Chapter Bonanza (1/10)

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Immortal-Demon City.

Qin Zhou rode Tunfeng through the skies, catching sight of Immortal-Demon City’s full panorama from afar.

From high above, it resembled a massive two-tiered cake.

The lower tier was a basin-like depression, its walls towering high amidst dense crowds. The upper tier was a small city suspended in the air, deeply immersed in clouds and mist.

Countless cultivators flitted past, some riding beast-drawn carriages, others controlling objects for transport.

With so many cultivators passing by, Qin Zhou could only hear the whistling wind rushing past his ears. By the time he looked again, the other party was nothing more than a tiny silhouette, no larger than a fingernail.

Qin Zhou gave his horse a light pat. Understanding the signal, Tunfeng soared straight down.

Unlike the lower realms’ provincial capitals, where mounts were uniformly surrendered for management, here, mounts were considered spirit pets or beasts and were permitted within the city.

Tunfeng was simply too conspicuous. After feeding it a handful of pills, Qin Zhou let it roam freely.

Stepping into the city, the sights were dazzling.

Its prosperity far surpassed that of the lower realms and even rivaled the bustling metropolis during the opening phase of the secret realm.

Shops abounded everywhere.

At a glance, one could see tailors, pill shops, and even food stalls.

Beautiful people were everywhere, some dressed conservatively and properly, others in revealing, colorful attire.

Qin Zhou glanced around a few times, noticing that most were individuals whose cultivation levels he couldn’t perceive.

However, who belonged to the righteous path and who to the demonic path seemed obvious at a glance.

Qin Zhou, a minor cultivator at the Golden Core stage, paused briefly before heading toward the city’s bustling center.

He intended to find a forge—simply put, a blacksmith’s shop.

Weaponsmiths were a sought-after profession in the cultivation world, so blacksmiths’ shops were as easy to find as alchemy shops.

At least, glancing up, Qin Zhou saw several lining the streets.

But he wasn’t looking for someone to forge iron; he wanted to find a place selling tools.

After winding through the city streets, Qin Zhou finally found the place he sought—

Haoqi Pavilion.

This enormous… well, towering structure occupied a vast area. The shops on both sides were almost entirely blacksmiths, and from afar, Qin Zhou could hear the clanging of hammers.

Much like the Snowflake Pavilion in the provincial capital of the lower realm, this place was likely a substantial equipment-forging market.

After observing for a moment, Qin Zhou noticed that compared to Snowflake Pavilion, this place offered more comprehensive facilities. From material selection to crafting, it seemed to provide one-stop service.

The moment he stepped inside, the attendant immediately approached him.

“Esteemed cultivator, are you here to commission a custom artifact, or to purchase a finished piece?” The woman cultivator was elegantly dressed, her appearance even more refined than those Qin Zhou had encountered along the road.

She seemed to recognize Qin Zhou as merely a Golden Core cultivator, yet her demeanor remained courteous.

This felt somewhat familiar to Qin Zhou.

Wasn’t this just like sales assistants in a shopping mall?

The owner of Haoqi Pavilion certainly knew how to do business.

“I’d like to purchase some alchemy materials,” Qin Zhou stated directly.

The female cultivator paused for a second, then smiled even more warmly. “So you’re an alchemist? My apologies. For alchemy materials, this way please.”

Qin Zhou nodded.

This female cultivator didn’t play favorites; she attended to him just as she would any other Gold Core cultivator.

But then again, most Gold Core cultivators from the upper realm had ‘guides’—people behind them who could afford the spirit stones.

Never mind. Qin Zhou dismissed the thought and followed her inside.

The female cultivator led him into a specialized shop for refining materials, and Qin Zhou was even more impressed.

The vast hall rivaled the large shopping malls he had visited before.

Refining materials were meticulously arranged from low-grade to high-grade.

“Feel free to look around. If you have something specific in mind, just tell me, and I’ll inquire for you.”

Browsing freely was certainly welcome, but Qin Zhou didn’t need that luxury. He was pressed for time.

“I need eighty coils of golden silkworm beast silk.”

The saleswoman froze for a second, thinking she’d misheard. “Excuse me, sir? Did you say eighty coils of golden silkworm beast silk?”

Qin Zhou nodded.

Golden Silkworms were Nascent Soul-stage spirit beasts, not uncommon in the upper realm. Yet their silk was exceptionally precious. Firstly, despite being a silk thread, it possessed extraordinary hardness. Secondly, it was exceedingly rare. As the hardest silk thread available, it could serve both as armor material and as a weapon capable of slicing through iron like mud.

