably held the capability to handle his half-destroyed Top Grade Magical Artifact.

Of course, if the price offered was unsatisfactory, Qi Chuan could simply walk away; it wasn’t necessary to sell it here.

"Let’s go in and have a look."

So, Qi Chuan proceeded inside through the main entrance of the three-story pavilion and surveyed the first layer.

The first layer contained three counters, with seven or eight loose cultivators asking about purchasing talismanic magical artifacts and the like.

All were Tier One Lower Grade.

"Honored customer, may I ask what you need?"

At the counter nearest to Qi Chuan, an employee warmly inquired upon seeing him enter.

In fact, it wasn’t from recognizing Qi Chuan’s exact cultivation but a customary question put to every cultivator entering the shop.

"Do you only have Tier One Lower Grade items here?" Qi Chuan glanced around the first layer before asking.

"If the esteemed guest wishes to purchase Tier One Middle Grade items, please go to the second floor; for Tier One Upper Grade, proceed to the third floor."

Understanding Qi Chuan’s indifferent attitude towards the first layer’s goods, the employee immediately responded in an even more respectful voice.

"I see, thank you." Having understood, Qi Chuan expressed his thanks to the employee and then proceeded to the staircase at the back.

Ascending to the second floor, Qi Chuan saw only two loose cultivators asking questions at a counter.

Uninterested in the second floor’s items, Qi Chuan went directly up to the third floor.

Upon emerging from the staircase on the third floor, he saw an elderly man with sparse hair, dozing off behind the single counter present.

"Ahem." Seeing this, Qi Chuan coughed lightly.

The old man woke with a start, glanced at Qi Chuan, momentarily stupefied, and then his face instantly filled with a flattering smile: "Honored guest, honored guest, what do you need?"

Straightening his back from his lounged position.

"I’m not here to buy anything. I’m wondering if Qingfeng Pavilion buys this?"

Coming before the counter, Qi Chuan directly placed the half-destroyed Top Grade Magical Artifact on the counter without further ado.

"Certainly, but we need to inspect it first."

The old man’s eyes were cloudy, and he didn’t immediately see clearly, replying reflexively. Then, lowering his head for a closer look, his withered hands trembled slightly, briefly widening his eyes.

After inspecting it carefully, he let out a small breath of relief, looked up with a smile, and said: "If this old man guesses right, this should be a Top Grade Magical Artifact, but it’s been mostly destroyed, greatly reducing its value. It might not be worth many Spirit Stones."

"Typically, Top Grade Magical Artifacts are well protected, and this doesn’t seem battle-worn from Magical Combat. May I ask where the honored guest obtained it?"

Hearing this, Qi Chuan merely replied calmly: "Does selling a magical artifact at Qingfeng Pavilion require disclosing its origins?"

"You misunderstand, honored guest." Upon hearing, the old man urgently waved his hands in explanation: "This is merely an occupational habit of mine, sparked by curiosity; I haven’t seen many Top Grade Magical Artifacts. Please don’t mind my interest."

"If that’s the case, name your price. How many Spirit Stones will Qingfeng Pavilion offer?" Qi Chuan looked at the old man, showing no intention to delve into it further, his face calm.

"Well... let me think... Though it is a Top Grade Magical Artifact, it’s mostly ruined, with only a small portion of the primary materials remaining, making it less useful regardless of our attempts to reuse it..." The old man mused hesitantly to himself, appearing deeply conflicted.

Qi Chuan simply continued watching him impassively, saying nothing.

"Alright... Qingfeng Pavilion will take a loss: one hundred and eighty Lower Grade Spirit Stones, what do you think?" After hesitating for a moment, the old man gritted his teeth as if making a difficult decision.

Saying this, he discreetly observed Qi Chuan’s expression.