After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 171: Chapter 172: The Second Spiritual Artifact

Hee Lingchuan casually took the Broken Blade and performed the exact same motion, but from two feet farther away from the wooden board.

With a SNAP, the wooden board crisply broke in two.

The Saber Qi struck before the blade itself arrived.

Li Fubo couldn’t help but be moved. "A fine blade! Though its body is broken, its core remains, and it’s even awake!"

Fuzzy Peach chimed in, "A blade’s core can be awake or asleep?"

"Of course. After a Magical Artifact shatters, even if its core is preserved, it will almost always fall into a deep slumber. Eldest Young Master Hee, this blade of yours is interesting. Hmm, very interesting!"

Hee Lingchuan was only concerned with one thing. "Can it be repaired? We have to preserve its core."

"This blade has already reached the level of a Spiritual Artifact, and its nature is exceptionally tenacious. It endures despite being broken, so it would truly be a shame to reforge it."

Hee Lingchuan was taken aback. ’The Broken Blade is already a Spiritual Artifact? That’s not what the people at the Craftsman Shop said before I left Black Water City.’

’It’s only been about a month. Did the Broken Blade actually upgrade itself? How strange.’

Li Fubo gently stroked the spine of the blade, unable to put it down. "If we want to preserve its core and completely repair it, we can’t use conventional methods. Hmm, we could try the Seed Blade method."

Fuzzy Peach couldn’t help but chime in, "You can plant a blade?"

He’d heard of planting vegetables and trees, but never a blade.

"Normally, a broken sword or blade is just that—broken. The only option is to re-forge it. But if it has developed a spirit, we must find another way. After all, it’s a truly rare opportunity for metal to gain spirituality." Li Fubo stroked his beard. "A gecko can regrow its tail. It’s not impossible for a broken blade to be reborn, it’s just that the conditions are rather demanding."

’As long as it can be repaired,’ Hee Lingchuan thought, ’though Songyang Prefecture will probably ask for an exorbitant price.’ He let out a quiet breath. "Master Li, name your price."

The Broken Blade Zhong Shengguang had gifted him was flawed, yet it already possessed so many peculiar traits. He wanted to know what it would be like if it were fully repaired.

"The price isn’t up to me! At most, I’ll just charge for my labor." Li Fubo waved his hands dismissively. "The ’Seed Blade’ method is extremely obscure and requires Zhu Gold."

’So it all comes back to Zhu Gold,’ Hee Lingchuan thought with a laugh. "Your shop is one of the most distinguished establishments in the Capital City. Surely you’re not lacking a small amount of this material?"

Steward Zhao couldn’t help but cut in, "Eldest Young Master Hee, Zhu Gold is even rarer than Extraterrestrial Meteorite Iron. Our shop only has two pieces in stock. All of Shihuan City hasn’t seen any new Zhu Gold in nearly three years."

Li Fubo added, "Even at its source, Mount Wu, Zhu Gold isn’t something you can just pick up off the ground. It doesn’t even form in veins. Instead, it’s transformed from Golden Essence that has gained spirituality. The stuff runs all over the mountain and hides from people. Catching it basically comes down to a chance encounter."

"So what’s the price for such a chance encounter?" Hee Lingchuan, of course, understood the principle of cornering the market on rare goods, and he was actually a little apprehensive. His bit of money might let him do as he pleased in Black Water City, but in Shihuan, a gathering place for the rich and famous, he feared...

"Last year, the Hengshui Branch next door sold a piece of Zhu Gold. It was only half the size of the ones in our collection, and it was priced at fifteen pieces of Upper Third Grade Profound Crystal, for a total of six *jin*."

Upon hearing the words "Upper Third Grade Profound Crystal," both Hee Lingchuan and Fuzzy Peach were secretly alarmed. When Emperor’s Liquid descended upon the world, a small portion of it would seep underground and transform into Profound Crystals. Their properties and effects would change drastically, but they became the best source for Cultivators to replenish their True Power. They were classified into upper, middle, and lower tiers based on their luster, with each tier further divided into three grades.

This Upper Third Grade was something an ordinary Cultivator couldn’t reach even on their tiptoes.

