Translator: Cinder Translations
Song Wen, with a meager pouch, ultimately didn't purchase any technique or skill at the Transmission Hall.
After finally selecting a desired corpse puppet refining technique, but it required twenty-five spirit stones.
Exiting the Transmission Hall, Song Wen headed towards the market at the foot of the mountain.
The market at the foot of the mountain was established by the Corpse Demon Sect. Here, not only were there shops from the sect, but also from external forces, as well as stalls set up by disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect and rogue cultivators.
The items sold at the sect's shops were generally more expensive but guaranteed in quality.
Goods at the stalls were generally cheaper but often of lower quality, such as pills that might have slightly poorer quality or techniques with flaws that hindered cultivation.
When Song Wen arrived at the market, the sun was already setting in the west, yet it was bustling with people. This was the busiest time for the market, where most Corpse Demon Sect disciples, after a hard day's work, had the time to leisurely browse and shop.
Song Wen's purpose in coming to the market was twofold: to purchase auxiliary corpse qi for cultivation and to broaden his horizons.
As Song Wen strolled and observed, he finally spotted the coveted corpse qi at a stall after about half an hour.
Three black jade bottles were displayed on the stall, each intricately engraved with complex arrays to prevent the leakage of the corpse qi inside.
"Senior brother, how much for this corpse qi?" Song Wen inquired about the price.
The stall owner, dressed in the outer disciple's attire of the Corpse Demon Sect, glanced coldly at Song Wen and replied indifferently, "Eighty low-grade spirit stones."
"So expensive!" Song Wen was taken aback by the price.
"This corpse qi was meticulously extracted from the depths of the Ten Thousand Corpse Valley, where I spent several days refining and collecting the purest corpse qi available. It can sustain someone like you, an early Qi Refining disciple, for up to three months without diminishing in efficacy. Naturally, it won't come cheap."
The Ten Thousand Corpse Valley was a desolate area not far from the Corpse Demon Sect, often enveloped in corpse qi, and was a frequent destination for nearby demonic cultivators to gather corpse qi.
As for the owner's claim of extracting from the heart of the Ten Thousand Corpse Valley, it was likely an exaggerated boast to attract customers.
Even though Song Wen had only been in the Corpse Demon Sect for two months, he knew that the central area of the Ten Thousand Corpse Valley was not a place a Qi Refining cultivator could venture deep into.
"Could you make it cheaper? Twenty spirit stones," Song Wen attempted to negotiate.
The stall owner immediately grew irritated. "Get lost! If you're not buying, don't disrupt my business. Just this jade bottle alone is worth more than ten low-grade spirit stones."
Dismissed, Song Wen left the stall feeling disgruntled.
Next, Song Wen came across several other stalls selling corpse qi. From his observations, the price for a bottle of pure corpse qi generally hovered around sixty spirit stones.
If the buyer provided an empty jade bottle, they could get a discount of ten spirit stones.
In other words, the price of a specially crafted jade bottle for storing corpse qi was around ten spirit stones.
Despite not having enough spirit stones, Song Wen didn't give up. He still had items he could sell.
The alchemy furnace obtained from Ji Yin!
Although it was only a low-grade furnace, it was a relatively rare item and not cheap.
Song Wen proceeded to enter a shop that specialized in selling furnaces.
A young attendant approached him. Judging from his cultivation, he seemed to be at the third level of Qi Refining.
"Customer, what would you like to buy?" the attendant asked warmly.
"I'm not here to buy. Do you buy furnaces here?" Song Wen inquired.
"Of course we do," the attendant replied warmly, not treating Song Wen differently just because he was here to sell something. "May I ask what kind of furnace you're selling, sir?"
Song Wen flipped his palm, and the refining furnace appeared in his hand.
"It's this refining furnace," Song Wen said as he handed it over to the attendant.
After carefully examining it, the attendant said, "Sir, this refining furnace is of low-grade artifact level, and it shows signs of long-term use with some wear on the upper array patterns. Our shop can offer 50 spirit stones to purchase it."
Song Wen was slightly stunned by this. "The price is so low!"
According to Song Wen's knowledge, low-grade offensive artifacts generally sold for at least 100 spirit stones in the market. Defensive artifacts might fetch a bit more, but usually not more than 120 spirit stones.
A refining furnace , a specialty artifact, was completely different from ordinary ones.
The price of a low-grade refining furnace typically ranged around 500 spirit stones, which explained why cultivating a refining master was rumored to be extremely resource-intensive.
Just this single low-grade refining furnace was beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators.
While Song Wen's furnace was second-hand, he estimated its value to be between 120 and 150 spirit stones.
Although shops aimed to profit by buying low and selling high, the price of 50 spirit stones was far lower than Song Wen had expected.
"Your offer is too low. Can you increase it?" Song Wen asked.
The attendant smiled, "Sir, you may not know, but our shop buys items regardless of their origin. Once it enters our shop, any potential troubles associated with this refining furnace can be resolved. Hence, the price naturally reflects this."
Song Wen couldn't help feeling dumbfounded. Clearly, the attendant mistook him for someone selling off someone else's goods.
It wasn't surprising, though. Song Wen's cultivation was only at the late stage of Qi Refining, indicating he was a newcomer. This refining furnace couldn't possibly belong to him.
"A mistake on your part. There's absolutely no problem with the origin of this refining furnace," Song Wen asserted.
Taking back the refining furnace, Song Wen turned and walked towards the exit of the shop. If this shop couldn't sell it, there were others.
Seeing Song Wen leave decisively, the attendant grew anxious and quickly called out, "80 spirit stones?"
Seeing Song Wen nearing the shop's door without any sign of turning back, the attendant felt a bit uneasy. Could he have misjudged the origin of this furnace?
Song Wen continued walking without looking back. He had already stepped out of the shop and onto the outer street, scanning around for another suitable shop to sell to.
The attendant hurriedly followed outside the shop and said to Song Wen, "This is the highest price I can offer. Even if there are no issues with the origin of this furnace, you won't find a higher price elsewhere."
Song Wen smiled faintly and turned to the attendant, saying, "Alright, deal."
Song Wen handed over the furnace to the attendant.
He knew that if he were to set up a stall in the market to sell the furnace himself, he might fetch a higher price. However, setting up a stall required a daily fee of five spirit stones, and a refining furnace wasn't something ordinary people bought. Only those aspiring to become refining masters would consider buying it.
If Song Wen were to sell it himself, who knows how long it would take to find a buyer.
The attendant's offer of 180 spirit stones had exceeded Song Wen's initial expectations.