Chapter 26: Unscrupulous Merchants

For this procurement, Luo Chen did not go to the Loose Cultivator Market.

He had just made a large purchase yesterday, and if he went again today, it would be too suspicious.

Moreover, that place was crowded and full of talk, with most of the people being from the outer city. If someone were to inquire a bit, they would discover Luo Chen's changes.

Therefore, Luo Chen gritted his teeth and went to the Hundred Herbs Hall for his purchases.

In the end, he spent ten more spirit stones than before to gather all the materials needed for refining the pills.

This left him with only twenty-nine spirit stones.

If he were to buy various living supplies and firewood later, he would have to spend another four spirit stones.

Twenty-five!

Last night, he had nearly a hundred and fifty spirit stones.

"spirit stones really don't last long."

"This amount isn't enough to buy the Traction Technique."

Standing at the crossroads, Luo Chen looked at the ancient and elegant Ten Thousand Treasures Tower and gritted his teeth as he walked in.

As a business of one of the six major sects, its reputation and strength were the best in the Great River Market.

Consuming here, other loose cultivators would find it hard to get any information.

"Customer, would you like to buy a magical artifact?"

As soon as he entered, a maid came over.

It was the first time Luo Chen had come to such a high-end place, and he felt a bit uneasy.

He said he would look around first, and the maid left.

There was no enthusiastic sales pitch.

Just because his cultivation was only at the fourth level of Qi Condensation, his robe was neither new nor old, and a bit too small, making it look tight.

Clearly, he was a loose cultivator with weak purchasing power.

After wandering around the spacious first floor for a while, Luo Chen's uneasy heart calmed down.

Especially after looking at the racks of high-grade magical artifacts, he felt more confident.

Summoning the maid, Luo Chen said directly, "I want to sell a magical artifact. Do you buy them here?"

The maid nodded, "We do, but it needs to be appraised by a master first to determine the price. Whether the price is suitable or not, you can decide whether to sell it or not."

"No appraisal fee, right?"

"Hehe, you're joking. Since you're selling to us, there won't be an appraisal fee."

Luo Chen was indeed scared by Sun Shou's actions yesterday.

All kinds of fees kept popping up.

Sun Shou was from the Jade Tripod Sword Sect, and the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower was a business of Tianfan City. He was afraid that these wealthy sects were all the same.

On the second floor, an old man was drinking tea and playing with two red walnuts in his hand.

"Old Master Chu, this customer wants to sell a magical artifact."

"Okay, you can go down first!" Old Master Chu played with the walnuts in one hand and extended the other, "Let me see it."

A short sword was handed to him, with a swallow-shaped hilt.

Old Master Chu nodded, "This is a standard magical artifact, the Swallow Sword, of high grade, made by Tianfan City."

He weighed it and shook his head, "It's a bit lighter, about one or two taels, and the blade is severely damaged, needing to be remade."

He infused it with mana, which flowed through the blade, emitting light at the tip, the blade, and the hilt.

"The Sharp Metal Array is damaged."

"The Air Release Array still has eighty percent of its power."

"The Sturdy Array is unstable and needs to be reconstructed."

"Oh, the owner of the sword is a fool, and even carved words on it."

After saying this, Old Master Chu casually threw the Swallow Sword onto the table.

"A thousand, if you want to sell it, we'll buy it for a thousand spirit stones."

Hearing this huge number, Luo Chen's eyes widened!

It wasn't too high.

It was too low!

As everyone knew, the price of magical artifacts fluctuated with the market, and cultivators were very sensitive to it.

The price of low-grade magical artifacts ranged from one hundred to five hundred spirit stones.

The price of mid-grade magical artifacts ranged from five hundred to one thousand spirit stones.

High-grade magical artifacts started at one thousand spirit stones.

Among them, offensive magical artifacts were generally cheaper, with the most common being knives and swords.

Defensive magical artifacts were the most expensive.

As for some strange and unique magical artifacts, their prices were determined by their effects, but they were generally high.

In this world, there was no saying that the stranger the magical artifact, the faster one would die.

The stranger the magical artifact, the more unexpected effects it often had, which could be crucial in battles or exploring secret realms.

Luo Chen was mentally prepared for the low price of the flying sword.

But this low, he couldn't accept.

"The Swallow Sword in your store is priced at two thousand five hundred lower-grade spirit stones!"

Old Master Chu said indifferently, "Don't you know that for second-hand magical artifacts, we usually buy them back at half price?"

"But this isn't even half price!" Luo Chen argued.

These sect people might not care about a few hundred spirit stones, but for him, that was his entire fortune from years of hard work.

"Do you know how much effort we put into refurbishing these magical artifacts before putting them back on the shelves?"

Old Master Chu counted on his fingers, "First, we have to send them back to the sect, which is a cost."

"Selecting suitable materials for repairs is another cost."

"Inviting array masters to complete the arrays is even more expensive."

"To ensure quality standards and avoid being criticized for selling inferior goods, we have to invite high-level cultivators to carefully inspect them."

"Finally, we have to go to great lengths to deliver them to various Ten Thousand Treasures Towers."

"As for other miscellaneous expenses, I haven't even mentioned them."

Luo Chen's teeth ached.

This old man was not at all generous like a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his haggling was on par with Old Daoist Chen.

"Speaking of which, I have to say something about you young people."

Old Master Chu shook his head, saying with a tone of disappointment, "You spend all day fighting and killing. Are magical artifacts for showing off? They are tools for protecting the path and should be cherished."

"After a battle, you should at least clean and polish them!"

"When you have free time, you should use mana to nurture them!"

"Every second-hand magical artifact sent to me is worn out and damaged."

"I feel heartbroken!"

As he spoke, he became emotional.

Looking at the Swallow Sword, it was as if he saw his beloved being defiled and ruined before being sent back home.

Luo Chen couldn't take it anymore.

But for the sake of cultivation resources, he gritted his teeth and insisted, "It's too low. I can't accept this price. If I take it to the Loose Cultivator Market, I'm sure someone will buy it for one thousand five hundred or one thousand six hundred spirit stones."

Saying this, he picked up the sword and turned to leave.

"Hey, young man, wait a moment."

Old Master Chu quickly called out, "One thousand one hundred, how about that? This is the highest price I can offer within my authority."

"It's still too low."

"It's not little, really not little. I haven't offered this price for flying swords in better condition."

Old Master Chu said seriously, "Moreover, a flying sword with words carved on it, most loose cultivators wouldn't dare to buy, right?"

"One thousand one hundred, that's the price. If you're sincere about selling, we'll buy it. And we promise not to disclose any information about your sale of the magical artifact!"

Luo Chen stood there, his face changing.

Finally, he sighed deeply.

"Alright, deal."

A while later, Luo Chen walked out of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower.

Facing the dazzling sunlight, he spat rudely.

"Damn, unscrupulous merchants!"

A female cultivator passing by glanced at him disdainfully.

What manners!

Inside the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower.

Old Master Chu smiled and handed the Swallow Sword to a muscular man with a bare upper body.

"Remove the words, add some metal qi, and then send it to the first floor shelf."

The man took the flying sword and scratched his head.

"The quality is pretty good, not much damage. How many spirit stones did you buy it for, Old Master Chu?"

"Not bad, one thousand one hundred, it's a good deal."

Old Master Chu smiled, then paused and sighed.

"These young people nowadays, they are getting more frugal. They haggle over a hundred lower-grade spirit stones with me. Such stinginess, how can they achieve the great path in the future!"

(End of Chapter)