On the central square of the immortal city, amidst the bustling foot traffic, the open trade fair was in full swing.
Most rogue cultivators lacking the qualifications to enter the auction vented their enthusiasm here at the free market.
Even affluent figures eligible for the auction would stroll through from time to time, hoping they might unearth something worthwhile.
On the third day of the fair.
A figure squatted on the ground, swirling a Wave-Swallowing Sea-Ingesting Pot in his hand.
Even contained within the dharma artifact, he could still sense a ponderous weight.
Opposite him, a cultivator was vigorously pitching his wares with torrential eloquence.
"Senior, I wouldn't dream of deceiving you. These three drops of liquid are unequivocally Heavy Profound Netherwater!
"It's only because the quantity is so small and the immortal city charges exorbitant transaction fees that I brought them out here to sell.
"If you genuinely want them, hand over ten thousand spirit stones and take them right away!"
Holding the Wave-Swallowing Sea-Ingesting Pot, Luo Chen put on a look of regret.
"Though it is indeed Heavy Profound Netherwater, reputed to hold a thousand jun of weight per drop, this quantity is simply too meager.
"Without ten drops or more to muster ten thousand jun of force, it's far too useless."
As he spoke, he casually set down the artifact.
Then he rose to his feet, making as if to leave.
The Qi Refinement cultivator panicked.
"Senior, you can't put it like that!
"Ordinary folks could never produce more than ten drops of Heavy Profound Netherwater all at once. You could easily buy these three drops first, then take your time assembling the rest whenever opportunities arise!"
Luo Chen paused, rubbing his chin.
"What you say makes some sense.
"How about this: five thousand, and I'll take them all."
The rogue cultivator froze.
He had seen people haggle before.
He had never seen someone haggle like this.
Slashing the price clean in half!
Swallowing hard, he muttered, "Senior, this is a Tier 3 material. Isn't offering five thousand a bit disrespectful to it?"
"Then how much do you want? Let me be clear upfront—ten thousand is definitely not worth it."
The rogue cultivator pondered earnestly. "Nine thousand! Three thousand a drop is truly not expensive!"
"You lack sincerity!"
Luo Chen turned to leave.
Now the rogue cultivator genuinely grew frantic. While Heavy Profound Netherwater carried an illustrious reputation, until one gathered a substantial quantity, it was indeed dead weight.
Even at an auction, so trivial an amount would only end up ignored by all.
Having finally encountered an interested buyer, how could he let him slip away?
He bolted straight from behind his stall, planting himself before Luo Chen.
"Senior, name a figure—a sincere one, please!"
Luo Chen frowned. "Let us both take a step back and meet in the middle. Seventy-five hundred. If that works, we have a deal; if not, forget it!"
Hearing that price, hesitation showed on the vendor's face.
Seeing Luo Chen's indifferent demeanor, he could only grit his teeth.
"Fine, deal!"
***
Strolling through the spacious yet crowded market, Luo Chen tossed and caught the Wave-Swallowing Sea-Ingesting Pot.
Though only three drops of liquid rested inside, it felt as though he were supporting a small lake in his palm.
Heavy and dense!
He was in quite a good mood.
After wandering for two days prior, he had found nothing.
Who would have thought that stepping out today would yield such a prize?
This Heavy Profound Netherwater was a Tier 3 water-attribute material.
Within the cultivation world, if not universally renowned, it was certainly famous!
A single drop was said to possess the weight of a thousand jun. If one could assemble several dozen drops and fully refine them, few among their peers could match them.
If one reached the full celestial cycle of three hundred and sixty-five drops, it was said one could alter river courses and force waterfalls to flow backward!
However, a full celestial cycle of Heavy Profound Netherwater was no longer something a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator could govern; only a Golden Core Master could command it as effortlessly as their own limbs.
For Luo Chen, who cultivated fire- and wood-attribute arts, this item held little direct use.
The main reason he went to the trouble of buying it was for Duan Feng.
It happened to be one of the two primary materials missing from that flying sword magic treasure embryo.
Not much was needed—a single drop was plenty.
Forging a magic treasure required qualitative transformation, not sheer quantity.
The extra two drops would not go to waste either. Since Luo Chen had never given Duan Feng a proper congratulatory gift after his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, he might as well present the remaining two drops to him!
Luo Chen had perused the Canghai Wave-Severing Art that Duan Feng cultivated.
It explicitly mentioned methods of condensing lethal techniques with the aid of unique heaven-and-earth waters.
Such as the True Essence of Gui Water in the Duan family's Marsh Country Gui Chart, or this Heavy Profound Netherwater.
