Chapter Ninety-Seven: For Sale!

"I see."

Shen Yan gave a faint smile and handed over the two prepared storage pouches to Qian Muqing, then jerked his chin toward them.

"Here. These are the magical artifacts I have refined recently. Take a look."

He did not believe a word of what Qian Muqing had said. He was nothing more than a novice artifact refiner and pill maker; however high his output might be, how could it possibly compare with that of the three great families, who controlled an entire immortal city?

Qian Muqing's words were only meant to draw the two of them closer. Shen Yan did not much care about that, either. The three great families trying to win him over was, in fact, a good thing.

Long ago, he had understood a simple truth: only when you possess value will others seek to win you over.

So he did not expose Qian Muqing's little scheme, and instead changed the subject.

"Regarding news from the East Sea cultivation world, does fellow daoist happen to know anything?"

Even after leaving the East Sea cultivation world, Shen Yan still kept a close watch on its affairs.

After all, he had secretly stirred up conflict between the Jade Immortal Sect and the Waterwood Gate. He wondered whether their struggle had now escalated to the Foundation Establishment stage, or even the Core Formation stage.

He had no channels for such information himself, so he had entrusted Qian Muqing to help him gather it.

As for whether Qian Muqing might infer his identity from this, Shen Yan did not care. He was already a Foundation Establishment cultivator now; with his current strength, even a mid-stage Foundation Establishment expert was no match for him, so he had nothing to fear.

Cultivators battle the heavens for life and fate. If he had become a Foundation Establishment cultivator only to keep hiding under an assumed name, then had all these years of bitter cultivation not been wasted?

If he still cowered so timidly after coming to the Central Plains cultivation world, then why had he left the East Sea cultivation world at all?

Moreover, the East Sea cultivation world might seem open, but in truth it was anything but. There were no barriers at the border to prevent Central Plains cultivators from entering, but that was only an illusion. The Sea Vast Immortal Sect kept strict records on the movements of any Core Formation cultivator; anyone entering the East Sea had to report in advance, or else, once discovered, they would be slain on the spot.

The rules of the Central Plains cultivation world were not as harsh as those of the Sea Vast Immortal Sect, but they were not much better either. Thus Shen Yan did not worry in the slightest that a Core Formation cultivator from the East Sea cultivation world would come hunting for him.

As for Foundation Establishment cultivators? Shen Yan judged that while he might not be a match for a false Core Formation expert, escaping would not be difficult.

At this, Qian Muqing gave Shen Yan a strange look and said in a somewhat uncertain tone:

"Senior Shen, when you asked me before to keep an eye on matters in the East Sea cultivation world, I naturally did not dare to neglect it. But for some reason, half a year ago, a conflict suddenly broke out between two sects at the border between the East Sea cultivation world and the Central Plains. The East Sea side even sealed off the road leading into the Central Plains. Right now, the cultivators in our Seajoy City are completely unable to inquire about any news from the East Sea cultivation world."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yan could not help but smile faintly. It seemed that the dispute between the Jade Immortal Sect and the Waterwood Gate had indeed escalated. He only wondered whether any Core Formation cultivators had made a move.

Still, the fact that Seajoy City had failed to obtain any related news was also good for him. It meant that, whether it was the Waterwood Gate or the Jade Immortal Sect, neither had the leisure to come after him at present.

At the very least, they might be investigating in secret, but the probability was that they were searching within the East Sea cultivation world. Even in the Central Plains cultivation world, the Sea Vast Immortal Sect did not have all that many eyes and ears, much less the Jade Immortal Sect and the Waterwood Gate.

With that thought, Shen Yan stopped asking.

He smiled at Qian Muqing and said, "Fellow Daoist Qian, this time I have brought thirty low-grade magical artifacts, ten mid-grade magical artifacts, one hundred bottles of low-grade Spirit-Gathering Pills, and fifty bottles of mid-grade Spirit-Gathering Pills. Shall we keep to the old prices?"

A low-grade magical artifact was worth around three spirit stones, while a mid-grade magical artifact cost at least thirty.

Pills, by contrast, were much cheaper. Five Spirit-Gathering Pills made up one bottle, and two bottles were only worth one spirit stone; mid-grade Spirit-Gathering Pills were merely three times that price.

"We shall follow the senior's price," Qian Muqing said without objection. The price Shen Yan offered was already far below market value. Under normal prices, a newly refined low-grade magical artifact would cost at least five spirit stones.

After the transaction was completed, Shen Yan did not hurry off this time. Quite the opposite, he took another storage pouch from his robes and handed it to Qian Muqing, smiling as he asked, "Would fellow Daoist like to see the talismans Shen has drawn?"

At this, Qian Muqing was genuinely startled.

"Senior can draw talismans as well?"

Talismans, like magical artifacts, pills, and array discs, were all hard currency in the cultivation world, as valuable as spirit stones themselves.

However, magical artifacts and array discs could be used repeatedly, and only when they were completely ruined would one buy another.

Pills, while consumed more often than array discs and magical artifacts, were generally not something many cultivators were extravagant enough to use daily for cultivation. For example, the Spirit-Gathering Pills Shen Yan refined were primarily used to help cultivators absorb natural spiritual qi and improve cultivation efficiency.

Even so, cultivators usually bought the lowest-grade Spirit-Gathering Pills only when attempting a breakthrough, using them to aid their advance.

Talismans were different. Once used, they were like casting a spell directly, expended in an instant and bringing no benefit to the user.

And yet, despite that, nearly every cultivator, from the early Qi Refining stage to the late Foundation Establishment stage, kept several talismans on hand. The cultivation world was not a peaceful place; leaving aside rogue cultivators and demonic cultivators, even a chance encounter with a spirit beast was entirely possible.

Thus, among all resources in the cultivation world, the most heavily consumed were neither magical artifacts nor array discs and pills, but talismans.

So when he heard that the storage pouch Shen Yan took out actually contained talismans, Qian Muqing could not help but be shocked.

"Nothing more than a diversion," Shen Yan said modestly. "I had no time to study it before reaching Foundation Establishment. Now that I have broken through, I practice it to pass the time and earn some resources for cultivation."

Though spoken humbly, those words sounded highly pretentious in Qian Muqing's ears.

For an ordinary cultivator to master even one cultivation art was already remarkable. Shen Yan, on the other hand, had taken on three and still said such things. Was he not enough to drive others mad?

Of course, he only dared grumble inwardly. For all that Shen Yan seemed warm and genial, treating him as though they were peers, Qian Muqing knew full well that if he dared overstep even a little, then even if Shen Yan killed him, the three great families of Seajoy City would not lift a finger against him.

"Senior's talent is astonishing. I am beyond envious," Qian Muqing said with a bitter smile. He did not know how else to answer, and could only open the storage pouch to inspect its contents carefully.

"Two hundred low-grade Diamond talismans, one hundred mid-grade Diamond talismans, and as for the high-grade Diamond talismans... Senior can even draw high-grade talismans?"

Qian Muqing stared at Shen Yan in horror, his face full of disbelief.

"High-grade Diamond talismans? Is he talking about high-grade tier-one Diamond talismans?"

Shen Yan was also somewhat taken aback. Could it be that the East Sea cultivation world used a different term for Diamond talismans than the Central Plains?

Still, he did not show his surprise. Instead, he simply nodded calmly.

In his mind, he guessed that the so-called Diamond talisman referred to tier-one talismans, while Diamond spiritual talismans corresponded to tier-two talismans.