Baiguo City, Chengjin Trading Company.
Shi Liangjin carefully put away the painting scroll in his hands.
He was very excited, and very thrilled.
A work by Qinglian Jushi was worth far more than a mere six thousand six hundred and sixty-six taels of gold no matter how one looked at it. In his hands, this scroll could sell for at least ten thousand taels of gold.
Doubling his money would be no problem at all.
If he ran into some diehard fan of Qinglian Jushi, it might fetch an even higher price. In any case, there was no way he would lose out.
As for Daoist Taihua and Su Changyu.
The two of them held the banknotes and walked out of the pawnshop in a daze.
Six thousand six hundred and sixty-six taels of gold.
To the Qingyun Dao Sect, this was an enormous sum.
If one were to calculate it, if one were to calculate it, the entire Qingyun Dao Sect would need several hundred years to earn that much.
This sudden windfall left Daoist Taihua and Su Changyu somewhat at a loss.
They did not even know what they should do next.
“Sect Leader, what should we do next?”
Su Changyu was a little stupefied.
“First, we’ll repay our debts. Then we’ll take a trip to Miyuan Pavilion.”
Daoist Taihua came back to his senses and immediately sorted out his thoughts.
“Miyuan Pavilion?”
Su Changyu was somewhat surprised.
Miyuan Pavilion was a well-known shop in Baiguo City, a place specializing in selling secret manuals and magical artifacts. Generally speaking, even third-grade sects rarely went to Miyuan Pavilion.
“This money was earned for our Qingyun Dao Sect by your little junior brother. I intend to buy him some secret manuals, then buy some good things to nourish his body. Since he is a genius, we should do everything we can to cultivate him. After all, he is now the hope of our Qingyun Dao Sect.”
“In the future, whether we advance to a third-grade, second-grade, or even first-grade sect, we may have to rely on him.”
Daoist Taihua spoke as such, making Su Changyu have no choice but to admire Daoist Taihua’s resourcefulness.
Very soon, Daoist Taihua went to the sect affairs office, painfully paid one hundred taels of gold, and then brought Su Changyu toward Miyuan Pavilion.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn.
Daoist Taihua and Su Changyu arrived outside Miyuan Pavilion.
Miyuan Pavilion was decorated extravagantly. Just outside the entrance stood two jade-carved stone lions, constantly flaunting an air of overwhelming wealth.
“Please come in, honored immortals.”
From within Miyuan Pavilion, a maidservant in green walked out. She had a pretty face and took the initiative to greet Daoist Taihua and Su Changyu with a smile. There was not the slightest hint of snobbery; her service attitude was quite good.
Daoist Taihua walked in, with Su Changyu following behind him.
“Is this the first time the two honored immortals have come to Miyuan Pavilion?”
The maidservant in green had someone serve tea, followed along behind them, and asked with a faint smile.
“Mm, first time.”
Daoist Taihua was a shrewd old hand who had seen all sorts of occasions big and small, so his expression was extremely steady. Although Su Changyu was somewhat flustered inwardly, on the surface he remained calm and composed.
“Then, honored immortals, are you looking to buy magical artifacts or secret manuals?”
The maidservant in green continued to ask.
“Secret manuals.”
Daoist Taihua spoke directly.
Things like magical artifacts and weapons were not needed for the time being. The urgent matter at hand was secret manuals.
After all, relying on the little Su Changyu had, it would be very easy for his deception of Ye Ping to be exposed.
“Very well. Then, honored immortals, please follow me to the second floor.”
The maidservant in green led the two of them up to the second floor.
“What type of secret manual or cultivation technique do you require, honored immortal?”
The woman in green asked.
“Sword technique manuals. First-grade ones.”
Daoist Taihua said with incomparable boldness.
Upon hearing “first-grade,” the woman in green could not help but have her beautiful eyes light up.
Cultivation techniques and secret manuals were divided in detail into unranked, third-grade, second-grade, first-grade, and transcendent-grade. Above transcendent-grade was another level of secret manuals entirely, which could not be cultivated without reaching the Nascent Soul realm.
A single first-grade sword dao manual was worth at least over a hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones. This was simply a major deal.
“Switch to superior tea for the two honored immortals.”
The maidservant in green gave several young maids a look, having them go change the tea.
However, very quickly, Daoist Taihua continued, “Only the introductory volume.”
He definitely could not afford a complete first-grade sword manual, but an introductory volume was enough. The fact that Ye Ping could comprehend the complete Four Thunder Sword Technique from a single sword mark was proof that Ye Ping’s aptitude was unparalleled. What need was there for the complete version?
“No need to change it.”
The maidservant in green was stunned, then gave another look, telling the maids not to change it after all.
