Chapter 56

Time flew by, and two more months had passed.

Over these two months, Qin Lie had holed up in the inn, dedicating all his energy to practicing the Spirit Gathering Array, completely engrossed.

With twenty-four spirit boards, after two months of practice, fifteen boards were scrapped, and nine boards successfully had the Spirit Gathering Array carved onto them.

"Having scrapped fifteen, it seems I still need some time to truly master it." In the room, Qin Lie frowned, opened the window, and pondered silently, "I have no more spirit boards to use. To continue practicing, I need to replenish my supply. However, once I enter the Nebula Pavilion, I might not be able to be so relaxed..."

Outside the window, many martial artists of varying realms were moving about, all heading towards the spirit material market between the northern and southern cities.

The room where he stayed was separated by a river, from which he could see many shops on the spirit material market street, and many martial artists wearing the uniforms of the Ice Fragment Manor and the Nebula Pavilion walking around.

Upon closer inspection, he could even faintly see martial artists from the Ice Fragment Manor and the Nebula Pavilion facing off on the spirit material market street, verbally clashing and glaring at each other.

However, they all adhered to the rules and did not dare to truly fight on the spirit material market street, only engaging in mutual provocations and threats.

After observing for a while at the window, Qin Lie stroked his chin, thinking about how to obtain more spirit boards to continue his practice of the spirit array.

Before leaving Ling Family Town, he had left all his spirit pills and spirit stones with Ling Feng and the others. Now, he only had a wooden carving, a fire crystal stone, and a Nebula Token, among which the wooden carving and the Nebula Token were extremely precious, while the fire crystal stone was just an ordinary item with low value, and it was also the source of fire for his future fusion of artifacts, so it could not be used to exchange for spirit boards.

He tapped his fingers on the wooden table, looking at the nine spirit boards with the Spirit Gathering Array carved on them, and after a long moment of contemplation, a thought suddenly came to him: "Can the spirit boards with the Spirit Gathering Array carved on them be sold to exchange for blank spirit boards?"

With this thought, his expression changed, and he decided to try his luck to see if any shop on the spirit material market street would buy them.

He went downstairs, crossed the stone bridge over the small river, and arrived at the spirit material market street in the center of the two cities. The street was bustling with people, most of whom were martial artists wearing the special uniforms of the Ice Fragment Manor and the Nebula Pavilion, with a few others dressed casually, their identities unknown, mixed among them.

At both ends of the market street, there were over a dozen shops selling spirit pills, spirit herbs, spirit grass, and various low-level cultivation techniques.

In the central part of the market street, a five-story wooden building stood magnificently, with a steady stream of people at its entrance.

Many martial artists of higher realms headed straight for this shop, as if the true purpose of coming to the spirit material market street was this largest shop.

"Artifact Pavilion..."

From a distance, Qin Lie could see the dazzling sign of this shop. He wondered how the sign was supported, as under the sun, the three characters "Artifact Pavilion" shone brightly, extremely eye-catching.

Seeing martial artists from the Nebula Pavilion, the Ice Fragment Manor, and many other scattered passersby heading to the Artifact Pavilion, Qin Lie also subconsciously went over.

Upon reaching the entrance of the Artifact Pavilion, he looked up at the sign again and was surprised to find that the characters "Artifact Pavilion" were not glaring when viewed up close.

It seemed that its brightness was only to attract people from a distance, and once they were close, it would not be blinding.

This small detail alone showed the extraordinary nature of the "Artifact Pavilion," and Qin Lie nodded in approval, following the crowd inside.

The first floor of the pavilion was very spacious, with exquisite glass containers along the walls, each containing various beautiful spirit artifacts: shining swords, golden short spears, rings of various colors, and gleaming hammers... there were at least dozens of spirit artifacts.

Many martial artists who came here gathered in front of the glass containers, inquiring about the spirit artifacts from the shop assistants, understanding their functions and prices, and discerning their grades.

"Most are of the third and fourth rank of the Mortal grade. However, the Artifact Pavilion sells spirit artifacts on the first floor, unlike other shops that only sell spirit pills and materials. No wonder everyone comes here, as they can buy finished products directly."

Qin Lie observed quietly for a while, listening to some conversations, and quickly understood the situation.

The first floor of the Artifact Pavilion only sold spirit artifacts of the fourth rank of the Mortal grade and below, the second floor sold fifth rank, the third floor sold sixth rank, the fourth floor sold seventh rank, and the fifth floor... even had Mystic grade spirit artifacts for sale!

However, starting from the second floor, there were restrictions to go up—either one's realm had to reach the Origin Opening stage, or one had to pay a certain amount of spirit stones to prove their financial capability to the Artifact Pavilion, rather than wasting their time.

He noticed that almost all the people who came only lingered on the first floor, wandering among the third and fourth rank Mortal grade spirit artifacts, and discussing prices with the shop assistants of the Artifact Pavilion.

Only a very few people, after coming, did not linger and headed straight for the stairs.

At the stair entrance, two dedicated guards of the Artifact Pavilion would conduct a brief inspection to confirm that the person's realm had reached the Origin Opening stage, or that they had sufficient financial means to pay with spirit stones, before allowing them to go up.

