Immortality Begins as an Alchemy Master 26

Chapter 26: Merchants, All Merchants

This time, Luo Chen didn’t go to the loose cultivator market for his supplies.

He had just made a large purchase yesterday, and going again today would be too suspicious.

Furthermore, that place was crowded and full of gossip; most of the people there were from the outer city. A discerning individual could easily find out about Luo Chen’s changes.

Therefore, Luo Chen gritted his teeth and went to the Hundred Herbs Hall to buy his supplies.

In the end, he spent ten more spiritual stones than before to gather all the raw materials needed for alchemy.

After this, he only had twenty-nine spiritual stones left.

If he were to buy daily necessities and firewood, he would need to spend four more spiritual stones.

Twenty-five spiritual stones!

Last night, he had nearly one hundred and fifty spiritual stones – a fortune!

“Spiritual stones really don’t last long,” he sighed.

“This amount of money isn’t enough to buy the Attraction Technique.”

Standing at a crossroads, Luo Chen looked at the antique-style Ten Thousand Treasures Building and gritted his teeth before entering.

As a property of the six major upper sects, its reputation and strength were unparalleled in Great River City.

Spending money in such a place would make it much harder for other loose cultivators to find out.

“Sir, are you looking to buy artifacts?”

As soon as he entered, a maidservant approached.

It was his first time in such a high-end establishment, and Luo Chen felt a little uneasy.

He said he wanted to look around first, and the maidservant left.

There was no enthusiastic sales pitch.

This was simply because his cultivation was only at the fourth layer of Qi Refining, and the robe he wore was worn and a bit too small, making him look rather tense.

He clearly looked like a loose cultivator with low purchasing power.

After wandering around the spacious first floor for a while, Luo Chen’s anxiety subsided.

Especially after looking at the shelves of high-quality artifacts, his confidence grew.

He called for a maidservant and said directly, “I want to sell an artifact. Do you accept them here?”

The maidservant nodded. “Yes, but it needs to be appraised by a master first before a price can be given. As for whether the price is suitable, you can decide whether to sell it or not.”

“You don’t charge an appraisal fee, right?”

“Hehe, sir, you’re joking. Since you’re selling to us, of course, we won’t charge an appraisal fee.”

Luo Chen was truly shocked by Sun Shou’s operation yesterday.

The various fees were endless.

Sun Shou was from the Jade Tripod Sword Sect, and the Ten Thousand Treasures Building was owned by Tianfan City. He was afraid that these wealthy and unscrupulous large sects were all of a kind.

On the second floor, an old man was drinking tea, playing with two red walnuts in his hands.

“Old Master Chu, this guest wants to sell an artifact.”

“Mn, you can go down now!” Old Master Chu played with the walnuts in one hand and extended the other. “Let me see the item.”

A short sword was handed to him, the hilt shaped like a swallow.

Old Master Chu nodded. “It’s a standard Flying Swallow Sword forged by our Tianfan City, of high-grade quality.”

He weighed it, then shook his head. “It’s one ounce lighter, and the blade is severely damaged and needs to be re-forged.”

He infused his spiritual energy, circulating it through the sword. Finally, the tip, body, and hilt glowed.

“The Sharp Gold Array is damaged.”

“The Qi-Dispersing Array still has 80% efficacy.”

“The Fortification Array is unstable and needs to be reconstructed.”

“Oh, the sword’s owner is an idiot; they even engraved words on it.”

Having said that, Old Master Chu casually tossed the Flying Swallow Sword onto the table.

“One thousand. If you want to sell it, our Ten Thousand Treasures Building will buy it for one thousand spiritual stones.”

Hearing this enormous number, Luo Chen’s eyes widened!

It wasn’t too high.

It was too low!

It is common knowledge that the price of artifacts fluctuates with the market, and cultivators are very sensitive to this.

Low-grade artifacts are priced between one hundred and five hundred spiritual stones.

Mid-grade artifacts are priced between five hundred and one thousand spiritual stones.

High-grade artifacts start at one thousand spiritual stones.

