Qianwu City, the Treasure Pavilion.
Lu Qingshan remembered that when he had first come to Qianwu City, he had traded here once, selling a few origin force weapons and earning the shop's five-star membership, so this time he came here first.
"Welcome to the Treasure Pavilion..."
The moment Lu Qingshan stepped inside, a shop assistant came over to greet him.
"Where's your supervisor, Ruyan?" Lu Qingshan asked.
These shop assistants were of limited rank, and what he meant to buy and sell this time was far too precious, so rather than waste time he went straight to the supervisor with whom his last transaction had gone quite pleasantly.
"So you are Supervisor Ruyan's guest, my lord. I'll notify her at once."
Lu Qingshan's cup of tea was still unfinished when Ruyan came down from the second floor. Seeing him, her eyes brightened slightly, and her stunningly beautiful face gave way to a sweet smile.
"My lord, what can Ruyan do for you this time?"
Supervisor Ruyan walked over and sat down across from Lu Qingshan.
Lu Qingshan smiled faintly, perfectly unmoved by the teasing look in Ruyan's eyes.
"Do you have any treasures here that help Domain Masters accumulate origin force?"
"My lord, the Treasure Pavilion does sell goods that help Domain Masters accumulate origin force. Which kind might you need...?"
As she spoke, she used a smart projection to display all the goods Lu Qingshan required.
"Moon Essence Spirit-Condensing Grass... 10 billion Cosmic Currency per stalk."
"Blood Dragon Fruit... 130 billion Cosmic Currency apiece."
"Dark Ice Jade Marrow Fruit... one Hunyuan unit apiece."
"Seven-Colored Glazed Fruit... ten Hunyuan units apiece."
"Dragon Blood Bodhi Seed... one hundred Hunyuan units apiece."
...
The most cost-effective option, the Grade-E nutrient solution, was not sold here—clearly it too was a restricted good of the Virtual Universe Company, not easy to get hold of.
The other treasures were essentially all natural treasures produced in the secret realms of the universe.
You get what you pay for. Take the most expensive, the Dragon Blood Bodhi Seed: a single seed could carry a Domain Master straight from First Stage to the peak of Ninth Stage.
But its price was just as daunting.
One hundred Hunyuan units!
An ordinary World Master's entire fortune amounted to only about ten Hunyuan units; even the powerful World Masters acknowledged by the origin law could rarely produce that much money.
A single Dragon Blood Bodhi Seed could leave a World Master bankrupt.
And then there was the Seven-Colored Glazed Fruit, which came from the Seven-Colored Secret Realm, an exceedingly perilous secret realm of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom that only powerful World Masters were qualified to venture into. No one knew how many World Masters had perished there, and so the natural treasures it yielded were extraordinarily precious.
A single Seven-Colored Glazed Fruit could raise Lu Qingshan's strength from Domain Master Sixth Stage to Domain Master Ninth Stage, and like the nutrient solution it had no side effects whatsoever. Its only flaw was the price.
Ten Hunyuan units—why not just rob him!
In the end, the impoverished Lu Qingshan had only two choices: the Blood Dragon Fruit and the Dark Ice Jade Marrow Fruit.
As for the cheapest of the lot, the Moon Essence Spirit-Condensing Grass—nothing good comes cheap. It did raise one's strength, but only to a very limited degree, and Lu Qingshan had no use for it...
"Give me ten Blood Dragon Fruits."
Lu Qingshan made his choice quickly.
A single Dark Ice Jade Marrow Fruit far outclassed a Blood Dragon Fruit—just one would lift him two stages—but its price was still a bit steep. Ten Blood Dragon Fruits cost only slightly more, yet their combined effect was nearly twice that of the Dark Ice Jade Marrow Fruit, so the ever-thrifty Lu Qingshan would certainly choose the better value.
Besides, advancing a little more slowly made it easier to adapt to the changes in his own strength.
After all, it was merely the difference between a month and a year. That much time he could wait.
