Chapter 55: Formation Pavilion

After hearing the blue-robed manager's quote, Li Qing was stunned, and his facial muscles twitched involuntarily.

Good heavens, he was truly being treated like a fat sheep to be slaughtered.

Seeing Li Qing's silence, the blue-robed manager assumed he was considering it seriously and immediately began to work even harder to sell.

"You may not know, Fellow Daoist..."

"After all, this is a treasure from the ancient era. It's possible that there might even be an inheritance from that period inside."

The blue-robed manager launched into another bout of boasting.

"This is essentially a disciple identity token from that era, isn't it?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the blue-robed manager fell silent.

He had originally thought he had encountered a wealthy scion of a large family, but he hadn't expected to meet someone so well-informed.

The most common items left behind from that time were indeed these types of tokens.

The core disciples of that era would refine these tokens, and their sole purpose was to hide one's aura. Additionally, they served as a form of identity authentication.

"Haha."

The blue-robed manager gave an awkward laugh.

"Then, what value does Fellow Daoist place on this ancient token?"

Since he couldn't sell it at a high price, he naturally had to begin normal negotiations. As a seasoned manager, this wasn't his first time encountering such a situation, so he simply ignored his previous quote.

"Six hundred low-grade spirit stones!" Li Qing said indifferently.

"Fellow Daoist, you must be joking!" the blue-robed manager said hurriedly, as if provoked. "It is, after all, a treasure from an ancient ruin."

"How about this? Since I see that you are knowledgeable about this item, I will give you a reasonable price. One thousand low-grade spirit stones! What do you think, Fellow Daoist?" The manager looked at Li Qing after speaking.

"Six hundred low-grade spirit stones," Li Qing continued, his tone neither hot nor cold.

Seeing the man preparing to explain further, Li Qing didn't bother to entangle with him any longer.

"I see two cracks have already appeared on it; it must have been used several times already. It is difficult for the spiritual energy within this kind of ancient jade to recover. In my opinion, it will likely lose its effectiveness after just one more use..."

The blue-robed manager did not respond directly but instead put on a thoughtful expression.

Li Qing was merely speculating, but seeing the man's expression, it was clear his words had hit the mark.

"Regardless, this is a treasure from the ruins. Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist, but I cannot accept that price..." The blue-robed manager could only shake his head helplessly.

"How about this: seven hundred low-grade spirit stones!" Li Qing suddenly said.

The moment this ancient jade appeared, he knew he had to secure it. His previous behavior was merely a tactic to haggle with the shopkeeper.

Seeing the blue-robed cultivator about to speak, Li Qing continued, "I can also purchase two additional Spirit-Locking Talismans!"

After saying this, Li Qing fell silent.

Seeing Li Qing's determined attitude, the blue-robed manager thought for a moment.

"Fine. Since Fellow Daoist is sincere, I shall take the initiative and sell the ancient jade to you!"

Seeing the manager's pained expression, Li Qing sneered inwardly. There are only merchants who make less profit; there are no merchants who take a loss.

However, seeing the man relent, Li Qing also breathed a sigh of relief. If the manager had refused to budge, Li Qing would have had no choice but to accept it for the sake of his subsequent plans.

"Two Spirit-Locking Talismans for three hundred low-grade spirit stones..."

"..."

Once the transaction was concluded, Li Qing took out one thousand of the spirit stones he had just obtained, paid the amount, and left the shop feeling satisfied.

Overall, this transaction was a pleasant surprise. He could finally participate in the upcoming auction with peace of mind.

After walking around a few times to ensure there were no signs of being followed, Li Qing entered another shop to dispose of the high-grade magical tool he had taken from Jiao Yujian.

His storage bag now contained an additional one thousand low-grade spirit stones. The high-grade Black Wood Sword had been sold at a low price due to the damage sustained during the battle.

At this moment, his storage bag held a total of over seven thousand low-grade spirit stones. Yet, he was still somewhat uneasy. Treasures in auctions often command a premium once their scarcity is recognized.

"It seems I should find an opportunity to dispose of Jue Hen's high-grade offensive tool as well," Li Qing thought to himself.

He had originally been hesitating over whether to keep it as a trump card. Jue Hen's tool was also a water-attribute magical tool, which he could naturally use. But for the sake of the Golden Scale Fruit, he couldn't afford to be too picky.

Of course, now was not the right time to sell it. Out of caution, he would wait a few days to see how things developed.

Just as Li Qing was planning to return to White Jade Island, he suddenly spotted an Array Pavilion. He paused his steps.

The timing of the auction was still uncertain. If it were to be delayed too long, he intended to use the Earth Root Soul Grass in his possession to heal his soul injuries.

As an exotic treasure, the Earth Root Soul Grass would easily leak its aura once taken out. Even on White Jade Island, he had to be extremely cautious. If he could find a suitable grand array, it could perfectly solve this problem. Furthermore, he carried many secrets; with a grand array for protection, he could cultivate with peace of mind.

With this in mind, Li Qing no longer hesitated and walked briskly toward the Array Pavilion.

The interior was decorated very elegantly. Compared to other shops, there were far fewer people. Arrays were still far too precious for Qi Refinement cultivators.

"I am Ding Yu! Which type of array is Fellow Daoist interested in?"

A young man dressed in a cyan Daoist robe walked out from within the pavilion. Upon closer inspection, Li Qing realized he was a cultivator in the late stages of Qi Refinement. It seemed that a shop capable of selling arrays was indeed no ordinary small-scale establishment.

"I wish to purchase a grand array that can isolate detection and ensure that the aura within the array does not leak out."

"Please follow me, Fellow Daoist!"

The cyan-robed Daoist led Li Qing to one side. The layout of the room was very orderly, with circular counters distributed in sequence. Inside transparent glass cases were various items used for array formation: some were array flags, others were ores covered in array patterns. There was a wide variety of implements. Li Qing even saw arrays shaped like long poles.

"This is one of our mid-grade second-tier arrays—the Yuan-Sealing Array! Once activated, it cannot be broken by anyone below the late stage of Foundation Establishment. Even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would need the aid of a powerful magical tool to cause damage to the array."

The cyan-robed cultivator spoke with a light, casual tone, yet he was brimming with confidence.

"Please, this way, Fellow Daoist..."

(End of Chapter)