Chapter 28: Taixu Sword

Next, Song Qingming found two similar shops in the market to dispose of Liu Tianlong's storage bag and the monster materials he had recently obtained. Instantly, several hundred spirit stones were added to his storage bag.

Patting the bulging storage bag at his waist, Song Qingming walked along a street on the west side of Guiyun Market, feeling quite satisfied. Seeing that it was getting late, he decided to continue browsing the market today to purchase some necessary medicinal pills, intending to leave Guiyun Market early the next morning to return to Qinghe County.

After wandering through several streets, Song Qingming's storage bag was already filled with various medicinal pills, talismans, and a large amount of talisman paper and other materials required for talisman making. Having a rare opportunity to visit such a large market, Song Qingming decided to simply buy everything he needed in one go.

While passing a rogue cultivator's stall, he spent a long time haggling to buy a talisman-making manual at a low price. After checking his storage bag and seeing that only a small fraction of his several hundred spirit stones remained, he reluctantly withdrew his hand.

Unknowingly, Song Qingming walked into a somewhat quiet street. This street could be considered the quietest business area in Guiyun Market; of the dozens of shops lining the street, more than half had already closed their doors, and the passing pedestrians were very sparse, far less prosperous than the other streets.

Song Qingming walked several dozen yards along the bluestone street. Just as he was about to reach the end of the street and was preparing to turn back, an inconspicuous little shop by the roadside caught his attention.

Song Qingming looked up at the wooden sign above the shop and saw five large, clear black characters written in charcoal: "Li's Grocery Store."

Entering the shop, he found that the owner was a middle-aged cultivator. He was tall and thin with an elegant appearance, wearing an ordinary green Daoist robe. It appeared that his cultivation had reached the late stage of Qi Refinement.

Seeing Song Qingming enter, the middle-aged cultivator did not immediately approach to greet him; he merely narrowed his eyes and gave Song Qingming a calm glance.

On the shop counter lay some common low-grade talismans, medicinal herbs, and a pile of Grade-1 magical tools that appeared well-crafted.

In Song Qingming's view, these magical tools were likely produced by the shopkeeper himself. Many rogue cultivators who learn skills like artifact refining choose to open small shops like this in such markets; the cost is not too high, and they can collect raw materials while selling their finished products. There were many such rogue cultivators in Qinghe Market.

After browsing the items in the shop for a while, Song Qingming stepped forward, picked up an ordinary high-grade flying sword from the counter, and asked

"Shopkeeper, how many spirit stones for this flying sword?"

The middle-aged cultivator looked at Song Qingming with some surprise. Just as he was about to speak, another young shop assistant suddenly rushed out from behind the counter and shouted loudly, "My apologies, fellow Daoist, but this sword was left here by a senior. Without his permission, it cannot be sold to anyone. Perhaps you should look at other magical tools instead."

Hearing this, Song Qingming was momentarily stunned. The fact that this item was related to a Foundation Establishment cultivator caused him to lose his confidence instantly. He slowly put the flying sword down, feeling a sense of regret in his heart.

He had entered this shop specifically for this item. It felt as though there was a mysterious affinity between him and this flying sword; the moment he saw it on the street, he had a sudden urge to take it away.

Given his current Qi Refinement Level 5 cultivation, he could use at most two magical tools simultaneously. Since he already possessed the Blazing Sun Sword and the Black Gold Shield, normally he would not need to purchase more magical tools for a while.

He had spent most of the day in the market buying talismans and pills, and he hadn't intended to buy any more magical tools, but for some reason, as soon as he approached this shop, he was firmly drawn to this sword.

Normally, a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator would have no use for a high-grade magical tool. Their spiritual power is limited, and driving a high-grade tool would quickly exhaust their energy. If they cannot defeat their opponent quickly, they will lose due to exhaustion, making it less practical than a mid-grade tool.

Only cultivators with special cultivation techniques, or those with much thicker spiritual power than their peers, can drive high-grade magical tools for extended periods after refining them. Such cultivators are mostly those with top-tier combat abilities; after refining a high-grade tool, they may even have the ability to kill an ordinary late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator across stages.

