Chapter 3773: 3754 Yuan Gang Crystal, Immortal Puppet

Fifteen minutes later, they walked out of the teahouse and strolled along the street.

There were many pedestrians on the street, some of whom were dressed in unusual attire. Besides humans, there were also cultivators from other races. Waiters from some shops were loudly calling out at their entrances to attract customers.

Two hours later, they appeared before a towering pagoda over a hundred zhang tall. Above the entrance hung a lacquered golden square plaque, on which the three silver characters "Hundred Refinement Pagoda" were written in an elegant, flowing script, shimmering with spiritual light. Many cultivators were entering and exiting. This was a shop established by Hundred Refinement Island, selling crafting materials and various divine weapons.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan walked inside. They were greeted by a spacious and brightly lit main hall, where dozens of attendants in uniform green robes were introducing goods to customers.

A medium-built elderly man in a golden robe quickly approached them. He spoke respectfully, "Welcome, esteemed seniors, to our establishment. How may I assist you?"

Wang Changsheng replied, "We heard that the immortal artifacts at your Hundred Refinement Pagoda are of excellent quality, so we came to take a look."

The elderly man in the golden robe explained, "If you wish to view immortal artifacts, please proceed to the fifteenth floor. To place an order for immortal artifacts, go to the twentieth floor. And to commission an immortal artifact from an artifact master, the twenty-first floor."

Wang Changsheng nodded and walked upstairs with Wang Ruyan.

Floors one through fourteen were dedicated to buying and selling crafting materials, including immortal wood, spiritual wood, demon beast materials, ores, and more.

The fifteenth floor was spacious and brightly lit. There were dozens of circular stone platforms of varying sizes, each enveloped by a thick golden light screen, with an immortal artifact displayed inside. Beside each circular stone platform stood an attendant in green robes, introducing the immortal artifacts to customers.

[Examples heard/seen]: "Low-grade immortal artifact, Profound Water Blade, crafted primarily from Profound Water Jade Crystal, priced at 150 immortal essence stones." "Low-grade immortal artifact, Demon-Locking Rope, priced at 300 immortal essence stones; a True Immortal stage demon beast would find it difficult to break free if ensnared."

The fifteenth floor displayed numerous low-grade immortal artifacts. The most expensive item was the Qian Yue Shield, priced at 800 immortal essence stones. Upon reaching the sixteenth floor, they found more circular stone platforms displaying many immortal artifacts.

They arrived at the nineteenth floor. Dozens of circular stone platforms came into view, each set with a formation, and most displayed a set of immortal artifacts. Sets of immortal artifacts such as flying daggers, flying swords, flying darts, command flags, and beads were astonishingly expensive. The finest set of low-grade immortal artifacts, the Ice Moon Blades, cost 8,000 immortal essence stones; there were twenty-seven blades in total, each a low-grade immortal artifact.

They walked around, looking at the displays. After a while, they stopped before a stone platform. A red trident, about a zhang long, was thrust into the circular stone platform. It emanated a terrifying pressure, clearly a mid-grade immortal artifact. This Sky-Burning Halberd was the Hundred Refinement Pagoda's treasure of the establishment and was not for sale. If one desired this treasure, they would have to exchange it for something with Hundred Refinement Island.

A familiar male voice spoke, "Fellow Daoist Wang, what a coincidence!"

Golden Silkworm Revered One walked towards Wang Changsheng, smiling. A slender young woman in a red dress followed beside him.

Wang Changsheng casually asked, "Fellow Daoist Qin, isn't Fellow Daoist Qian with you?"

"No, Fellow Daoist Qian has other matters to attend to," Golden Silkworm Revered One said, gesturing to the young woman in the red dress. "By the way, let me introduce you, this is Immortal Shi."

The young woman in the red dress curtsied and politely said, "My name is Shi Xiang. It's a pleasure to meet Fellow Daoist Wang and Madam Wang."

Wang Ruyan casually asked, "Are you here to purchase immortal artifacts?"

Golden Silkworm Revered One politely replied, "More or less. Fellow Daoist Wang, would it be convenient to speak privately for a moment? Immortal Shi has something she wishes to discuss with you."

Wang Changsheng agreed. The four of them went to a teahouse and requested a private room.