An introductory sword manual would not sell for many spirit stones even if it was first-grade. A so-called introductory volume might only contain a dozen or so sword moves.
But a customer was still a customer, and the maidservant in green did not slight the two of them because of it.
Very soon, the maidservant in green brought Daoist Taihua to the book pavilion and began selecting sword manuals.
There were not many first-grade sword manuals. In the entire Miyuan Pavilion, there were only three sets.
“Honored immortal, these three sets of sword manuals are respectively the Three Origins Golden Yang Sword Technique, the River Sword Technique, and the Seven Stars Sword Technique. The selling price for all three manuals is five hundred spirit stones.”
The maidservant in green said as such.
“Five hundred spirit stones?”
Daoist Taihua was a little astonished.
“The introductory volume of the Four Thunder Sword Technique wasn’t even this expensive, was it?”
Daoist Taihua frowned. It was not that he was unwilling to part with that many spirit stones; mainly, he wanted to keep some money to buy other things for Ye Ping. Just buying a sword manual alone definitely would not do.
“Honored immortal, you misunderstand. The Four Thunder Sword Technique is extremely widely circulated in Qingzhou. Moreover, these four sword techniques have all been enhanced with secret arts, allowing those who view them to quickly comprehend the sword techniques. Therefore, five hundred spirit stones per book is not expensive.”
The latter said with a light smile.
In an instant, Daoist Taihua fell silent.
He had thought sword techniques would be very cheap. Back then, the Four Thunder Sword Technique had not been expensive at all, but he had not expected the price to be five hundred low-grade spirit stones the moment she opened her mouth—equivalent to five thousand taels of gold.
“Of course, we are also holding a promotional event recently. We can reduce the price by fifty low-grade spirit stones.”
The other party said with a smile.
Yet Daoist Taihua remained silent.
He hesitated for a long time.
In the end, he gritted his teeth and looked at the maidservant in green. “Which one is the strongest?”
He asked as such.
“Honored immortal, among these three sword manuals, the one with the greatest power is the River Sword Technique. Its sword momentum is like a river and a great stream, extremely formidable. If this disciple of yours has excellent aptitude, perhaps he may even comprehend the sword technique of an even higher level: the Spirit Sea Sword Technique.”
The maidservant in green said as such.
“He can even comprehend the higher-level Spirit Sea Sword Technique?”
Daoist Taihua was somewhat surprised.
“Yes. The River Sword Technique is itself a simplified version of the transcendent-grade sword manual, the Spirit Sea Sword Technique. If one’s aptitude is extremely good, perhaps one can comprehend the Spirit Sea Sword Technique. This is one of the three great sword techniques of the Jin State’s Spirit Sword Sect.”
The other party said as such.
In an instant, Daoist Taihua was astonished.
“In that case, we’ll choose this one. Right, do you have Qi Refining Pills and Qi-Nourishing Pills here?”
Daoist Taihua asked.
“We do. Superior-grade Qi Refining Pills are one spirit stone each, Qi-Nourishing Pills are four pills for one spirit stone, medium-grade Qi Refining Pills are two pills for one spirit stone, and low-grade Qi Refining Pills are five pills for one spirit stone. May I ask which kind you require, honored immortal?”
The maidservant in green continued to ask.
“Superior-grade. Fifty Qi Refining Pills, and two hundred Qi-Nourishing Pills.”
Daoist Taihua did not think much about it. Since he had money in his pocket, he did not want to buy inferior goods for Ye Ping to consume.
Medicine was inherently three parts poison; the better the quality, the lower the toxicity. Superior-grade pills would not have much of an effect on him and could help Ye Ping step onto the path of cultivation sooner.
Ye Ping’s sword dao talent was very strong, but his cultivation talent was very poor. Daoist Taihua understood this point.
Having strong sword dao talent was a good thing, but his cultivation also had to keep up. No matter how poor it was, he at least had to reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, right?
If he encountered a Qi Refining cultivator, it would be fine; with profound sword dao attainment, he could fight. But if he encountered a Foundation Establishment expert, then he might as well wait for death. Even condensing sword intent would be of no use.
“Very well, honored immortal. Please wait a moment.”
The maidservant in green did not waste words. In less than a short while, she had prepared everything.
In total, it was five hundred and fifty spirit stones. Converted to banknotes, that was five thousand five hundred taels of gold.
Before leaving, Daoist Taihua gritted his teeth and also bought two cold-iron swords in passing. They were not magical artifacts, but belonged to the top tier of ordinary mortal weapons. Five hundred taels of gold, yet Daoist Taihua forcibly haggled it down to four hundred and sixty-six taels.
At this moment, Daoist Taihua had only six hundred taels of gold left on hand.
Only, after walking out of Miyuan Pavilion,
Daoist Taihua suddenly remembered something.