“Please look around freely. I’ll inform the shopkeeper and the storeroom.” Eighty rolls—at the price of golden silkworm thread, this was already a substantial transaction.

Qin Zhou nodded.

Due to its high cost, even when sewing armor with golden silkworm thread, most cultivators would only reinforce vital points with a small patch.

Eighty rolls were enough for a full suit of armor.

No wonder the female cultivator was stunned.

Qin Zhou marveled inwardly. Truly, this was the City of Immortals and Demons. For a material like golden silkworm thread, which was already scarce, they could produce eighty rolls in the blink of an eye.

Qin Zhou’s reason for choosing it was simple.

Golden silkworm thread shares the color of gold yet boasts the highest hardness among silk threads. It can fuse with celestial meteorite iron to forge dazzling golden ornaments.

But its price was truly exorbitant.

Qin Zhou pondered. The spirit stones he’d earned in the lower realms would likely be nearly depleted after this purchase.

He hadn’t anticipated that his first expenditure in the upper realm, aside from lodging, would be on alchemy materials.

Still, it wasn’t too bad. Once stored in his warehouse… golden silkworm thread at least had a market value. If the celestial meteorite iron ran out, he’d be at a loss for where to find more.

After all, the Heaven-Piercing Arena was now closed.

Forging two seventh-tier furnaces, then crafting this set of gold ornaments… the celestial meteorite in his warehouse was dwindling with each use.

“Hey, did you see? A seventh-tier spirit artifact appeared on Yuanqing Mountain. That red cloud has lingered all day and still hasn’t dispersed.” Qin Zhou waited nearby, overhearing two artifact forgers chatting idly.

“Two seventh-tier spirit artifacts. That crimson light appeared twice. It’s unbelievable.”

“Seventh-tier emerging, twice no less. I bet Haoqi Pavilion has already sent people to Yuanqing Mountain. They’ll likely have results within two days.”

“Haoqi Pavilion absolutely must go. Seventh-tier is top-tier spirit equipment.”

“I’m still curious—who forged those two spirit weapons on Yuanqing Mountain?”

“Only a top-tier forger could create seventh-tier equipment. Could it be that reclusive master from Haoqi Sect?”

As they spoke, the two seemed unsatisfied and raised their voices to question the shopkeeper—

“Shopkeeper, were those two seventh-tier spirit artifacts that appeared on Yuanqing Mountain forged by a great master from your Haoqi Sect?”

The shopkeeper wore a wry smile. “Gentlemen, Haoqi Pavilion handles only trade and commerce. We don’t have reliable information about the sect’s affairs.”

“Tsk.”

“Very well, very well. We were merely curious. No need to trouble you, shopkeeper.”

The two dropped the matter, and the shopkeeper finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Two seventh-tier spirit artifacts had emerged from Yuanqing Mountain. This was no trivial matter. As an affiliate of the Haoqi Sect, Haoqi Pavilion had its base in this Immortal-Demon City. Within a single afternoon, over a hundred people had come inquiring about the news.

But these were seventh-tier spirit artifacts.

If the shopkeeper were to guess, in all the world, only their Haoqi Sect’s reclusive elder ancestor could possibly have forged such items.

But the news never reached the shopkeeper, and he dared not speak without certainty.

Over there, someone from the storeroom approached the shopkeeper and whispered something to him. The shopkeeper listened intently, then furrowed his brow.

Afterward, the shopkeeper came before Qin Zhou.

“Esteemed cultivator, the situation is this: our treasury holds less than eighty coils of golden silkworm thread. I’ve already dispatched someone to retrieve more from a distant treasury. It will take roughly half an hour. Would you still like to proceed?”

Qin Zhou nodded. “Yes.”

Waiting a while wouldn’t be a problem.

The shopkeeper immediately broke into a smile. “Then I’ll send someone to fetch it right away. The total comes to forty-eight thousand spirit stones. Since you’re buying a large quantity, I’ll give you a discount—forty-five thousand spirit stones.”

Qin Zhou: “…”

One coil of golden silkworm thread was selling for 600 spirit stones.

He had originally estimated it at 300 spirit stones per coil.

Inflation even exists in the cultivation world.

Qin Zhou fell silent. After a moment, he glanced at his Cosmos Bag. Even after emptying his entire savings, he only had thirty thousand spirit stones.