Hearing Lu Qingshan's choice, Ruyan's eyes lit up. Ten Blood Dragon Fruits—another transaction worth more than one Hunyuan unit.
This nameless Two-Leaf Qianwu Practitioner was simply her lucky star.
"However, I don't have enough cash on hand. Let this Life Fruit cover part of the payment; with the remainder, I'll buy a few other things..."
Lu Qingshan took the Life Fruit left over from before out of his interspatial ring.
There was no helping it—nearly all his money had been sunk into himself, and he was far too poor now, with only about 300 billion Cosmic Currency, nowhere near enough to buy the Blood Dragon Fruits.
"Oh, a Life Fruit. Its Life Force has barely dissipated at all..."
Ruyan's eyes brightened and she said quickly, "For this Life Fruit, our Treasure Pavilion is willing to pay 2.3 Hunyuan units."
That price...
Lu Qingshan considered, then nodded after all.
The price was a bit low. At the Qianwu Auction it should have fetched 2.5 Hunyuan units or more.
Still, selling it straight to the Treasure Pavilion saved time and was not unacceptable—besides, his funds were far too thin at present, and he did not yet hold the qualification to attend the Qianwu Auction.
For an elementary auction of a High-Level Universe Kingdom, the minimum threshold for participation was ten Hunyuan units, or at the very least three-star user status with the Two Great Universe Banks.
And to think that Luo Feng, while still at Star Level, had already had the money to attend such an auction, had bought the Yan Shen Weapon and a Mosha clan skin, and had gestated a Mosha clan avatar—while he himself was about to become a World Master and did not even have the qualification to enter an auction. Once again Lu Qingshan felt the full depth of his poverty.
Clearly, when his two return opportunities came next year, he would have to think hard about how to earn more money.
"Very well. Sold."
Lu Qingshan said no more.
"My lord, ten Blood Dragon Fruits come to 1.3 Hunyuan units in total. As a five-star member of our Treasure Pavilion you receive a five percent discount, so the total is 1.235 Hunyuan units. Deducting that, you have 1.065 Hunyuan units remaining. Is there anything else you would like?"
Ruyan's eyes were full of anticipation for the transaction.
After all, with this sale and purchase together, the Treasure Pavilion's profit was larger, and her commission naturally rose along with it.
"You should have Lanke Fruit here at the Treasure Pavilion, I take it?"
Lu Qingshan asked after a moment's thought.
Lanke Fruit was a precious treasure used to nurture plant life. It could not compare to the Life Fruit, but its strengths were its low price and high value.
"My lord, the Lanke Fruit you need is in stock. It is generally sold in sets—a set of one hundred for 200 billion Cosmic Currency—and roughly two sets of Lanke Fruit can raise a Moyun Vine seedling to Universe Level First Stage."
"Give me four sets."
Lu Qingshan certainly did not mean to use these four hundred Lanke Fruits himself; he intended to present them to his two disciples. That way, the value that came back to him would exceed ten Hunyuan units at least.
Securing his qualification for the auction would then pose no problem at all.
Four sets of Lanke Fruit took away another 800 billion Cosmic Currency. Even with the five percent discount, it still spent the greater part of what Lu Qingshan had left. The Cosmic Currency remaining from the Life Fruit sale now amounted to about 200 billion, and with his original savings added in, he had roughly 500 billion.
And this did not even count the 250 billion Cosmic Currency he owed Yi Wei, Emperor of the Azure Blue Empire. That debt was not yet due, and Lu Qingshan had no intention of repaying it early—interest had been agreed upon at the outset, after all.
Add in the money he owed his father-in-law, and the funds Lu Qingshan carried were now all but zero.
Fortunately, he need only wait a good half a year or so before his wallet was full again.
"Supervisor Ruyan, you can throw in two Moyun Vine seedlings as a gift, I trust?"
Ruyan's smile bloomed like a flower. "You are an honored guest of our Treasure Pavilion, my lord. Two Moyun Vine seedlings are nothing—we would hardly be stingy about them."
Chapter 34