The former was merely Tier 2, relying on sheer quantity to prevail; in both potential and power, it fell far short of Heavy Profound Netherwater.
Still, if Duan Feng wanted that lethal technique to grow stronger, he would have to gather more Heavy Profound Netherwater on his own in the future.
Stowing the Wave-Swallowing Sea-Ingesting Pot, Luo Chen suddenly halted in his tracks.
Stepping back two paces, he moved before a stall tucked in a corner.
Dharma artifacts, dharma artifacts, and more dharma artifacts!
Every single artifact was tainted with various filth.
Some bore bloodstains, some malevolent Qi, and others odd gashes and scars.
It was plain to see that practically all these artifacts hailed from dubious origins.
Each item had a price marked on it.
A particular sign caught the eye above all else:
"No Bargaining!"
Though set in a corner, the stall was far from deserted.
Crowds pressed in on all sides.
"Fifteen hundred spirit stones for a high-grade dharma artifact?"
The speaker was a low-level cultivator at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement.
His gaze burned eagerly as he stared at a rust-mottled flying sword.
The scarred vendor cast him a cold glance. "No bargaining. If you want it, pay the spirit stones directly."
The low-tier cultivator could not wait to produce a hefty pouch of spirit stones. Once the transaction was done, he clutched the high-grade flying sword and hurried off.
Seeing him treat that rusty blade like a treasure, quite a few chuckles rippled through the onlookers.
Pocketing the spirit stones, the scarred vendor remarked indifferently, "The artifacts here vary in quality. The prices are set, and no bargaining is permitted. Once sold, no returns or exchanges."
In other words, he took no responsibility for quality; whether a purchase was good depended entirely on the buyer's eye!
Hearing this, no one objected.
Stalls like this were common.
Some cultivators possessed aloof temperaments, hated haggling, and preferred one-and-done deals.
However, this scarred vendor, who stood at the Great Perfection of Qi Refinement, had laid out an unusually large spread of artifacts.
Several pieces were clearly ancient relics steeped in age.
Concealing his aura, Luo Chen blended into the crowd.
His gaze fell upon three items placed deepest inside, closest to the vendor:
A bronze mirror, a banner, and an array compass.
Beside each hung a paper slip marking the price:
Thirty thousand, twenty thousand, fifteen thousand.
Such exorbitant prices seemed to proclaim the identities of these three items.
Magic treasures!
In truth, that was the real reason so many onlookers had gathered.
No one had ever seen a mere Qi Refinement cultivator produce three magic treasures all at once!
Even if they appeared to be damaged.
Finally, someone could not resist asking, "Daoist friend, did you clean out some deceased Golden Core cultivator's immortal's cave?"
Combined with those rust-covered artifacts, it was no wonder people suspected as much.
Faced with the question, the scarred vendor replied coldly, "Buy if you want to buy. Why so much drivel? What business of yours is it where I got these things?"
Though he did not fly into a rage, his words were thoroughly sharp.
Paired with his Qi Refinement Great Perfection cultivation and fierce aura, he managed to cow the onlookers into silence.
It was at this moment that Luo Chen stepped out from the crowd.
"Are all three of these magic treasures damaged?"
In that instant, he let slip a wisp of pure Foundation Establishment spiritual energy.
The onlookers were all struck with awe.
Why had a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator wandered into such an out-of-the-way corner?
Facing Luo Chen, the scarred vendor—who had been fierce and menacing just moments before—instantly softened his demeanor.
With a touch of deference, he replied, "They are indeed damaged, which is why they could not be consigned to the auction and had to be sold out here."
"Since they are damaged, how can you guarantee they still function?" Luo Chen asked.
The scarred vendor answered truthfully, "I cannot guarantee whether they work either, so it relies entirely on Senior's discernment."
He possessed only Qi Refinement cultivation.
Facing items commonly used by Golden Core cultivators, he naturally had no way to judge.
Luo Chen did not press him hard, asking curiously instead, "Then what are the functions of these three treasures? Do you know that much?"
The scarred man hesitated.
Then he said, "My knowledge is limited. I only know this compass is an array plate, the banner is called a Soul Gathering Banner, and as for this bronze mirror, I have no idea what it does."
Luo Chen gave him a deep look.
It was because of that brief hesitation.
Clearly, the man was withholding something.
Still, the essence of this gathering was free trade—a willing buyer and a willing seller.
He could not force the issue.
"Let me take a look."
Had anyone else asked to test them, the vendor would surely have refused.
Yet Luo Chen was a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.