Offensive artifacts generally have lower prices, with the most common swords and knives at the bottom.

Defensive artifacts have the highest prices.

As for some peculiar artifacts, the price is determined by the cultivator based on their effect, but the price is also generally high.

In this world, there’s no saying that the weirder the artifact, the faster it breaks.

The more peculiar the artifact, the more unexpected effects it might have; during battles or exploring secret realms, it might turn the tide at a critical moment.

Luo Chen was prepared for the low price of flying swords.

But this was unacceptable.

“Your shop’s Flying Swallow Sword sells for two thousand five hundred low-grade spiritual stones!”

Old Master Chu said indifferently, “Don’t you know that our Ten Thousand Treasures Building generally buys used artifacts at half price?”

“But this isn’t even half price!” Luo Chen argued.

These sect members may not care about a hundred or two hundred spiritual stones, but for him, that was his entire fortune earned over years of hard work.

“Do you know how much effort it takes for us to take these artifacts, repair them, and put them back on the shelves?”

Old Master Chu counted on his fingers. “We first have to send them back to the sect; the transportation cost is one expense.”

“Choosing suitable materials for repairs is another expense.”

“Hiring an array master to repair the arrays is even more expensive.”

“And to ensure quality standards and avoid being criticized for selling inferior goods, we need to hire a high-level cultivator to carefully inspect them.”

“Finally, we have to spend a lot of effort to send them to various Ten Thousand Treasures Buildings.”

“As for other miscellaneous expenses, I haven’t even counted those.”

Luo Chen’s teeth ached.

This old man, without the bearing of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, was as petty as Old Master Chen.

“Speaking of which, I have to say something about you young people,” Old Master Chu shook his head, looking disappointed. “All you do is fight and kill. Are artifacts meant for showing off and fighting? These are protective weapons, meant to be cherished and cared for.”

“After a battle, you should clean them, right?”

“When you’re not using them, you should nurture them with spiritual energy. That’s the right thing to do!”

“Every used artifact brought to me is battered and worn.”

“It breaks my heart!”

Towards the end, he became emotional.

His expression when looking at the Flying Swallow Sword was like seeing a beloved being defiled and ruined before being sent home.

Luo Chen couldn’t take it anymore.

But for cultivation resources, he gritted his teeth and insisted, “It’s too low. I can’t accept this price. I could sell it for one thousand five hundred or six hundred in the loose cultivator market.”

Having said that, he picked up the sword and turned to leave.

“Hey, hey, young man, wait a minute.”

Old Master Chu quickly called out. “Eleven hundred, how about that? This is the highest price I can offer within my authority.”

“Still too low.”

“It’s a good deal, really. I haven’t offered this price for swords in better condition than this one.”

Old Master Chu said seriously: “And, you know, a flying sword with inscriptions like this, most loose cultivators won’t dare buy it, right!”

“Eleven hundred, that’s the price. If you really want to sell it, the Ten Thousand Treasures Building will buy it. And I promise, we won’t reveal any information about you selling the artifact!”

Luo Chen stood there, his expression changing.

Finally, he sighed.

“Alright, deal.”

A while later, Luo Chen walked out of the Ten Thousand Treasures Building.

Facing the dazzling sunlight, he spat on the ground without any manners.

“Damn it, merchant!”

A female cultivator passing by glanced at him contemptuously.

“What kind of manners are those!”

Inside the Ten Thousand Treasures Building.

Old Master Chu smiled and handed the Flying Swallow Sword to a shirtless, muscular man.

“Melt away the inscription, add some five-metal energy, and then put it on the first-floor shelf!”

The big man took the flying sword and scratched his head.

“It’s still in pretty good condition, not much damage. Old Master Chu, how many spiritual stones did you get for this?”

“Not bad, eleven hundred, a good profit.”

Old Master Chu said with a smile, then paused and sighed.

“These young people nowadays, they’re getting stingier and stingier. They haggle over every hundred low-grade spiritual stones with me, so petty! How can they achieve the Dao with such a miserly attitude!”

(End of Chapter)

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