Chapter 2242: Transaction

Chapter 1384

As he walked past various shops, Lu Ye only observed, but it truly opened his eyes. Although Kyushu had been promoted to a large realm a few years ago and was now connected to the starry sky, it was still just starting out, and many things needed to be slowly learned. For instance, the various prices in the starry sky were completely unknown to Kyushu cultivators, and these things were not recorded in the Xiyuan Pavilion of the Pygmies. If Lu Ye wanted to buy or sell anything here, he first needed to understand the price levels to avoid unknowingly incurring losses.

After continuous browsing for nearly a day, Lu Ye had a general understanding of the market prices here. He also saw some interesting items, such as a small, single-person starship in a shop specializing in starships. It was the cheapest among all starships, but even so, it cost twenty thousand spirit jades. Other larger starships easily cost tens or hundreds of thousands of spirit jades.

It was completely beyond his means. He used to think he was quite wealthy because he had no worries about cultivation, and the spirit jades he possessed were enough for a long period of practice. However, upon arriving at the Myriad Manifestations Sea, he realized he was truly poor. For cultivators, no amount of spirit jades was ever enough.

A day later, Lu Ye stood before the largest towering building in the center of Myriad Manifestations Island. This was the landmark of Myriad Manifestations Island and the headquarters of the Myriad Manifestations Trading Post! Having accumulated various experiences from his time in the Spirit Stream Battlefield and Cloud River Battlefield, Lu Ye naturally knew that if he truly wanted to buy something, such a place was essential. The goods sold here might be slightly more expensive than outside, but they offered guaranteed quality. Of course, he wasn't here to buy anything this time.

He entered gracefully. The interior of the Myriad Manifestations Trading Post was grandly decorated and spacious, easily inspiring awe for this colossal entity. This was a common tactic used by merchants: to let incoming customers immediately perceive their powerful foundation, thus ensuring smoother transactions afterward.

Someone greeted him, asking little, merely leading Lu Ye to a private room, serving tea, and then withdrawing. Lu Ye settled in, calmly sipping the fragrant tea and waiting quietly. He had, after all, experienced similar situations many times in Kyushu; although the venues and cultivation levels differed, the pattern was the same.

As expected, a moment later, a smiling trading post manager arrived to inquire about Lu Ye's business. Lu Ye silently took out the Mountain Crag Blade and placed it before the manager, who introduced himself as Cao Xiang.

Cao Xiang smiled slightly, uttered an apology, then took the Mountain Crag Blade in both hands, slowly drawing it out to examine. After a quick look, he already had an idea and spoke gently: "Fellow Daoist, do you intend to repair this blade?" As someone who had dealt with outsiders for many years, he had long developed an extraordinary eye for people, naturally discerning Lu Ye's background as a blade cultivator. A blade cultivator taking out his spirit treasure certainly wasn't for selling it. Moreover, given the obvious cracks on the Mountain Crag Blade, he immediately grasped Lu Ye's intention.

"What's the price?" Lu Ye asked.

Cao Xiang didn't answer immediately; instead, he silently felt the Mountain Crag Blade. A moment later, he spoke: "This blade is exceptionally tough. Although I can't tell what minerals were added during its crafting, I believe it has undergone a recasting, and some rather valuable materials were incorporated during that process. Repairing this blade won't be difficult. Our trading post has excellent artifact refiners who can fully mend these cracks. We'll price the repair at two thousand spirit jades."

Although Lu Ye knew the asking price wouldn't be cheap, he secretly gasped nonetheless. However, he had to admit that Cao Xiang had excellent discernment. When the Mountain Crag Blade was last reforged, some precious materials were indeed added—all spoils of war Lu Ye had obtained from the Primeval Realm.

Maintaining a calm facade, he said faintly, "Spirit treasures typically cost less than ten thousand spirit jades each. Ordinary ones only require two or three thousand spirit jades, and even better ones are only around five thousand. I'm just getting it repaired; isn't two thousand a bit much for that, Fellow Daoist?"

Based on the information he had gathered the previous day, Lu Ye had some understanding of spirit treasure prices. As he said, an ordinary spirit treasure could be bought for just two or three thousand spirit jades, a price affordable for cultivators in the Star Constellation Realm.

Cao Xiang smiled slightly: "As you said, Fellow Daoist, this is a repair. For a blade cultivator, a suitable spirit treasure is crucial; what matters most is that it fits well. Regardless of quality, you might be able to buy another spirit treasure with two thousand spirit jades, but how much power could you unleash with it?" This was the honest truth, and Cao Xiang probably realized this, which emboldened him to set such a high price.

Tapping the table lightly with his finger, Lu Ye said, "My blade has no restrictions within it; it's merely a simple repair. The difficulty shouldn't be high."

Cao Xiang was slightly astonished: "No restrictions?"

"You can feel it for yourself!" Lu Ye gestured.

Cao Xiang truly hadn't known. Although he had just felt the Mountain Crag Blade, he hadn't examined it too closely in front of Lu Ye, its owner. Now, hearing Lu Ye say so, he quickly examined it carefully, only to find that the long blade indeed had no restrictions inside, merely pure toughness.

Having worked at the Myriad Manifestations Trading Post for so many years, this was the first time Cao Xiang had encountered such a situation. He couldn't help but wonder, a long blade without restrictions... what was it used for? He couldn't ask too many questions; after all, it was personal business. There were countless cultivators, each with their own strange hobbies or characteristics, and it wasn't his place to casually pry.