Each person who went up the stairs had a proud look, not even glancing at the martial artists who remained on the first floor, as if they were naturally of a higher status.

The people on this floor looked at those who went up with awe and envy, and some even bowed slightly, smiling to show their humility.

"The one who just went up is Pei An, the hall master under the leadership of Elder Wei Xing of the Nebula Pavilion, with early-stage Origin Opening realm cultivation."

"The one now is Ji Feiwen, the head of the Ji family under the Ice Fragment Manor, said to have reached the mid-stage Origin Opening realm, very powerful."

"Hey, who is that?"

The martial artists on this floor occasionally muttered, identifying the identities of those who went up, and then suddenly looked at a young martial artist with surprise.

This young man was about twenty years old, wearing the uniform of the Ice Fragment Manor, with a handsome appearance and a cold demeanor, bearing a seven-tenths resemblance to Feng Yi.

He went straight up the stairs.

"Feng Kai! He is Feng Kai, who was cultivating in the Nebula Pavilion half a year ago. I wonder why the Feng family suddenly betrayed the Nebula Pavilion, and Feng Kai directly joined the Ice Fragment Manor." Someone exclaimed in surprise.

Qin Lie mixed in the crowd, his pupils narrowing, secretly observing Feng Kai.

"So this is Feng Yi's brother, the one who said he would kill me. Unfortunately... he doesn't seem to recognize me."

"Feng Kai! You traitor, you and the Feng family will surely be exterminated by the Nebula Pavilion!" At this moment, the Nebula Pavilion martial artist named Pei An, who had gone up earlier, shouted from the second floor, threatening with words.

"Hmph, you can try and see who kills who!" Feng Kai retorted coldly from the second floor, not backing down.

Qin Lie and many others were on the lower floor, only hearing the argument from above, unable to see the situation upstairs.

"Quiet." A voice of impatience came from a higher floor, deep and powerful, saying, "If you don't want to follow my rules, then get out!"

Upon hearing this, the argument between Feng Kai and Pei An immediately stopped, and they both mumbled, apologizing in unison, "Old Master Pan, please calm down."

"Old Master Pan, who is he?" A newcomer asked in a low voice.

"Old Master Pan is Pan Jueming, the manager of this branch of the Artifact Pavilion in Ice Rock City. Even the head of the Ice Fragment Manor, Yan Wenyan, and the leader of the Nebula Pavilion, Tu Mo, have to give him some face, let alone Feng Kai and Pei An." An informed person explained softly.

Qin Lie listened in the crowd, looking at the stair entrance to the upper floor, and smiled bitterly to himself.

His realm was not high enough, and his financial means were not generous, clearly not qualified to go to the upper floor. After a moment of contemplation, taking advantage of everyone's attention being on the previous incident, he found a female shop assistant of the Artifact Pavilion, took out a spirit board with the Spirit Gathering Array carved on it, and asked, "Does the Artifact Pavilion buy spirit materials?"

"Of course, but it depends on the grade. We won't buy low-grade materials." The female shop assistant was in her twenties, with an ordinary appearance and acne on her face. She glanced at Qin Lie from head to toe and said coldly, "For spirit materials below the fifth rank of the Mortal grade, I suggest you sell them at other shops. Even for fifth rank Mortal grade materials, it's best to sell them in bulk. The Artifact Pavilion won't be interested in just one or two."

Qin Lie was taken aback, inwardly marveling at how difficult it was to deal with even a small shop assistant of the Artifact Pavilion.

"This spirit board has a Spirit Gathering Array inside, which can gather the surrounding spiritual energy, increasing it by one quarter. Do you have any interest in buying it?" Qin Lie had a premonition that he would be rejected, but with his current tight situation, he had to try.

"Practice spirit boards for carving spirit arrays are just low-grade materials. Even if they have a Spirit Gathering Array, it's not impressive." The shop assistant shook her head, her eyes showing a mocking expression, clearly rejecting him, "Sorry, not only the Artifact Pavilion, but even the small shops outside might not be interested."

Qin Lie looked somewhat embarrassed, nodded, and did not say anything more. He did not have the face to stay, so he left the Artifact Pavilion in a hurry.

"Let's try the small shops outside..." At the entrance of the Artifact Pavilion, he took a deep breath, smiled bitterly, and tried each shop one by one, not giving up.

"This spirit board can gather the surrounding spiritual energy, increasing it by one quarter. Do you have any interest in buying it?"

"Not interested, try another shop."

"High-level martial artists have spirit stones for cultivation and don't need this. A one-quarter increase in spiritual energy is not much; they can just find a place with dense spiritual energy."

"Sorry, we don't buy."

"Sorry, our shop isn't interested."

"..."

Qin Lie tried each shop, but the result was the same—repeated rejections, all stating no interest in his spirit board.

"One afternoon wasted, it's almost dark. Well, there's one last shop, let's try it. If it doesn't work, I'll go back."

Just as he was about to give up, he saw a very small shop in a secluded corner of the spirit material market street.

This shop was very remote, separated from the bustling main street. The sign in front of the shop, with the name "Li's Shop" written in a crooked manner, had almost all the paint worn off...

Inside the shop, in the shadows, a person was lying on a rocking chair, seemingly asleep due to the lack of business.

...