After a cup of tea, Shi Xiang got to the point. "Fellow Daoist Wang," she said, "Fellow Daoist Qin mentioned that you are skilled in artifact refining. Could you help me refine a set of low-grade immortal artifacts? This Yuan Gang Jade will be the deposit. How does that sound?" She then took out a silver-white crystal and handed it to Wang Changsheng.

"Yuan Gang Crystal!" A look of surprise flashed in Wang Ruyan's eyes. This was a core material for constructing Flying Immortal Platforms, and the Wang family had been searching for it without success. Besides building Flying Immortal Platforms, Yuan Gang Crystal could also be used to set up some special first-grade immortal formations, which made it particularly valuable and rarely seen on the market.

Wang Changsheng asked, "What kind of set of immortal artifacts do you wish to refine?"

Shi Xiang replied, "Flying needle immortal artifacts. Here are the crafting materials." She then took out a red storage bracelet and handed it to Wang Changsheng.

"Flying needle immortal artifacts!" Wang Changsheng frowned. Flying needle immortal artifacts had high requirements for materials, and the materials Shi Xiang provided could indeed be used to refine them.

"I can help, but this piece of Yuan Gang Crystal is too small. I'd need two more for it to be worthwhile," Wang Changsheng said. (This single piece of Yuan Gang Crystal was enough to build a Flying Immortal Platform, but he wanted to acquire more.) Shi Xiang said earnestly, "I only have one Yuan Gang Crystal, but how about adding two Golden Flowers over two hundred thousand years old?"

Wang Changsheng said indifferently, "Golden Bloom Flowers? Those aren't rare immortal medicines; we can acquire those."

Shi Xiang pondered for a moment, then took out a golden jade slip and sent a voice transmission: "These are several methods for refining first-grade immortal puppets. As an immortal artifact master, Fellow Daoist Wang, you should be interested! However, this exchange would be a loss for me. Fellow Daoist Wang, you'll need to give me something in return. I heard you broke through Heavenly Beast Island. I'd like a demon core or venom sac from a late True Immortal stage venomous scorpion. How does that sound?"

Wang Changsheng replied via voice transmission, "These are the demon cores of late True Immortal stage Soul-Devouring Scorpions." He then took out a black jade box and handed it to Shi Xiang.

Shi Xiang took the jade box and opened it. Inside were two spheres as black as ink, emitting a peculiar sweet and pungent odor. A look of joy appeared on her face, and she handed the jade slip to Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng swept his divine sense over it. His expression remained calm, showing no abnormality.

The jade slip recorded five methods for refining first-grade immortal puppets. Their abilities varied, and the materials for two of these immortal puppets were relatively easy to gather. If they could refine a few first-grade immortal puppets, the Wang family's True Immortal cultivators would have a much easier time against their enemies. There were not many True Immortal cultivators in the Wang family who had opened four apertures. Wang Xiulong and Wang Xiuling, for instance, had not opened their fourth aperture. If they had a first-grade immortal puppet by their side, their strength would significantly increase.

Wang Changsheng asked, "Refining a set of immortal artifacts will take a considerable amount of time. How should I contact Immortal Shi once they are complete?"

Shi Xiang replied, "Fellow Daoist Wang, please set a time! I will come to the market to collect them then."

"Alright then!" Wang Changsheng said. "Five hundred years from now, you can retrieve the artifacts from the Azure Lotus Pavilion in Ziwei Market. This is a written agreement; you can claim the goods with this." He then took out a golden page, wrote down the agreement with a silver jade pen, and handed it to Shi Xiang. Shi Xiang agreed and accepted the written agreement.

Wang Changsheng asked via voice transmission, "If you don't mind me asking, Immortal Shi, where did you obtain the methods for refining immortal puppets?"

Shi Xiang explained, "When the beast tide erupted on the Chaos Continent, the city where I resided was breached by Chaos Beasts. I took advantage of the chaos and picked up some items. But rest assured, I didn't keep a copy." Each time Chaos Beasts breached a city, immortal cultivators suffered heavy casualties, making it easy to stumble upon treasures. Her luck was average, but some True Immortal cultivators were exceptionally lucky, finding mid-grade immortal artifacts.