Why hadn’t he remembered to stash more spirit stones in the warehouse before logging out?

Thirty thousand spirit stones would only buy fifty coils of thread, but fifty coils wouldn’t be enough to craft five pieces of gold jewelry.

Having promised five pieces, he couldn’t skimp on the quantity.

After pondering, Qin Zhou asked, “I see you deal in materials. Do you buy them?”

The shopkeeper had already sensed trouble from Qin Zhou’s silence, fearing the deal might fall through. But when Qin Zhou inquired about selling materials, the shopkeeper brightened and replied, “We do buy them, cultivator. Please look to your right.”

To the right of the main hall stood a partitioned area with an open door, marked by a sign bearing the character ‘Accepted’.

“What kind of materials are you selling? I can appraise them for you.” The shopkeeper produced a tray.

Qin Zhou took out a small piece of meteorite iron and placed it on the tray.

Truly just a small piece, thumb-sized. It was leftover scrap from his forge.

If the shopkeeper didn’t recognize its value, he’d have to sell some pills at the alchemy shop for cash and return later.

The shopkeeper paused, then his expression turned serious. “Cultivator, please follow me over there.”

Recognizing the meteorite was no ordinary object, yet unable to identify it, the shopkeeper naturally led Qin Zhou into a separate room.

Seated in the room was a middle-aged blacksmith. He was yawning, looking listless when he saw the shopkeeper. But upon catching sight of the item on the tray, the blacksmith sprang to his feet.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper’s heart skipped a beat.

Qin Zhou, however, remained unhurried.

The shopkeeper placed the tray down, and the blacksmith immediately leaned in to examine it. He had never seen such material before.

“May I handle it?” he asked Qin Zhou.

Qin Zhou nodded.

Haoqi Pavilion was a large establishment; it was unlikely they would try to deceive him with inferior materials. Of course, if they had ulterior motives, Qin Zhou wouldn’t hesitate to confront them.

After all, he still had several villagers who wielded considerable influence in the cultivation world.

That said, few could recognize meteorite iron.

Even if they went into the back room, they wouldn’t be able to judge its value. Qin Zhou thought this as the blacksmith examined the meteorite iron repeatedly, wiping it clean over and over.

“Shopkeeper,” Qin Zhou called out.

The shopkeeper immediately turned to the blacksmith handling the materials.

The blacksmith carefully placed the item back on the tray and asked, “How much do you want for it?”

“Eighty spools of golden silkworm thread,” Qin Zhou stated.

Over forty thousand spirit stones were no small sum.

The blacksmith then inquired, “Esteemed cultivator, may I ask where this item originates? If its provenance is unclear, Haoqi Pavilion would need to weigh its acceptance carefully.”

Qin Zhou pondered briefly before producing a token.

The characters ‘Sword Sect, Minghe Peak’ on the token stood out starkly.

The blacksmith paused, puzzled by Qin Zhou’s intent. But the shopkeeper’s expression changed dramatically. He immediately declared, “We’ll take it. We’ll give you eighty coils of golden silkworm thread for it.”

Truthfully, eighty coils of golden silkworm thread wouldn’t even cover the value of that meteorite.

But… he had no money. This would have to do.

In the end, Qin Zhou traded goods for goods, spending not a single spirit stone to secure the eighty coils of golden silkworm thread.

The moment Qin Zhou departed, the shopkeeper carefully packed the item into a box and instructed an assistant, “Take it to the Upper City for appraisal by the Young Sect Master.”

An honorary elder of the Sword Sect, a guest of honor to the Sword Immortal. That status alone was worth over forty thousand spirit stones.

As for the materials inside the box, they were likely no ordinary items either.

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Meanwhile, deep within the mountains of the upper realm, a young man who had been single-mindedly forging iron also saw that patch of crimson clouds on the horizon.

He set down his hammer and finally stepped outside.

This crimson cloud was undoubtedly a seventh-tier spirit artifact.

Seventh-tier spirit artifacts were rare, but not unheard of. Yet the location where this spirit artifact had emerged was Yuanqing Mountain.

The bare-armed youth picked up a handkerchief nearby and wiped his neck and arms. As he wiped, his hand paused.

Yuanqing Mountain, the Fifth Brother. A seventh-tier spirit artifact, a Pill Furnace?

When these elements were combined, the matter became extraordinary.

The young man, secluded deep in the mountains, thought of his junior brother. After a moment’s consideration, he returned to his own room.

After tidying up, he would have to go down the mountain to investigate.