The scarred man naturally dared not decline.
With utmost deference, he handed all three magic treasures to Luo Chen.
Starting with the cheapest, the compass, Luo Chen channeled spiritual energy into it, but received no response.
Reflecting for a moment, he used the spiritual sense restriction techniques gleaned from the storage bags of Duan Qiankun and Huo Hu, casting a restriction constructed of spiritual energy.
*Buzz...*
With a low drone, an array faintly expanded outward.
Luo Chen's figure turned indistinct, fading in and out of sight.
Raising an eyebrow, Luo Chen lifted the restriction, and his outline sharpened back into focus.
This magic treasure was barely functional.
If fully activated, it could at least match the effect of a supreme-grade dharma artifact.
Next came the Soul Gathering Banner. The moment he grasped it, Luo Chen let go.
As for the bronze mirror, he could not see through it for the time being.
Yet since the seller dared to price it as a regular low-grade magic treasure, it likely possessed some extraordinary quality.
While Luo Chen pondered, silence reigned all around.
The scarred vendor watched Luo Chen's reactions with trepidation.
When the array plate had stirred earlier, he had felt a pang of regret.
Yet seeing that the remaining two treasures showed no response whatsoever in the hands of this Foundation Establishment senior, anxiety set in.
Finally, unable to hold back, he asked, "Has Senior taken a liking to any of them?"
Luo Chen glanced at him and swept all three treasures into his storage bag.
"I'll take them all!"
As he spoke, he prepared to withdraw spirit stones from his storage bag.
"Sixty-five thousand, correct?"
Hearing that figure, the surrounding Qi Refinement rogue cultivators were utterly dumbfounded.
The scarred man was equally stunned.
He had never imagined Luo Chen would buy all three.
Earlier, he had merely displayed them to try his luck.
Sensing the greedy stares from the surroundings, a shiver ran down the scarred man's spine.
Too much of a good thing could invite disaster!
"Senior, sixty thousand will suffice! Sixty thousand is plenty!"
Luo Chen looked at him with a smile. The man certainly knew when to advance and retreat, understanding his limits.
Presumably, having recognized that Luo Chen was wealthy and not someone to provoke, he wanted to curry favor.
Luo Chen certainly would not refuse a discount of five thousand.
After retrieving the full sum of spirit stones from his storage bag, Luo Chen drifted away.
Only after he had departed and vanished completely did the crowd around the stall erupt into an uproar.
"Are all Foundation Establishment True Cultivators this rich?"
"A drop in the bucket to them! Sixty thousand stones dropped in a single breath, without even batting an eye!"
"That's not true. As far as I know, ordinary Foundation Establishment True Cultivators are quite poor too, only slightly wealthier than us. To cough up sixty thousand stones without breaking a sweat, you have to be a direct descendant of a sect, a Foundation Establishment true disciple!"
"That senior had clearly concealed his aura. Who knows, maybe he really is a true disciple of a Golden Core grand sect!"
"So envious!"
"Hey vendor, what about you... Wait, where did he go?"
While everyone was chattering away without paying attention, the scarred cultivator had already packed up every artifact on his stall and vanished.
Acquiring such a fortune made one an easy target; slipping away early was the only sensible choice.
***
On the central square.
Having bought three damaged magic treasures in one go, Luo Chen continued to wander.
At such an immense free trade gathering, the number of treasures surfacing was simply staggering.
Even if their quality was uneven and unpredictable, careful scouring was bound to yield something useful.
Luo Chen was not the only Foundation Establishment cultivator who held this mindset.
Along the way, he had already crossed paths with several.
After half a day of browsing, Luo Chen spotted a few more damaged magic treasures.
Yet this time, he made no move to purchase.
The reason was simple: the stallholders were Foundation Establishment True Cultivators!
Any damaged magic treasure put up for sale by such figures was bound to be of negligible value—or at least of no significant use to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Luo Chen tested two of them and discovered their power amounted to nothing more than the full-strength strike of a supreme-grade dharma artifact.
In terms of effectiveness, they were comparable to the broken-blade magic treasure fragment once carried by Broken Blade Xu Renke back at Dahe Market.
Xu Renke had been a famous wandering rogue cultivator in Dahe Market, having drifted through numerous market towns.
Presumably, his broken blade had been acquired through similar means!
The three damaged magic treasures Luo Chen had bought were different.
They had been sold by a Qi Refinement cultivator, so whether they were still useful depended entirely on the buyer's discernment.
Perhaps he had stumbled upon an extraordinary bargain.
If nothing else, that array plate alone was worth over ten thousand stones.