"If there are no restrictions, then repairing it will be much simpler. In that case... I will personally authorize a reduction of two hundred spirit jades for you, Fellow Daoist. We'll only charge eighteen hundred!"

"One thousand!" Lu Ye looked at him with a calm expression.

Cao Xiang chuckled: "Fellow Daoist, our Myriad Manifestations Trading Post conducts all transactions according to rules; we don't just randomly haggle like outside shops."

Lu Ye calmly said, "This is my first time at the Myriad Manifestations Trading Post, and I'll no doubt be bothering you again in the future. If it's convenient, we could exchange sound-note imprints. Then, if I have any further transactions, I can come directly to you."

Cao Xiang quickly took out a sound-note imprint and handed it to Lu Ye, beaming with joy: "Then thank you, Fellow Daoist, for your kindness."

Lu Ye also took out his own sound-note imprint. After they exchanged, Cao Xiang gritted his teeth and said, "Fifteen hundred, Fellow Daoist. This is the lowest price I can authorize. Any lower, and we can't do this business."

Lu Ye knew he wasn't speaking the absolute truth, but since it was a business deal, he naturally had to let them make some profit. It seemed the price couldn't be lowered any further. He nodded: "Alright!"

"You're straightforward, Fellow Daoist!" Cao Xiang showed a look of gratitude. Whether genuine or not, he played his part well.

Afterward, he took out specialized measuring instruments and, in front of Lu Ye, recorded the Mountain Crag Blade's weight and length. He then meticulously documented its various characteristics with his divine sense before handing it to Lu Ye: "This serves as a receipt. You can come to the trading post in ten days to retrieve the blade. Just present this jade slip then."

Lu Ye nodded, carefully put away the jade slip, and then handed over fifteen hundred spirit jades to him. It had to be said, the Myriad Manifestations Trading Post was quite standardized in its operations, effectively earning the trust of its customers.

Cao Xiang noticed that Lu Ye likely had other things to transact and tentatively asked, "Do you have any further requests, Fellow Daoist?"

"Does your trading post deal in information?"

Cao Xiang smiled and nodded: "Naturally, we do. What information are you looking for, Fellow Daoist?"

Lu Ye nodded: "I'd like to inquire about the specific location of a star system."

Cao Xiang said, "To inquire about the location of a star system, it will cost one thousand spirit jades."

Lu Ye's eyelids twitched. With prices constantly soaring into the thousands of spirit jades, he wondered how long his current supply would last.

"Can you guarantee an answer?" Lu Ye asked cautiously, worried that he might pay his spirit jades only to receive an unsatisfactory answer, which would be too great a loss.

"Generally speaking, our Myriad Manifestations Trading Post has mastered the locations of star systems within this starfield. Of course, there are always exceptions; after all, the starry sky is vast, and there are always some remote places that have never had dealings with us. If that's the case, we would only charge three hundred spirit jades as a deposit, and you can pay the remaining balance once the information is confirmed."

That was reasonable enough.

Lu Ye stated the name 'Jade Snail'. Cao Xiang specifically asked how the two characters for 'Jade Snail' were written, clearly concerned about homophones.

"Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist." Cao Xiang said, then left, presumably to look up the information.

After an incense stick's time, Cao Xiang returned, his expression somewhat awkward: "Fellow Daoist, here's the situation: I had my colleague responsible for this kind of information check, but we found no record of the Jade Snail Star System. If you're not in a hurry, our trading post can send people to investigate; we should be able to find some clues."

"No hurry!" Lu Ye calmly took out three hundred spirit jades, paying the deposit.

Tang Jun would eventually inquire about the Jade Snail Star System through the Myriad Manifestations Trading Post as well, but Lu Ye wouldn't save his spirit jades on that account. He couldn't rely on others for such matters. Ultimately, Lu Ye didn't fully trust Tang Jun; if the old man found Jade Snail's location and then abandoned him, Lu Ye would be powerless. Therefore, he'd rather spend the thousand spirit jades himself than place his hopes on someone else.

He stood up and headed out, then suddenly seemed to recall something: "Could your trading post provide me with a list of prices for various fire-attributed materials?"

Cao Xiang paused for a moment, then nodded: "No problem."

A moment later, Lu Ye walked out of the Myriad Manifestations Trading Post with a jade slip in hand. With that, his personal assets had shrunk by nearly ten percent! Moreover, Lu Ye had a premonition that his remaining spirit jades probably wouldn't last long, because what he was about to buy was the major expense! The fuel reserves for his Talent Tree were somewhat insufficient!

He hadn't replenished the Talent Tree's fuel for a long time. Ever since he advanced to the Star Constellation Realm, every instance of cultivation had consumed its fuel, and the rate of consumption was much faster than before he reached that realm. This was normal. Before the Star Constellation Realm, his cultivation primarily involved pilfering heavenly secrets and refining spirit pills. But after reaching the Star Constellation Realm, he needed to refine the power within spirit jades. If it were merely simple refinement, the consumption by the Talent Tree wouldn't be significant, because the process of absorbing and refining spirit jades naturally removed a large amount of impurities. However, many times, to recover faster, he chose to consume spirit jades and the demonic cores of star beasts... This method led to a severe depletion of the Talent Tree's fuel.

(End of chapter)