Cultivation begins with ice harvesters

Chapter 22: Magical Artifacts

Liu's General Store is open year-round to buy all kinds of spiritual items, so the owner's discerning eye is beyond doubt, and his knowledge and vision are even broader.

Tong Bingfeng knew nothing about this white snake, but after just a brief look, he explained its details clearly.

"It was merely a coincidence. I wonder if your esteemed shop would be willing to purchase this Tibetan white snake? What would the price be?"

At this moment, Tong Bingfeng, who was almost penniless, couldn't wait to ask, since the price of this white snake was related to his subsequent plans.

"Of course we can acquire it, but unfortunately, the white snake's body is already damaged, and its venom is almost completely depleted. Our shop is willing to purchase it for eight spirit stones. What do you think, Fellow Daoist Tong?"

"As for the Frostbite Ointment, our shop naturally sells it. Each bottle costs four spirit stones, but today, to congratulate Fellow Daoist Tong on his cultivation advancement, we are offering it for three spirit stones. All the Frostbite Ointment sold in our shop is purchased at a high price from the Chen family's Alchemy Hall. It is of excellent quality and has remarkable effects. It can be said to be effective immediately for common frostbite in the Northern Frontier Ice Region."

The owner of Liu's Grocery Store offered a fairly reasonable price, his most important goal being to attract a regular customer.

After all, for such a small general store, its competitiveness in the entire Ice Sea Market is not outstanding, and its main revenue and profit come from a stable number of repeat customers.

"make a deal"

Tong Bingfeng was naturally satisfied with the price he paid for the white snake and the frostbite ointment, and he also trusted the source of the frostbite ointment mentioned by the owner of Liu's Grocery Store.

After all, the entire Ice Spirit Island is the territory of the Foundation Establishment Chen family. Apart from resources that cannot be produced stably, most of the shops, large and small, in the market rely on its products as their main source of goods.

"Fellow Daoist Tong has just advanced to the fourth level of Qi Refining. Do you have a suitable mid-grade first-tier magic weapon for protection?"

After the transaction was successfully completed, the owner of Liu's Grocery Store raised another question that seemed unrelated to the transaction and was somewhat presumptuous.

After all, the importance of magical artifacts to a cultivator is undeniable, as they are related to a cultivator's combat power. If the information is leaked, the cultivator may even be targeted for ambush.

"What do you mean by this?"

Tong Bingfeng was naturally wary of this, and the joy in his words vanished instantly. It seemed that he would leave immediately if he was even slightly dissatisfied with the other party's answer, or even provoke enough hostility.

"Fellow Daoist Tong, please don't be angry. I merely have a channel to purchase reliable magical artifacts and have no intention of invading your privacy."

The owner of Liu's Grocery Store naturally understood the reason for Tong Bingfeng's sudden change in mood. As a qualified cultivator, he naturally did not want this secret to be known by outsiders.

"Although I am penniless and lack any weapons, I am not one to be bullied. I wonder what you mean by asking this question?"

Tong Bingfeng's eyes were wide open, and his murderous aura was on full display. This special aura was accumulated through his repeated battles with demonic beasts.

While one's strength as a cultivator may be slightly inferior, one's indomitable spirit must not be compromised in the slightest. One must possess the spirit to fight even when one knows one is no match.

"A mid-grade first-tier magic weapon typically costs anywhere from a hundred to three to five hundred spirit stones. As for us rogue cultivators, the difficulty of purchasing one is unimaginable; it would probably require several years of accumulation."

"Many fellow practitioners, in order to purchase a suitable magical artifact, are often reluctant to buy elixirs to aid their cultivation advancement, resulting in the waste of their lifespan. In fact, quite a few even perish in battles against demonic beasts due to a lack of countermeasures."

"Fellow Daoist Tong, since you have decided to make a living by hunting demonic beasts, and wish to forge a path to enlightenment on your future cultivation journey, you will naturally need a suitable magical artifact to assist you. My question is precisely to help you solve this problem."

The owner of Liu's General Store explained the deeper meaning in a few words, while also throwing out a small but tempting bait. After all, for a cultivator in the early to mid-stages of Qi Refining, the importance of a weapon with compatible attributes cannot be overstated.

"Could it be that there are other channels through which one possesses a magical artifact? Please explain in detail, Fellow Daoist Liu. I am all ears."

As expected, after hearing the details, Tong Bingfeng's eyes flashed with a terrifying light. A suitable magic weapon would be enough to solve the predicament he was currently facing.

Originally, in the early stage of Qi Refining, one could still hunt monsters with the power of a mid-grade first-level spirit talisman. However, once one advances to the mid-stage of Qi Refining, all hunting targets will naturally start with mid-grade first-level monsters. Furthermore, as one's cultivation level increases, one can even target a few high-grade first-level monsters.

When facing a monster of this strength, a mid-grade first-tier talisman can be used as a conventional means of attack, but its destructive power is far from sufficient.

If one were to purchase a Tier 1 high-grade spirit talisman, not only would the supply in the market be relatively scarce, but the price of each talisman would also increase dramatically. Using it as the primary means of hunting would be completely counterproductive.

"Have you ever heard of renting ritual implements, fellow Daoist?"

"Every cultivator at the mid-stage of Qi Refining only needs to pay a small price and sign a contract to obtain a suitable magic weapon with compatible attributes. They only need to submit qualified demon beast corpses on time to meet the requirements."

The owner of Liu's Grocery Store enthusiastically explained that this matter was clearly profitable for him, since no one gets up early without a reason.

"Magic artifact rental? I'm rather ignorant; this is the first time I've heard of such a thing. I wonder how many demon beast corpses are required in total? What is the interval between each rental? How is the value of the demon beasts determined? And what happens if the task cannot be completed on time?"

The cultivation world is the most naked and cruel world; there is no way such a pie could fall from the sky for nothing.

People come and go for profit; if there weren't huge profits hidden within, no cultivator would ever get involved.

Moreover, the other party must be confident that they have enough means to take necessary countermeasures, otherwise it would be impossible to restrain most of the lawless cultivators who come from a rogue background.

"The details need to be discussed thoroughly between Fellow Daoist Tong and the other party. Liu's General Store is merely acting as an intermediary. As for the number of demon beast corpses to be handed over, it will naturally be roughly equivalent to the value of the magic weapon itself."

"The purchase price for each demonic beast is always slightly lower than that in the market; this is the main source of their profit. Otherwise, why would they be willing to exchange a high-quality magical artifact for it?"

The owner of Liu's Grocery Store only gave a brief introduction, clearly unwilling to reveal more or deeper details before an agreement was reached.

"I would be grateful if you could act as my intermediary. I am willing to try renting a mid-grade first-tier water-attribute offensive magic weapon, and I am also willing to pay a certain price for it."

Tong Bingfeng readily agreed without any hesitation.