Hee Lingchuan was well aware of the price of Profound Crystals. He had a single piece of the Middle-Tier Lower Grade on him—just one. ’To think they sell this stuff by the *jin* is just ridiculous!’

Steward Zhao continued, "As you know, Profound Crystals of this level are not typically priced in gold or silver. If we had to put a number on it, the current market price is roughly twenty thousand taels per *jin*."

One hundred twenty thousand taels! The starting price for a single piece of Zhu Gold was a hundred and twenty thousand taels! Fuzzy Peach struggled to keep a straight face, but his nostrils flared and his breathing grew heavy.

’How big would a pile of one hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver be?’

He had been a bandit on Red Cliff Road for many years. After paying all their expenses, the total profit his entire gang had earned from collecting tolls over the past fifteen years was, at most, a quarter of that amount.

Hee Lingchuan stroked his chin, looking exceptionally calm. ’It’s really... so damn expensive!’ he thought. Even if he was a "Rich Young Master," his monthly allowance was only two or three hundred taels of silver. Where was he supposed to come up with a hundred and twenty thousand taels? "...not cheap, is it."

An amount of money that could let you live like a king for a lifetime in the countryside was only enough to buy a piece of metal to repair a blade here, right under the Emperor’s nose.

’It seems if I want to walk the path of Cultivation smoothly, I’ll have to find other ways to make money,’ he thought.

Steward Zhao nodded in agreement. "Yes, maintaining a Spiritual Artifact is truly expensive. Besides, while this blade is fine, it is broken, which is a great inconvenience in a fight. Eldest Young Master Hee, perhaps you should consider another weapon more suited to you? Our shop has a wide selection."

Hee Lingchuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’Should I scold him for looking down on me or thank him for his consideration?’ He rolled his eyes. "What makes you so sure I can’t afford Zhu Gold?"

Steward Zhao had seen plenty of pretentious rich kids like this. He put on a placating smile and waved his hand. "It truly is too expensive. Speaking purely from a business perspective, I’m just hoping to save you some money, Eldest Young Master." ’If you have the money, just show it. What’s the point of all this talk?’ he thought.

Hee Lingchuan tapped his fingers on the table twice, pretending to be in thought, then asked the craftsman, Li Fubo, "How much Zhu Gold would it take to repair my Broken Blade?"

Li Fubo calculated silently for a moment before answering, "A piece slightly smaller than the one Hengshui Branch sold would be sufficient."

That would still be upwards of ninety or a hundred thousand taels. Even if Eldest Young Master Hee were sold several times over, it wouldn’t be enough.

But Hee Lingchuan was unruffled. He turned to Steward Zhao. "You buy Spiritual Artifacts here as well, I presume?"

Steward Zhao was taken aback. "You have *another* Spiritual Artifact?"

Below Divine Artifacts in rank were Spiritual Artifacts. In this day and age, Divine Artifacts were practically nonexistent, making Spiritual Artifacts the highest tier of treasures. Even a slightly flawed one would have the major auction houses fighting to the death over it. In the past year, across all the auction houses in both the Da Yuan Capital and Shihuan City, only a single new Spiritual Artifact had surfaced. ’And this young upstart is claiming he has two? Is it complete and undamaged? Is it even usable?’

Of course, the well-trained Steward Zhao would not voice these thoughts. He simply beamed. "Might I have a look at it?"

Hee Lingchuan took the Purple Gold Pestle from his Storage Ring and placed it on the table with a THUD. "Master Li, take a look."

This Treasure Pestle was the color of purple-gold, its surface covered in runes. The top was carved into the likeness of a strange beast with a wide nose, a large mouth, bulging eyes, and whiskers on its jaw. There were four rings beneath its feet, and the end of the pestle was sharpened to a point like an awl.

Master Li let out a curious sound, lifting it with both hands to examine it closely, his nose nearly touching the pestle. He couldn’t help but exclaim, "Ah! Eldest Young Master Hee, where did you acquire such a treasure?"

Hee Lingchuan leaned back. "First, tell me if it counts as a Spiritual Artifact and how much it’s worth." The Purple Gold Pestle had been collecting dust in his Storage Ring for months; it was finally time for it to be useful.

