Chapter 16

There's even better news: Gu Han has already communicated with the young shopkeeper and reserved those few materials.

From this matter, it can be seen that Gu Han is meticulous in his work. In Chu He's previous life, he enjoyed working with such people the most, as they generally wouldn't let him down at critical moments.

The area of the magical artifact market is not large, with only one main street wide enough for four carriages to travel side by side. On both sides of the street, there are various large shops, totaling about twenty, covering an area of at most one-fifth of the scattered market.

Anyone who can firmly occupy a place here has considerable backing.

The magical artifact shop of Qingling Mountain is the first one at the street corner, one of the most eye-catching and grand, named Qingling Hall.

Gu Han's return surprised the young shopkeeper who had spoken with him earlier. Without waiting for Gu Han to speak, he had already instructed the shop assistants to fetch the reserved materials.

Of course, Gu Han's ability to reserve these materials without paying a deposit was largely due to his status as an inner disciple who studied both alchemy and magical artifacts.

For these promising inner disciples, the young shopkeeper would try to build a relationship whenever possible. As their cultivation increased in the future, their connections with the shop would become increasingly close. After all, most of the magical artifacts in the shop came from these apprentice artisans or alchemists.

The young shopkeeper had sharp eyes. Among the disciples who came for their morning internship, Gu Han was clearly one of the more favored by the instructors.

Considering all these factors, it would be strange if he didn't treat Gu Han warmly and conveniently. Besides, these materials were only of the eighth and ninth grades, which were trivial for his authority.

This transaction was quickly completed. In total, six materials were purchased, five of the ninth grade, and one of the eighth grade. The young shopkeeper, surnamed Cui, also exchanged the marks of the Qianji Jade with Chu He for future contact. He declared that for any future purchases, as long as he could make the decision, everything would be at a ten percent discount.

Although Chu He, judging by his attire, was just an apprentice and not even an outer disciple, the fact that Gu Han was willing to run errands for him suggested some inside story. Therefore, he couldn't look down on him too much. Moreover, as a businessman, it was always beneficial to have a wide network of contacts. One more friend meant one more potential source of wealth, and it was no trouble to extend a hand.

After forcefully giving Gu Han fifteen low-grade spirit stones as a reward, Chu He was almost penniless.

Fifteen low-grade spirit stones might not be much to Gu Han, but they still made him quite happy. He exclaimed, "Wow, spirit stones are so easy to earn! When I have time, I'll definitely find you a thousand or so of these materials to fill my pockets."

Chu He responded confidently, "Bring it on, I'm afraid you'll think this is too slow."

Since Gu Han was about to accompany several instructors to the scattered market, the two parted ways at the shop entrance.

Chu He slowly made his way back to the inn, but his heart was already racing like an ant on a hot pan.

As soon as he closed the door, Chu He placed the six materials he had bought on the redwood table in the room.

The five ninth-grade materials were: three pieces of black iron and two pieces of blue-patterned steel. These two materials are basic for casting offensive magical artifacts and are in high demand in the market.

The one eighth-grade material was black mystic iron, an advanced version of black iron. It was the material Gu Han had clung to when they first met. Generally, medium-grade flying sword magical artifacts use this material to enhance their stability.

"Let's start, let's see how lucky I am!" Chu He rolled up his sleeves, looking like a gambler about to place a bet.

A clear cleansing fire appeared in his right palm, like a delicate white flower. His left hand picked up a piece of black iron.

With a mental command, the cleansing fire floated over to the black iron and then disappeared into it, leaving no trace.

The purification was 20%. It took only three or four breaths to achieve the effect.

The black iron, which was originally dark and had a faint metallic luster, now seemed to shine brighter after being purified by the cleansing fire.

Chu He couldn't tell if the grade had improved, but he didn't worry about it. He continued to purify the remaining materials.

He wasn't concerned about not being able to determine the grades of the materials. When he sold them to a large shop, the shopkeeper would naturally report the grades fairly.

After purifying the five ninth-grade materials, the cleansing fire had used up about 80% of its power. It had now turned into a blue-black flower. To be safe, Chu He waited for it to convert the impurities.

Once its power was fully restored, he tackled the eighth-grade black mystic iron.

Sure enough, the difference in grade was significant. Purifying the black mystic iron consumed about 60% of the cleansing fire's power. Fortunately, he had been cautious.

After purification, the black mystic iron, which originally had a prominent luster, now appeared more subdued, but it was clearly different from the other materials.

Chu He put the materials in his storage bag and headed straight for Qinghe Market.

"Black iron, two pieces of eighth grade, one piece of ninth grade. Blue-patterned steel, two pieces of eighth grade. Hmm, black mystic iron, one piece of seventh grade." The shopkeeper read out the grades of the materials Chu He had brought.

This was Guo Family Market, one of the top two magical artifact shops in Qinghe Market. It was located at the other end of the street from Qingling Hall. Chu He had come here from the neighboring demon market, avoiding the front of Qingling Hall, which was one of the reasons he chose this shop.

"Low-grade black iron of eighth grade, our purchase price is thirty low-grade spirit stones per piece, two pieces total, and ninth grade is eighteen. Low-grade blue-patterned steel of eighth grade, one piece, forty spirit stones, and ninth grade, one piece, nineteen. Low-grade black mystic iron of seventh grade, one piece, one hundred spirit stones. Let's round it up for you, a total of two hundred and thirty low-grade spirit stones. How does that sound, Daoist friend?" The young shopkeeper with a white face gave the total price.

Four out of the six materials had improved in grade, two had not, about a 70% chance, which was quite good. Even if the materials that didn't improve in grade, they only lost one or two spirit stones.

"Fine, no problem." Chu He was delighted. A simple transaction had more than doubled his profit. This was much better and easier than doing odd jobs.

"Daoist Chu, if you have good materials next time, please come to our shop. We offer discounts to repeat customers. Please take your time." The young shopkeeper, surnamed Zeng, saw Chu He to the door and bid him farewell warmly.

It's no wonder. Receiving a seventh-grade material from a cultivator at the fourth level of the Qi Condensation stage was enough to give him a small surprise.

Chu He left Guo Family Market and returned to the original inn, closing his eyes to rest. He was waiting for news from Gu Han.

He hoped that Gu Han's trip to the scattered market would bring him another surprise.

After about half an hour, the Qianji Jade reacted, a message from Gu Han.

"Brother Chu, come quickly, there's a piece of high-grade eighth-grade flame gold here, very good quality and cheap."

High-grade eighth grade?! If it could be upgraded, wouldn't that mean another seventh-grade material?! Chu He's eyes immediately glowed green, and he jumped out of the window directly.

When spirit stones are at stake, taking the stairs is just too annoying!!