A Lucky Find

"Boss, how many spirit stones for this bottle?" Lu Yang squatted down and asked casually. "Customer, you have an eye for quality! This pure jade vase was retrieved by me from a secret realm opened by a Nascent Soul cultivator. It contains diluted Taiyi True Water, eighty thousand spirit stones." Lu Yang's eyelid twitched. *Are you robbing people?* he thought. *The entire net worth of a Golden Core cultivator is only about a hundred thousand spirit stones.* Besides, the Immortal Fairy had already told him that the Taiyi True Water inside had been diluted ten thousand times—even a piss of his would contain more power than that. In a cultivator market, if your head wasn't sharp, your knowledge was lacking, or your eyesight was poor, you were bound to get scammed. Fortunately, he had the Immortal Fairy. "What does this bottle of medicinal pills do?" "Cultivators often struggle to achieve Core Formation on their first try. This bottle of pills can simulate the Core Formation process with sixty percent fidelity to reality, vastly improving the success rate of Core Formation! Thirty thousand spirit stones a bottle," the vendor pitched enthusiastically. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou exchanged a glance, somewhat puzzled. Didn't Core Formation always succeed on the first try? Lu Yang gently shook the bottle of pills and chuckled. "Boss, you're not being honest. Even with sealing methods binding it, the medicinal efficacy is still dissipating. Thirty thousand a bottle is the price for a pristine pill, not for this bottle of yours." The vendor kept a beam on his face, praising Lu Yang's sharp eyes, but inwardly he was alarmed. He had run into someone who knew what they were doing. "What about this flying sword? Don't tell me this is a flying sword used by the secret realm's master." Lu Yang spoke casually, putting on an attitude that kept the vendor entirely in the dark. The vendor, caught up in the dance, was clueless, but Meng Jingzhou understood clearly—Lu Yang had laid all this groundwork specifically for this flying sword. Could such a battered flying sword really harbor some secret? "This flying sword is made of tough material and has endured for hundreds of years without decaying! Though it doesn't quite match the standard equipment of a Nascent Soul cultivator, it was definitely one of their close-combat treasures! It went through a brutal battle, and repairing it would have cost more than it was worth, which is why it was left behind in the secret realm!" the vendor asserted with absolute conviction, looking for all the world as if he had witnessed the Nascent Soul cultivator slay enemies with it with his own eyes. Lu Yang didn't believe the vendor's hogwash for a second, but another question suddenly crossed his mind: why would an immortal sword be so battered and broken? Even after hundreds of thousands of years, it shouldn't look like this. Unless it really had endured an earth-shattering battle and was broken! Who was the enemy? "Alright, save that talk to fool someone else. Don't think I can't tell—the quality of this flying sword is dubious at best. Even a Golden Core cultivator would find it barely usable; it was probably the sword of a Foundation Establishment cultivator." Although the vendor didn't know the flying sword's actual origin, he couldn't let Lu Yang have the final say. "This is absolutely the sword the secret realm's master used during the Golden Core stage! It couldn't possibly be something used in Foundation Establishment!" Lu Yang put on an expression that said he couldn't be bothered to argue. "Three thousand spirit stones. The flying sword is in such ruin that I'll have to mend it after buying it." "At least twenty thousand!" "Let's go." Lu Yang stood up to leave. "Hey, wait, we can still discuss the price! Eighteen thousand spirit stones!" Lu Yang said coldly, "Five thousand spirit stones." The vendor gritted his teeth. When setting up his stall elsewhere, everyone had scorned the sword for being too battered, and no one would buy it. Here at the Grand Qingzhou Festival, someone was finally willing to purchase it. If he missed this chance, who knew how long he would have to wait for the next? "Five thousand it is! Consider it making a friend!" Seeing Lu Yang successfully obtain the flying sword, Meng Jingzhou transmitted his voice curiously: "What's the origin of this flying sword?" "A flying sword once used by an ancient immortal." Meng Jingzhou drew in a sharp breath of cold air and looked at Lu Yang with envy. What a massive bargain he picked up! Originally, Lu Yang had intended to make indirect inquiries about where the vendor had obtained the sword, but the moment the vendor claimed it came from a secret realm opened by a Nascent Soul cultivator, Lu Yang knew he wouldn't get anything useful. Vendors would invent origins as much as