Steward Zhao was also staring intently at the Treasure Pestle, his eyes growing wider and wider. He stammered, "This... this couldn’t be... Am I seeing things?"

They were both disciples of the Artifact Sect and worked near the National Capital; how could they not recognize such a famous treasure?

He no longer cared about his composure and urged Li Fubo, "Master Li, please, verify it! Verify it!" He then turned to Hee Lingchuan. "Forgive us, Eldest Young Master, but we must authenticate it."

"Go ahead, test it however you like." ’True gold fears no fire,’ he thought.

Next, Li Fubo took out an unnamed potion and dripped it onto the pestle. The runes on its surface immediately detached and floated up, slowly rotating around the Treasure Pestle. Li Fubo watched without blinking. After a long moment, he said, "It’s the Xiaoshan Demon Suppression Spell. There’s no mistake."

He then hurried to an inner hall and returned with a finger-sized piece of metal, which he brought close to the beast head on top of the pestle.

The beast’s head, whose eyes had been closed and motionless, suddenly snapped its eyes open and swallowed the piece of metal in a single gulp.

"Why all the trouble? You even wasted a piece of high-quality Refined Gold." Hee Lingchuan extended his Broken Blade and tapped it on the beast’s head three times. CLANG, CLANG, CLANG. "Hey, wake up. Give us a little song."

The strange beast already seemed to dislike him, and now it grew even angrier. It let out three roars at him, each as loud as a bull, shaking dust from the ceiling beams.

But Steward Zhao and Li Fubo were grinning from ear to ear. "It really is a Mocking Wind Beast! It really is National Preceptor Sunx’s Purple Gold Pestle!"

"So this is a Mocking Wind?" It wasn’t Hee Lingchuan’s fault he couldn’t recognize it. Of the nine sons of the dragon, they all looked more or less the same, except for the one that carried stone tablets on its back.

"It is said that when this Purple Gold Pestle was forged, a wisp of a Mocking Wind’s Divine Soul was added into it," Li Fubo said in awe. "Even if we wanted to forge such a treasure today, we could never find such a precious Beast Soul."

Steward Zhao couldn’t help but ask, "If I may be so bold, Eldest Young Master Hee, what is the origin of this Supreme Treasure?"

The more valuable a treasure, the more important its provenance. Songyang Prefecture was a renowned establishment of the Artifact Sect; they couldn’t brazenly accept stolen goods.

"It’s our Eldest Young Master’s spoil of war!" Fuzzy Peach chimed in at the perfect moment, looking triumphant. "That old scoundrel Sunx Fuping was defeated at the hands of our Mr. Hee and Eldest Young Master Hee!"

The three men across from them were all visibly shaken. Steward Zhao exclaimed, "So Mr. Hee is the... from Qiansong County..."

News of the former National Preceptor Sunx Fuping’s defeat in the Panlong Desert had spread throughout the National Capital months ago. As one of the Vice Capitals, Shihuan City had certainly heard the tale.

"The former Qiansong County Magistrate," Fuzzy Peach corrected. "Mr. Hee is now the Governor of Xiazhou."

Steward Zhao’s attitude toward Hee Lingchuan changed instantly. His smile grew more fawning, and he bowed even lower. "For a Supreme Treasure of this caliber, I cannot make the final decision. I must consult with my superiors. Would you mind waiting a moment, Eldest Young Master Hee?"

Hee Lingchuan waved a hand. "Be quick about it." ’Looks promising,’ he thought.

Steward Zhao immediately led Li Fubo to the back. An attendant boy who had stayed behind came forward and replaced the two honored guests’ cups with fresh, steaming tea.

...

Steward Zhao and Li Fubo went straight through the rear hall and out a small door at the back of Songyang Prefecture. They crossed two narrow alleys and entered a large residence.

The residence was half the size of Songyang Prefecture, but in contrast to the bustling noise there, this vast estate had no more than ten servants, all of whom walked with light, quiet steps.

The wintersweet was in full bloom, and the snow on the paths had been swept clean. Golden trays filled with millet and pine nuts hung from the bare branches, providing food for the winter birds and squirrels. As Steward Zhao passed a glass conservatory, he could see rare and exotic flowers competing in a dazzling display, seemingly unaffected by the season.