Chapter 36: Exchanging for Magic and a Reminder
Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Exchanging for Magic and a Reminder
The Cultivator on the stage changed. A middle-aged man with graying temples walked to the front. He didn’t produce any rare treasures. Instead, he pulled out a dull, grayish-brown Jade Scroll with heavily worn edges from within his robes.
He cleared his dry throat.
"Everyone, I am not a man of great talent. I’ve wasted half my life, stuck before the threshold of the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer.
However, after decades of diligently practicing the Celestial Water Technique without pause, I’ve gained some insights, all of which are recorded in this scroll."
His fingers caressed the Jade Scroll as his eyes swept over the crowd below, a flicker of hope and melancholy in their depths.
"This is a legacy from the ’Celestial Water Wanderer.’ It is not a Cultivation Technique, but my own humble insights, compiled from the notes of predecessors and my own bitter cultivation. It covers circulating a Circulation in the Celestial Water Technique, breaking through small bottlenecks, nourishing one’s meridians, and even countering the backlash from Water Element Cold Qi. It also includes a top-notch Water Element Magic at the end: the Thousand Overlapping Waves Skill.
For fellow Daoists who primarily cultivate Water Attribute Techniques, it might be of some help."
The middle-aged Cultivator paused and took a deep breath. "I am already fifty-six and in urgent need of Pills to break through to the late stage.
Today, I wish to trade it with someone fated to have it. I don’t ask for rare treasures, only for something of equivalent value. Any Pills, Magical Artifacts, Spiritual Materials, or even Talismans and Array Discs worth around thirty Spirit Stones will do.
If none of you have a suitable item on hand, paying thirty Spirit Stones directly is also acceptable."
His gaze sharpened for a moment as he scanned the crowd, his tone hardening. "There is just one condition! Whoever obtains this Jade Scroll must immediately make a Heart Demon Vow on the spot! Not a single word of its contents may be shared, it cannot be copied or transcribed, and you must destroy the Jade Scroll after reading it!
Otherwise, may your path of cultivation be severed, and your body and soul be destroyed!" The vow’s harsh terms, combined with his hoarse voice, cast a grim pall over the noisy assembly.
As his voice fell, a brief silence descended upon the crowd. The item’s value was already limited, and being restricted to the Water Attribute narrowed its potential audience even further.
Thirty Spirit Stones was no small sum, even for a family Cultivator. Exchanging it for insights that might not yield immediate results and a Qi Cultivation Stage Magic, all while having to make a strict Heart Demon Vow, left most people uninterested.
A few Water Attribute Cultivators looked hesitant. They weighed their Storage Bags in their minds but ultimately shook their heads and backed down.
Time ticked by. The light in the man’s eyes gradually dimmed, and the hand clutching the Jade Scroll began to tremble slightly.
Just as he was about to despairingly put away the Jade Scroll, Lu Zhao made his move.
He didn’t go up on stage immediately. Instead, he deliberately waited a little longer, letting the awkward silence fester for another moment before unhurriedly parting the crowd and walking to the front.
"Fellow Daoist," Lu Zhao said, cupping his fist. His voice was calm and steady. "I have some interest in these insights."
The man’s eyes lit up as if he’d just grabbed a lifeline. "Good! Good! Please, fellow Daoist, what do you wish to trade?"
Lu Zhao didn’t waste words. He directly tipped out a small pile of items from his Storage Bag onto the stone table at the front of the stage:
There were a few unevenly cut pieces of Cyan Pattern Wood; a small, dusty pouch of Soul-Devouring Rat King’s Tooth Fragments mixed with rat fur; several ordinary-looking Cold Jade Stones riddled with impurities; and a few segments of Snake Bone that reeked of an Ink-Scale Snake. There were even a few worthless chunks of ore he had picked up in the mines... All in all, it was a pile of "junk"—the least valuable and hardest-to-sell items he had accumulated over time or received as his share of loot from battles.
"Fellow Daoist, take a look. Would you say this is worth thirty Spirit Stones?" Lu Zhao asked, gesturing at the pile. His tone was as casual as if he were asking about the weather.