The simple test earlier had shown that the cloaking array it emitted was remarkably subtle and profound.
As for the other two treasures, Luo Chen felt somewhat confident about the Soul Gathering Banner.
He had no confidence regarding the bronze mirror.
Yet for it to be priced so high, it had to have been the most valuable item in the scarred cultivator's mind.
This was purely a gamble!
"Rich and reckless!"
Having wandered for the day, Luo Chen did not intend to browse any longer.
He had realized something.
If nothing else, dharma artifacts and damaged magic treasures were appearing at this mega-scale trade gathering in absurd, preposterous quantities.
The reason behind this went without saying.
It was undoubtedly linked to the conflict between the two Nascent Soul superior sects.
"It is said that the Sword Sect and the Luoyun Sect have also dispatched additional true disciples to Tianlan Immortal City.
"Could they end up coming to blows?"
Luo Chen chuckled. If a fight truly broke out, he planned to go watch the fun.
Returning to his immortal's cave, Luo Chen brought out all the day's gains.
He planned to have the Heavy Profound Netherwater delivered to Duan Feng tomorrow.
For now, he intended to study the three damaged magic treasures thoroughly.
"This array plate is rather peculiar. It requires no special refinement; as long as one understands restrictions and formations, it can be activated.
"With my attainments in array mastery, drawing out its full might will be difficult.
"Perhaps I can hand it to Min Longyu to study. Once he deduces the exact method, I can take it back to use."
Setting down the array plate, Luo Chen shifted his attention to the banner.
A Soul Gathering Banner?
The name sounded somewhat similar to a Soul Refining Banner.
Yet one was 'gathering' and the other 'refining'; their functions were bound to differ.
He attempted to activate it, but achieved nothing.
"It seems this treasure requires painstaking effort and complete refinement before it can be used.
"The one thing I lack is time!
"However, I can let Xiao Ling try it out."
With a thought, a ghost mill descended into the immortal's cave.
A graceful figure drifted out from within in a daze.
"Master, is something the matter?"
"Here, take this."
"What is this?" Bai Meiling took the banner in confusion. The moment it reached her hands, her entire figure was dragged down toward the floor. "So heavy!"
Seeing this, Luo Chen could not help but laugh.
"This is a Soul Gathering Banner. Study it well; it might benefit your cultivation in the soul path."
As he spoke, he picked up the Soul Gathering Banner and planted it in a corner of the immortal's cave.
Only then did the delicate figure pinned to the ground struggle to her feet.
Circling the banner, her eyes brimmed with curiosity.
Luo Chen paid her no more heed, directing his focus toward the bronze mirror on the table.
Primitive and yellowed with age.
Along its rim, motifs of flowers, birds, insects, and fish were faintly carved.
Only one corner of the mirror surface was missing, as though shattered in battle.
"This thing always gives me a feeling of familiarity!"
A gamble? It was impossible for Luo Chen to gamble!
He was out to pick up bargains.
Even if he failed to strike an extraordinary bargain, whatever he bought had to be worth its price.
The reason he had been willing to spend the equivalent of an ordinary low-grade magic treasure on this bronze mirror was precisely that sense of familiarity upon touching it.
"Where exactly does it hail from?"
Luo Chen furrowed his brows, searching his memory carefully.
As he pondered, he channeled spiritual energy into it now and then, yet the bronze mirror showed no reaction.
Probing with his spiritual sense proved equally futile.
Suddenly, an idea struck Luo Chen.
A black chess piece appeared between his fingers.
As spiritual energy flowed into it, wisps of dark, ghostly light gradually emerged.
As if answering a call, a faint, yellowed glimmer abruptly lit up upon the bronze mirror.
The instant the two lights touched, they blended seamlessly together.
Luo Chen watched the scene in astonishment.
"The Lanke chess piece!
"Could this bronze mirror also be a relic of Ghost Spirit Valley?"
Just as he was marveling, the two fused lights abruptly shifted into a kaleidoscopic, multicolored glow, instantly engulfing his entire body.
This bizarre, mystical sight terrified Bai Meiling, who had been flitting about nearby.
Floating in midair, hesitation washed over her pale little face.
Step by step, she approached Luo Chen.
"Master?"
No response!
She waved her hand, but Luo Chen's eyes remained tightly closed, showing no reaction.
Suddenly, her head spun a full one hundred and eighty degrees, rotating entirely around as her ghostly eyes locked onto the damaged bronze mirror radiating iridescent light.
Within the mirror's surface, a familiar figure was slowly opening its eyes.
Chapter 254