An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

This time, Luo Chen chose not to visit the rogue cultivators' market for his shopping.

He had just made a major purchase yesterday, and returning today would raise too much suspicion. Moreover, the market was crowded and full of gossipers, mostly from the outer district. Anyone curious enough could easily uncover the changes in Luo Chen's situation.

Thus, Luo Chen gritted his teeth and headed to the Hall of Hundred Herbs for his purchases.

The end result was that he spent ten more spirit stones than before just to gather the materials needed for refining his pills. This left him with only twenty-nine spirit stones in hand.

If he purchased household items and firewood later, he would need to spend another four spirit stones.

Twenty-five left!

Just last night, he had a fortune of nearly one hundred and fifty spirit stones.

"Spirit stones really disappear fast. This isn't nearly enough to buy the Traction manual."

Standing at the crossroads, Luo Chen glanced at the traditional-looking Treasure Pavilion and clenched his teeth before stepping inside.

"Dear customer, are you looking to purchase enchanted artifacts?"

An attendant approached him as soon as he entered.

It was Luo Chen's first time in such an upscale venue, and he felt a bit uneasy. He mentioned that he'd like to browse first, and the attendant left him alone.

There was no overly enthusiastic sales pitch. Probably because his cultivation was only at the fourth stage of Qi-Refining, and his robe was neither new nor well-fitting, looking rather tight.

He appeared to be the type of rogue cultivator with limited purchasing power.

After wandering around the spacious first floor for a while, Luo Chen gradually calmed himself. He felt more confident after he took a look at the shelves of high-grade artifacts.

He called the attendant over and said directly, "I want to sell an enchanted artifact. Do you take them here?"

The attendant nodded and said, "Yes, we do. However, the item will need to be appraised by a master first to determine its value. Once the price is set, you can decide whether or not to sell it."

"You don't charge an appraisal fee, right?"

"Hehe, you must be joking. Dear customer, you're selling to us, so of course, there's no appraisal fee."

Luo Chen had truly been spooked by Sun Shou's antics yesterday.

There had been endless additional fees.

Sun Shou was from the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, while the Treasure Pavilion was a Tianfan City business. He feared that these wealthy and heartless great sects were all birds of a feather.

On the second floor, an elderly man was sipping tea while toying with two red walnuts in his hands.

"Old Chu, this customer wants to sell an enchanted artifact."

"Alright, you may leave," Old Chu said, continuing to fiddle with the walnuts while extending his hand. "Let's see the item."

A short sword with a swallow-shaped hilt was handed to him.

Old Chu nodded. "A standard Flying Swallow Sword crafted by Tianfan City, high-grade."

He weighed it in his hand and then shook his head. "It's lighter by a couple of ounces, with significant wear on the blade. It needs to be reforged."

He infused it with enchanting power, and the blade emitted light at the tip, the blade itself, and the hilt.

"The Sharp Gold Array is damaged.

"The Decompression Array still retains about eighty percent of its effectiveness.

"The Reinforcement Array is unstable and needs its patterns reconstructed.

"Oh, and the sword's owner was a fool for engraving text on it."

With that, Old Chu casually tossed the Flying Swallow Sword onto the table.

"One thousand. If you're selling, the Treasure Pavilion will take one thousand spirit stones."

Hearing this sizable figure, Luo Chen's eyes widened in shock!

Not because it was too high. But because it was too low!

It was common knowledge that enchanted artifact prices followed the market, and cultivators were very particular about it.

Low-grade artifacts ranged from one hundred to five hundred.

Mid-grade artifacts ranged from five hundred to one thousand.

High-grade artifacts started at one thousand spirit stones.

Luo Chen had been mentally prepared for flying swords to be priced lower.

But this low? He couldn't accept it.

"The Flying Swallow Sword in your store sells for two thousand five hundred low-grade spirit stones!"

Old Chu replied nonchalantly, "Don't you know that we usually buy second-hand artifacts at half price?"

"But this isn't even half-price!" Luo Chen argued confidently.

Cultivators from sects might not care about a few hundred spirit stones, but to him, it was the result of years of hard work.

"Do you have any idea how much effort it takes to refurbish and resell these artifacts?"

Old Chu counted on his fingers. "First, we have to send them back to the sect. That's already a transportation cost.

"Choosing suitable materials for repairs is another expense.

"Then hiring an array master to restore the formations costs even more.

"To maintain quality standards and avoid accusations of selling subpar goods, we have to hire high-level cultivators for meticulous inspections.

"And finally, we also have to go through great effort, transporting it over vast distances to various Treasure Pavilion locations

"As for other minor expenses, I haven't even included those."

Luo Chen felt his jaw tighten.

This old man had none of the magnanimity of a Foundation Establishment cultivator and was as stingy as Old Man Chen.

"Speaking of which, I must talk about you young people." Old Chu shook his head and said with exasperation. "All you think about is fighting and killing. Are enchanted artifacts meant for flaunting and brawling? They're tools for safeguarding your path and should be cherished.

"After a fight, shouldn't you clean and polish them? During downtime, isn't it proper to nourish them with enchanting power?

"Every second-hand artifact that comes to me is battered and broken beyond recognition. It pains me to see them in this state!"

By the end of his speech, he was genuinely emotional.

The way he looked at the Flying Swallow Sword was as if he were seeing a cherished lover who had been defiled and ruined before being sent back home.

Luo Chen found his behavior unbearable. But for the sake of cultivation resources, he gritted his teeth and said, "This is too low. I can't accept it. I could easily sell it for fifteen or sixteen hundred at the rogue cultivators' market."

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

"Wait, young man, hold on," Old Chu quickly called out. "Eleven hundred. How about that? That's the highest I can offer."

"It's still too low."

"It's a fair offer, really. I haven't even offered this much for flying swords in better condition."

Old Chu added seriously, "Besides, flying swords with inscriptions like this usually scare off rogue cultivators, don't they?

"Eleven hundred. That's the price. If you're serious about selling, Treasure Pavilion will take it. And I promise, we won't disclose any information about your sale."

Luo Chen stood still, his expression wavering.

Finally, he let out a long sigh and said, "Alright, deal."

Moments later, Luo Chen exited the Treasure Pavilion.

Under the glaring sunlight, he spat rudely and cursed, "Damn it, unscrupulous merchants!"

A female cultivator passing by shot him a disdainful look.

What poor manners!

Inside the Treasure Pavilion, Old Chu handed the Flying Swallow Sword to a shirtless, muscular man with a cheerful smile. "Remove the engraving, add some metallic energy, and put it back on the first-floor shelf."

The man took the sword and scratched his head as he asked, "It's in decent condition, not too damaged. How much did you pay for it this time, Old Chu?"

Old Chu said with a grin, "Not bad, eleven hundred. Plenty of profit."

He then paused and said with a sigh, "Young people these days are getting more frugal, haggling over a hundred spirit stones with an old man like me. With such pettiness, how can they ever hope to achieve the Great Dao in the future??"