Translator: Cinder Translations
"Oh! You're looking for a middle-grade artifact?"
The woman cast a flirtatious glance over Song Wen, evaluating him. He appeared ordinary, a nondescript disciple from some obscure sect, apart from his cautious demeanor, nothing remarkable about him.
Yet, it was this ordinary outer sect disciple who managed to resist her charm, which was truly surprising.
The woman became slightly curious about Song Wen.
Pointing to a nearby counter, she said, "Here are the middle-grade artifacts. Let me introduce each one to you..."
"How much for this small shield?" After the woman's brief introduction, Song Wen pointed to a one-inch-sized shield.
The shield was entirely black, with a vividly carved ghost head on its front. The carving was lifelike, almost as if a terrifying ghost creature lay poised to burst out and devour its target.
The woman smiled enchantingly, full of allure.
"Senior has a sharp eye. This Ghost Head Shield is crafted from Yin Spring Stone combined with over a dozen precious materials, indestructible. It also contains a seal of a fifth layer Qi Refining ghost creature inside, capable of combatting ghosts, combining offense and defense. It's priced at 200 spirit stones."
Facing the woman's quoted price, Song Wen was somewhat surprised. Instead of being expensive, he found it surprisingly affordable.
Generally, middle-grade artifacts would sell for two to three hundred spirit stones. Defensive artifacts usually commanded higher prices, typically above 300 spirit stones for a middle-grade defensive artifact.
This small shield also contained a sealed ghost creature inside, which should increase its value.
Though surprised at the seemingly low price of the Ghost Head Shield, Song Wen did not voice his doubts. Right now, he just wanted to complete the transaction quickly without disturbing the woman further and leave this shop.
"150 spirit stones." Despite the low price, bargaining was still necessary.
"Senior, our store operates on thin margins. We don't negotiate prices," the woman replied.
"160 spirit stones," Song Wen continued bargaining.
After a brief negotiation, Song Wen eventually paid 180 spirit stones to purchase the Ghost Head Shield.
After securing the shield, Song Wen wasted no time and left the shop directly, disappearing into the bustling crowd in an instant.
"Ho, come out, Xiao He."
The woman's face instantly turned serious, shouting sternly towards the backyard of the shop.
A moment later, a young girl in her twenties came out.
"Miss, did you call for me?"
The Miss spoke coldly, "Didn't I tell you? When I'm practicing charm techniques on customers in the store, don't disturb me. Why did you keep messaging me just now?"
Xiao He was about to explain, but before she could speak, the Miss continued.
"Today is really unlucky. I didn't expect even a third layer Qi Refining cultivator could resist my charm."
The Miss's tone contained a deep sense of resentment, as if Song Wen had behaved like a scoundrel who toyed with her feelings.
Knowing her Miss's temperament well, Xiao He quickly agreed, "Just now, that man is probably impotent, or maybe he's celibate. Otherwise, how could he resist Miss's charm?"
The Miss gave Xiao He a disdainful look and said, "Don't speak nonsense. That man either possesses a rare artifact that resists mental attacks, or he has cultivated techniques that strengthen his soul or stabilize his sea of consciousness."
Upon hearing this, Xiao He's eyes lit up.
An artifact that resists mental attacks! Or techniques that strengthen the soul!
Both of these things were rare and precious in the cultivation world.
Xiao He made a throat-slitting gesture, lowering her voice, "Miss, should we..."
Song Wen only displayed the cultivation of the third layer of Qi Refining. It would be effortless to intercept the other party.
However, the Miss shook her head and said, "Violence is prohibited within the district. Moreover, he exudes a strong corpse aura; he should be a disciple of the Corpse Demon Sect. Once he leaves the district, he'll likely be escorted back to his sect. We won't have a chance to act against him."
After a brief silence, the Miss seemed to recall something and said to Xiao He, "By the way, you haven't explained why you kept messaging me multiple times just now?"
While Song Wen was in the shop, Xiao He had tried to message her several times, but each time, the Miss had forcefully interrupted her.
Xiao He explained, "Miss, I was trying to tell you that you sold the Ghost Head Shield too cheaply. Its cost is 200 spirit stones, and its market price is 400 spirit stones."
"Oh! Why didn't you say so earlier!"
The Miss hurriedly ran out of the shop to look for Song Wen's figure.
However, she couldn't find Song Wen anywhere; he had already disappeared without a trace.
"Damn it, this deal is a loss again." The Miss muttered to herself in frustration.
"Miss, shall we find another place to practice charm techniques? If this continues, we'll soon exhaust our funds."
It turned out that both of them were employees in this shop, responsible for selling artifacts.
Initially, they thought that with the Miss's charm techniques, they could make male cultivators infatuated and willing to pay high prices for artifacts. It seemed like a win-win situation.
However, it turned out that the Miss seemed to have a poor memory and kept mispricing the artifacts, always selling them at low prices.
In just three days, they had already lost several hundred spirit stones.
"Where else can I practice charm techniques?" the Miss asked.
"The red-light district!"
The Miss frowned slightly, seemingly pondering. "The red-light district? But I'm not ready yet."
"Ah! Miss, women are bound to be suppressed by men sooner or later. What's the difference between being suppressed by one person or by thousands?"
Song Wen entered a cultivator's restaurant and removed his disguise in the back hall. After drinking two cups of spirit wine inside the restaurant, making sure no one was following him, he then left the restaurant.
Next, Song Wen strolled around various stalls.
Although most items on the street stalls were relatively inferior, occasionally, some peculiar items could be found.
Since he was out on a mission from his sect, he needed to be prepared with some means.
After a round, Song Wen realized he was overthinking.
While there were indeed rare items on the street stalls, the probability of him coincidentally encountering what he needed was too low.
"Senior Brother Xu, do you have something extremely powerful here?"
Since he didn't find what he wanted at various stalls, Song Wen decided to ask directly when he saw a familiar stall owner.
This Senior Brother Xu was an outer sect disciple at the late stage of Qi Refining. He often mingled with wandering cultivators and had broad knowledge, far beyond what a disciple like Song Wen, who usually stayed within the sect, could compare to.
Song Wen had bought corpse qi from him several times before, and gradually, they had developed a nodding acquaintance.
Senior Brother Xu glanced up at Song Wen, a hint of a smile on his face.
"Oh, it's Junior Brother Ji Yin. When you say 'extremely powerful,' are you referring to something that threatens cultivators at least up to the late stage of Qi Refining, or even the peak of Qi Refining?"
"I'm looking for something that can threaten cultivators at least up to the late stage of Qi Refining, or even the peak of Qi Refining," Song Wen replied.
"I do have something that meets your requirements, Junior Brother, but..."
Senior Brother Xu's words were somewhat ambiguous. After a moment of contemplation, he continued, "Why don't you take a look for yourself?"