The joy on the man’s face froze instantly, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
His gaze swept over the pile of "junk," then to Lu Zhao’s calm face, and finally out at the crowd below—they remained indifferent, with no one else showing any intention to bid.
An overwhelming sense of frustration and helplessness washed over him. His Adam’s apple bobbed as his lips moved, as if he wanted to say something like, ’This isn’t worth it.’
In the end, all his unspoken protests dissolved into a heavy sigh.
The middle-aged Cultivator’s trembling fingers scooped up the pile of "junk" from the stone table. Without a second glance, he stuffed it all into his Storage Bag, as if looking at it for another moment would give him a heart attack.
He slapped the Jade Scroll, which held decades of his life’s work, into Lu Zhao’s hand. His voice was as dry as scraping sandpaper. "...Fine! Fine! The Jade Scroll is yours! Make the vow! Quickly!"
Lu Zhao took the Jade Scroll, which felt cool to the touch. He did as he was told, unhesitatingly placing two fingers to his forehead and clearly reciting the inviolable Heart Demon Vow.
A flash of light from the vow flared and then vanished, searing itself into his Spiritual Soul. The man let out a long breath, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Without another glance at Lu Zhao, he staggered off the stage.
The Trade Assembly ended. Lu Zhao and the Shopkeeper followed the crowd out of the Small Cloud Platform Meeting grounds and returned to the Nine Abyss Pavilion together.
Upon their return, the Shopkeeper saw his grandson trying to drag Lu Zhao out again and began to scold him with a stern expression.
Lu Zhao smiled faintly and watched the scene quietly without interrupting.
It wasn’t until Zhou Mo made the excuse that he was going to cultivate that the old Shopkeeper rubbed his brow and dismissed him.
By now, Lu Zhao had already been waiting for half an hour.
Seeing this, the Shopkeeper’s face returned to its usual calm, though a faint trace of worry remained.
After a moment, he seemed to have made up his mind. A wry smile touched his lips as he said, "Well, trading junk for a Magic... that’s a good deal.
However..." His tone shifted as he leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice with a confidential gravity.
"Daoist friend, take an old man’s advice. If you have any spare wealth, you should start stocking up on some things while the prices in the Marketplace are still relatively stable."
His thin fingers tapped lightly on the counter. "Talismans, Pills, Magical Artifact Embryo Materials... even Tier One Protective Talismans, Ice Jade Pills for advancing one’s Cultivation, and Fasting Pills. Even the Spirit Rice you consume for daily cultivation. All of it."
Seeing the questioning look in Lu Zhao’s eyes, the old Shopkeeper sighed. He glanced meaningfully toward the Zhou Family’s Core Area, deep within the Marketplace. "The winds foretell a coming storm.
The Cloud Pattern Cavalry has been going in and out of the Celestial Cloud Mountain Range for nearly two years now. Think of the cost.
No matter how wealthy the Zhou Family is, they can’t sustain such an outflow with no income.
Some things... they’re bound to become scarce sooner or later. If you don’t buy now, in a few months..." He shook his head, not finishing the sentence, but the unspoken words—’price hikes’—were perfectly clear.
Lu Zhao’s pupils contracted abruptly!
The old Shopkeeper’s seemingly casual warning was like a clap of thunder in his mind! Instantly, a dozen scattered clues were violently connected by an invisible thread!
’The Cloud Pattern Cavalry in the Celestial Cloud Mountain Range... yes, the elite Cloud Pattern Cavalry, stationed for two whole years in the depths of that perilous mountain range. The cost in manpower and resources must be staggering.’
’What is the Zhou Family so desperately searching for? Or rather, what are they guarding against? Would they really need this much time and invest so heavily just to investigate Zhou Pingyuan’s injury?’
’The Nine Abyss Pavilion’s "support" and its high-priced acquisition of Flowing Cloud Sparrows... The Shopkeeper’s initial support, which was almost a loss for him, and the later, unusually desperate, high-priced acquisition of Flying Puppets... could that all be just for the Zhou Family’s internal use?’
’Or... could it be that these "eyes" in the sky, capable of high-altitude reconnaissance, hold an irreplaceable strategic value in some larger-scale conflict?’