Chapter 49: Qingyun Shield

Wang Changxing put away his stall, then followed Wang Changsheng to the stall of the girl in the white skirt. Wang Changxing picked up the artifact forging furnace and examined it carefully.

After a moment, Wang Changxing put down the furnace. He said calmly, "A lot of the paint is chipped off, and the patterns on the cauldron body are scratched. I don't know if this is refurbished old stock, but it's definitely not worth seventy spirit stones. Forty spirit stones would be more appropriate."

"Forty spirit stones? Friend, that's a brutal offer!" the blue-shirted young man said with some displeasure.

"You get what you pay for. If it were a brand new artifact forging furnace, you wouldn't be asking for seventy spirit stones. However, I believe this furnace is only worth forty spirit stones. If you're unwilling, then so be it. On my way here, I saw two other stalls with artifact forging furnaces, and they were only asking for thirty-five spirit stones. My offer of forty is quite generous already."

The blue-shirted young man frowned deeply, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Forty is too little. My father bought this furnace for a hundred spirit stones, and he hardly used it. Fifty spirit stones, no less."

Wang Changxing remained unimpressed. He countered, "Friend, we have no idea how many times your father used it. No one's spirit stones come easily. My final offer is forty. If you don't agree, then forget it. We'll go buy from another vendor. There are so many stalls here; you're not the only ones selling artifact forging furnaces."

The blue-shirted young man thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Forty-eight spirit stones, absolutely no less."

Wang Changxing pulled Wang Changsheng and started walking back. As they walked, he said, "Come on, Ninth Brother, let's go back and check out that other stall. I think that silver-thread cauldron looked pretty good."

"Forty-five spirit stones, no less!" the blue-shirted young man shouted loudly, growing anxious as he saw Wang Changxing and Wang Changsheng leave.

Wang Changxing stopped, turned around, and said, "Forty-three spirit stones, not a single one more."

"Alright! Forty-three it is," the blue-shirted young man said, hesitating briefly before agreeing. If he hadn't been so desperately in need of spirit stones, he wouldn't have sold the relic his father left behind.

Hearing this, Wang Changsheng was secretly delighted. He had genuinely been worried that Wang Changxing would simply walk away.

Back at the stall, Wang Changsheng was about to pay the spirit stones when Wang Changxing stopped him. "Wait," he said, "Let's test the furnace first. We don't know how long it's been sitting here; whether it works is still a question."

Though the girl in the white skirt and the blue-shirted young man were somewhat displeased, they dared not refuse.

Wang Changxing injected spiritual power into the artifact forging furnace, and its size rapidly expanded to about ten feet. Wang Changsheng stepped forward, inspected it carefully, and only after confirming there were no issues did he pay the spirit stones and place the furnace into his storage bag.

Wang Changxing forced a smile onto his face and said enthusiastically, "Friends, would you like to buy some medicinal pills? I have two bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills here, perfectly suited for you, especially for this fairy maiden. After taking them, there's a high chance you'll advance to the fifth level of Qi Refinement." He pulled out two white porcelain bottles from his robe, uncapped them, and a strong medicinal fragrance wafted out.

"Qi Nourishing Pills?" The girl in the white skirt seemed tempted and looked towards the blue-shirted young man.

"No need, we'll just buy them at a pill shop," the blue-shirted young man refused without hesitation. Wang Changxing had driven such a hard bargain that the young man felt resistant and didn't want to buy pills from him.

Wang Changxing smiled slightly and said, "Friends, we are disciples of the Wang family of Green Lotus Mountain. These two bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills were refined by a first-grade alchemist of our Wang family, so the quality is absolutely guaranteed. Pill shops also sell Qi Nourishing Pills, but they cost three spirit stones per pill, meaning thirty spirit stones for a bottle of ten, or sixty for two bottles. I can give you a small discount and sell them to you for fifty-nine spirit stones. How about that?"

"Who knows if there's a problem with the pills' quality?" the girl in the white skirt said, pouting and somewhat displeased.

"It's simple. You can buy one and try it, then you'll know, won't you? Three spirit stones per pill, thirty for a bottle, fifty-nine for two bottles. This is one spirit stone cheaper than at a regular pill shop. One spirit stone is enough to stay in a common inn room for a month."

