Chapter 12: Cold Water Sword

Inside the shop.

After Li Qing secured his medicinal pills, he quickly left the store.

Once outside, he stepped briskly into the bustling crowd. After making several turns and confirming that no one was following him, he finally relaxed.

A moment later.

Li Qing’s figure arrived near a Qianbao Pavilion.

Looking up, a magnificent two-story pavilion stood on the side of the road.

Even the plaque above shimmered with spiritual light.

This pavilion was far more spacious than the previous one, covering an area more than twice that of an ordinary shop.

Since he also needed to purchase a suitable magic tool, the Qianbao Pavilion before him seemed like a good choice.

At the very least, shops like this carried relatively high-quality magic tools, so there was no risk of being sold inferior goods disguised as quality ones.

This time, Li Qing changed into a cyan bamboo hat to conceal his appearance and followed the surrounding crowd inside.

"Welcome, honored guest, to Qianbao Pavilion."

As soon as Li Qing entered, a charming and delicate voice rang out.

Several young, alluring women slowly emerged from within the pavilion.

Dressed in gorgeous red long dresses that made them look radiant, these beautiful women had clear divisions of labor, each moving to greet the cultivators who entered.

One of the women walked toward Li Qing.

She approached him with a seductive smile, her ornate red robe half-open at the chest, revealing a patch of snow-white skin.

"This lord, what would you like to purchase?" she asked in a coquettish voice.

As the woman bowed, a glimpse of her charms was fully exposed to Li Qing’s view.

After a brief glance, Li Qing scanned the woman from head to toe.

These women greeting guests at Qianbao Pavilion were, without exception, all at the early stage of Qi Refining, and even the vibrant red robes they wore were low-grade magic robes. This alone was enough to highlight the immense strength of Qianbao Pavilion.

"I wish to purchase a suitable magic tool," a flat voice came from beneath the bamboo hat.

"May I ask what grade of magic tool you are looking for, honored guest?" the beautiful woman in the red robe asked with a smile.

"Let me see the mid-grade magic tools first."

The woman smiled sweetly and continued, "Please, follow me this way."

As she turned, she deliberately displayed her perfectly swaying figure before Li Qing, then led him toward the side.

On the wall to one side hung dozens of magic tools shimmering with precious light, each appearing to be a fine example of a mid-grade magic tool.

For a shop with the substantial resources of Qianbao Pavilion, every magic tool inside was a boutique item within its tier.

The reason was simple: only with such high-quality items could they make a sufficient profit.

"Does the guest have a preferred category?"

"Our shop has all kinds of varieties. As long as the guest has a need, we can satisfy it at any time," the woman said with a tone of confidence.

"Water-attribute sword-type magic tool," Li Qing replied.

"Please look here, honored guest."

Following the direction of the beautiful woman’s finger, Li Qing saw a blue sword-type magic tool hanging on the wall.

"Clear Water Sword."

"A fine mid-grade magic tool, refined by our Qianbao Pavilion’s blacksmith using refined black iron."

"It is inscribed with several magic arrays, the most important being the Spirit Absorption Array, which has the advantage of greatly conserving mana during combat."

"The price is five hundred low-grade spirit stones."

As the red-robed woman introduced it, Li Qing nodded slightly beneath his bamboo hat.

It was indeed a fine mid-grade magic tool; even a casually introduced item had special functions.

Generally, magic tools were inscribed with miniature magic arrays based on their specific functions.

A miniature magic array represented a portion of the power of a standard array.

Arrays could be divided into: first-tier, second-tier, third-tier, and fourth-tier.

A first-tier array had power equivalent to the Qi Refining stage, a second-tier array corresponded to the Foundation Establishment stage, and so on.

Although the prices here were slightly higher than those outside, the cost-effectiveness was still quite reasonable.

Seeing Li Qing looking elsewhere, the woman understood his intent and continued to introduce magic tools that met his requirements.

"Azure Water Sword."

"A fine mid-grade magic tool."

"It is refined using first-tier spirit ore, Cloud Crystal, and specifically infused with the poison core of a first-tier demonic beast, the Azure Water Snake."

"Once activated, its attacks carry the effect of corroding mana."

"The price is five hundred and sixty low-grade spirit stones."

The classification of spirit ores was also the standard method used in the Haoyuan Sea region, divided into first-tier, second-tier, third-tier, and fourth-tier.

These corresponded to the spirit materials used for refining magic treasures from the Qi Refining stage to the Nascent Soul stage.

Second-tier spirit ores were the essential materials for refining top-grade magic tools.

"Dry Water Sword."

"..."

After the woman introduced several fine mid-grade magic tools, she couldn't help but look back at Li Qing.

She didn't quite understand this guest's intentions.

It had to be said that the magic tools she had introduced were all high-quality mid-grade items, yet so far, this guest hadn't expressed any interest.

She even began to doubt whether this person had the financial means to purchase these fine tools.

The guest’s attire also looked like that of a rogue cultivator.

Beneath the bamboo hat, Li Qing looked hesitant.

He felt that these magic tools met his requirements, but the only issue was that they looked a bit too flashy; anyone would recognize them as fine magic tools at a glance.

Li Qing mainly wanted to keep a low profile and did not want to be too conspicuous.

"Honored guest, there is only one last one left: the Cold Water Sword."

The beautiful woman looked hesitant.

There was a reason she had saved the Cold Water Sword for last.

From the outside, this Cold Water Sword looked pitch black, lacked any shimmering precious light, and even looked somewhat like a low-grade magic tool.

"Cold Water Sword."

"A fine mid-grade magic tool."

"This sword is slightly special. It was refined by one of our master blacksmiths at the request of another, but because that fellow Daoist failed to pay the spirit stones by the agreed time, it is being sold here."

Seeing Li Qing look up at her, the woman continued, "A piece of second-tier spirit ore, Blue Gold, was added during the refining of this Cold Water Sword."

"This sword is incredibly sturdy and can even clash head-on with some high-grade magic tools without falling behind."

"The sword is inscribed with a Cold Water Array. The attacks launched using its frigid power can cause a slowing effect on enemies, and for weaker foes, it can even freeze them."

"The price of this magic tool is six hundred and fifty low-grade spirit stones."

After the female cultivator finished speaking, she stood quietly to the side, waiting for Li Qing’s decision.

From the guest's previous actions, she could tell that he was not swayed by her beauty, so she no longer needed to use her little tricks.

Li Qing was also somewhat surprised when he heard this.

One had to know that an ordinary high-grade magic tool cost only about a thousand low-grade spirit stones, yet this mid-grade magic tool was priced at six hundred and fifty.