possible to jack up prices, which meant this flying sword had at best been obtained from a Nascent Soul secret realm. It had probably been picked up by some Nascent Soul cultivator by chance, and tracing its original source was already impossible. Lu Yang examined it for a moment. The flying sword was battered, yet there were no bloodstains or nicks on the blade; the cross-section was rough, as though someone had snapped it in two with brute force. His Sword Spiritual Root's intuition told him that this had once been a peerless, exquisite sword without a doubt. "Was Immortal Kirin a sword cultivator?" "Was Immortal Kirin a sword cultivator?" The Immortal Fairy shook her head. "No. Immortal Kirin didn't use swords. Come on, let's keep going and see what other good stuff there is." "Wait a moment. If Immortal Kirin didn't use swords, what was this flying sword used for?" "Eh, didn't I tell you? Whenever Immortal Kirin did something wrong, those two girls from the Dragon and Phoenix clans would stand flying swords upright to form a square and make him kneel on the sword tips. "So Immortal Kirin asked Immortal Ying Tian to forge a batch of flying swords that looked brilliantly sharp and extraordinary at a glance, but had no actual power when used, feeling like kneeling on foam. "Later, those two girls from the Dragon and Phoenix clans found out about it. In a fit of rage, they snapped every single one of those flying swords in two. The one in your hand is one of them." Lu Yang: "..." So I spent five thousand spirit stones just to buy a piece of junk like this?! Lu Yang had even thought about asking the venerable Immortal Fairy to lend a hand so that he could pick up a bargain, and then Meng Jingzhou could pick up a bargain too, letting them both experience the joy of finding treasures. Now, it seemed better to forget about it. Best not let the Immortal Fairy squander Meng Jingzhou's spirit stones. ... "My Lord, the disciples of the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace, the Five Elements Sect, and the Prison Suppressing Sect have arrived and are waiting at the entrance," a subordinate reported respectfully. Hearing this, the provincial governor nodded slightly, attaching great importance to people from the Five Great Immortal Sects. "Only three? The Dao Seeking Sect and the Hanging Temple haven't come? Then invite all of them over." The Grand Qingzhou Festival was jointly hosted by the Qingzhou yamen and several local first-rank sects. If people from the Five Great Immortal Sects showed up, it would add immense prestige to the Grand Qingzhou Festival. "Back then, when that venerable ancestor of the Dao Seeking Sect served as provincial governor here, he really set a fine precedent," the provincial governor sighed with emotion. Setting aside whether people from the Dao Seeking Sect did things reliably or not, their boundless, unconstrained imagination was definitely unmatched by anyone. After all, the Grand Qingzhou Festival had been conceived by someone from the Dao Seeking Sect. Organizing the Grand Qingzhou Festival well would count toward his official performance evaluation. The most appealing aspect of the Grand Qingzhou Festival was the exchanges among cultivators. But the Five Great Immortal Sects could simply conduct exchanges internally, where everyone was a genius; why would they care about this festival? Sending people here was simply giving face to the Qingzhou yamen. "What are you standing there for? Go on, hurry!" the provincial governor asked, looking puzzled at the subordinate who remained rooted to the spot. "My Lord, here's the situation... It seems there are no lodgings left for the immortal sect disciples." "What about the official relay stations?" "Following Your Lordship's orders to ensure the high-level cultivators feel the yamen's warm hospitality, they are all staying in the relay stations." "What about the inns at the foot of the mountain?" "Completely full." "Then build a few rooms temporarily." "There's no space. When the planning was done, every inch of space was taken up in order to accommodate as many people as possible." The provincial governor found himself in a tight spot. Having the Five Great Immortal Sects send people was a great thing, but if they failed to host them properly and gave cause for gossip, it would be difficult to invite the Five Great Immortal Sects again in the future. "Isn't there even a single room built by the yamen left?" Refusing to give up, the provincial governor urged his subordinate to think again. The subordinate actually did think of a place. "There is one place that can house people, with an extremely large footprint and plenty of empty rooms. It was built by us too. Moving them in takes only a word from you, and it won't cost a single spirit stone." The provincial governor's eyes lit up. "Where is it?" "The jail cells."