The blue-shirted young man was somewhat tempted, but before he could speak, the vendor from the adjacent stall quickly interjected, "Two bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills for fifty-nine spirit stones? I'll take them!"

"My apologies, but I only have these two bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills. Unless this friend here declines them, I can't sell them to you. There's a first-come, first-served rule."

"Alright! I'll buy these two bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills, but I need to inspect them first. I'll only pay if the quality is fine."

The blue-shirted young man held a bottle of Qi Nourishing Pills to his nose and sniffed a few times. He then selected one pill from the twenty and had the girl in the white skirt take it to check its quality.

The girl in the white skirt took the Qi Nourishing Pill, quickly sat cross-legged, and began circulating her spiritual power to refine its medicinal effects. A little less than a quarter of an hour later, she opened her eyes and said, her face beaming with joy, "Brother, the quality is perfect."

The blue-shirted young man nodded, then reluctantly took out fifty-nine spirit stones from his storage bag and paid Wang Changxing.

Wang Changxing put away the spirit stones, grinning from ear to ear, and left with Wang Changsheng.

"Third Brother, you're amazing! You saved me over twenty spirit stones and even sold the pills," Wang Changsheng said, his face full of admiration.

"Heh heh," Wang Changxing chuckled. "I used to work as a shop assistant in the Spirit Grain Hall. Those rogue cultivators would spend half a day haggling just to save a single spirit stone when buying spirit grain. Over time, I learned how to bargain and how to compare prices. Ninth Brother, remember this: the more you like something, the more you should pretend you don't. That's how you drive a hard bargain. Of course, this also worked because those two siblings were rogue cultivators who were eager to sell their artifact forging furnace. If you were buying from an actual artifact shop, this trick probably wouldn't work."

Wang Changsheng nodded subtly, committing Wang Changxing's words to memory.

"I've sold most of my items, Ninth Brother. How about I accompany you for a good look around? We can meet up with Uncle Liu later," Wang Changxing suggested.

Wang Changsheng naturally didn't object and began strolling with Wang Changxing.

Wang Changsheng still had seventy-seven spirit stones left. He planned to buy some artifact forging materials to craft a shield. Low-grade offensive spiritual artifacts had limited power and were not difficult to forge, but they were harder to sell. Low-grade defensive spiritual artifacts, however, sold better.

The item he intended to forge was the Azure Cloud Shield, requiring first-grade low-tier spiritual liquid, thirty-year-old Azure Cloud Wood, and spiritual charcoal. All three materials could be found at the small stalls in the market square. Nine pieces of Azure Cloud Wood, three catties of spiritual charcoal, and six bottles of spiritual liquid cost him seventy-two spirit stones, leaving Wang Changsheng with five spirit stones.

After acquiring the materials, Wang Changsheng eagerly left the market square with Wang Changxing.

Hundred Grain Pavilion was a shop specializing in selling spirit grains. The first floor belonged to the Wang family, and the second floor belonged to the Liu family, both selling spirit grains. Hundred Grain Pavilion also had a courtyard at the back with rooms that served as temporary residences for members of the Wang family.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Changxing arrived at Hundred Grain Pavilion, where Wang Mingzhan arranged a guest room for them to rest. Wang Changxing wasn't skilled in artifact forging, so to avoid disturbing Wang Changsheng, he went out to help sell spirit grains, leaving Wang Changsheng alone in the room.

Wang Changsheng took out the artifact forging furnace and a meditation cushion, then sat down cross-legged. He meditated for a quarter of an hour, clearing his mind of distractions, and then began forging. The process involved preheating, adding materials, extinguishing the flame, shaping, and engraving spiritual patterns.

Compared to the Azure Cloud Blade, he was more adept at forging the Azure Cloud Shield. Both of the excellent finished products he created during his assessment were Azure Cloud Shields. Perhaps because he hadn't forged for too long, Wang Changsheng failed twice, producing two flawed items. Fortunately, he succeeded in crafting an Azure Cloud Shield of excellent quality.

The shield was entirely azure-colored, about ten feet long and two feet wide. It was inscribed with two sturdy spiritual patterns, and it could withstand attacks from a mid-grade spiritual artifact for a short period without issue.