As for the current Song Qingming, he was far from needing a high-grade magical tool. When he had seen the high-grade tools in Liu Tianlong's storage bag, he hadn't even considered refining one for himself.

The price of a high-grade magical tool is also much higher than that of a mid-grade one. An ordinary mid-grade flying sword, like Song Qingming's Blazing Sun Sword, could be exchanged directly in his clan for only twenty spirit stones, and even in a market, it wouldn't exceed thirty.

In contrast, the price of a high-grade flying sword in a market is generally around one hundred spirit stones; one high-grade sword could equal the price of three or four mid-grade tools.

After taking the sword from Song Qingming, the young cultivator slowly placed it into an ancient-looking sword box, acting extremely carefully as if he were afraid of accidentally touching the blade.

Seeing Song Qingming lower his head and sigh as he prepared to walk out of the shop, the middle-aged Daoist shopkeeper suddenly spoke

"Little friend, may this old Daoist ask one thing: why do you wish to purchase this sword?"

"I don't know. Seeing it from afar, I simply felt that this object has an affinity with me."

Song Qingming shook his head and turned around, speaking with a sincere expression.

After hearing Song Qingming's words, the shopkeeper paused, smiled, and said, "Since you have an affinity with it, I shall make an exception today and decide on behalf of my old friend. I will sell this sword to you."

"Master, this sword was left here by your... your friend! How can you sell it to him so easily? Even if you must sell it, you should find a suitable person!"

The young cultivator, who had just put the sword into the box, held the box preciously and spoke to the shopkeeper anxiously, as if it were wrong to sell the item to Song Qingming. This made Song Qingming feel a bit strange.

The young man's cultivation was not high, only at the fourth level of Qi Refinement, yet he seemed to look down on him. He was being quite judgmental. Had it been a few months ago, Song Qingming wouldn't have cared, but he was no longer someone who couldn't afford a few spirit stones.

"Sigh, for us cultivators, the most important thing is affinity. Since this object has an affinity with this young brother, he is naturally the right person. Young brother, take the sword..."

The young cultivator wanted to say more, but was silenced by a glare from the shopkeeper. He could only hand the sword box to Song Qingming with a face full of reluctance.

Song Qingming took the sword box and carefully placed it into his storage bag. He couldn't help but feel a surge of joy; he had thought he wouldn't be able to obtain it, only for things to take a sudden turn, leaving him almost unable to believe it.

"May I ask, Senior, what is the name of this sword?"

"Its original name was Taixu. Now that it has a new owner, you may call it whatever you wish."

"Taixu... indeed a good name. Since it will follow me from now on, let it keep this name." Having obtained the sword, Song Qingming felt a sense of satisfaction and turned to walk out of the shop.

"Ah, wait a moment, young brother."

"Boss, is there something else?"

"You haven't paid the spirit stones yet."

"Oh, right, my apologies. How many spirit stones...?"

"Since you are a person of affinity, I won't take the full profit. Just give me one hundred and fifty spirit stones."

"Damn, that's expensive!"

"If the guest does not have enough spirit stones, then forget it. Perhaps look at other magical tools!" Seeing Song Qingming complain about the price, the young cultivator looked delighted, ready to take the sword box back, but he saw Song Qingming pull spirit stones directly from his storage bag.

*It's only a hundred and fifty spirit stones, here...*

After leaving Li's Grocery Store, Song Qingming walked down the road, feeling as though he had just been part of a coordinated performance by the master and apprentice. If it truly was, their acting was superb—especially the young man's gaze, which had been full of disdain from start to finish.

Even when he produced the one hundred and fifty spirit stones to buy the item at a premium, the young man still maintained an expression of reluctance. This level of skill was far more advanced than the cunning rogue cultivators he had seen at Caolu Mountain.

Although he felt one hundred and fifty spirit stones was a bit expensive, Song Qingming had a deep, intuitive feeling that this sword truly did have an affinity with him.

"Forget it, I'll just consider it a moment of extravagance today."

(End of Chapter)