Cultivation: I can see the proficiency level

Inside a private room at Baiyaolou.

The shopkeeper and Wang Mian took their seats. After a few pleasantries, Wang Mian lost patience and cut straight to the point: "Shopkeeper, did you send a message today? Is there any news about the Stone Spirit Milk?"

This Hundred Herbs Pavilion is already the largest herb shop in Qiulong City, but after inquiring for several months, they still couldn't find the herb that Wang Mian needed.

After staying for several months without achieving his goal, he had already decided to leave.

"That's right," the shopkeeper replied. "Fellow Daoist, after much inquiry, although we haven't found the elixir itself, we have found clues about it."

For Wang Mian, these words were like the sun breaking through the clouds.

Having waited anxiously in Dragon City for months, even news of a miraculous medicine was extremely important to him.

"Please inform us, shopkeeper." Wang Mian pushed a small bag of spirit stones over. This was one of the rules in the cultivation world: any information, unless it was given away for free, had a price.

The shopkeeper discreetly put away the spirit stones, then took out a leather topographical map, spread it out, and pointed to a location on the map.

The three characters "人肠洞" (Ren Chang Dong, meaning "human intestine cave") are very eye-catching.

"This place is the 'Celebrity Intestine Cave,' and there are rumors that it contains a hundred-year-old stone spirit milk," the shopkeeper said solemnly. "However, the cave is occupied by tens of thousands of ghost-faced bats, which, although low-grade demonic beasts, are numerous."

Only after explaining the implications did he push the map to Wang Mian.

Seeing that Wang Mian showed no fear and was only looking at the map carefully, the shopkeeper spoke again: "In the early years, someone took the Hundred-Year Stone Spirit Milk from inside, and after that, many cultivators died, so few people entered this cave."

Wang Mian understood that places where spiritual creatures grow are often occupied by demonic beasts, and this was a mutually reinforcing relationship.

Having this news is better than being a headless fly.

"Thank you, shopkeeper!" Wang Mian did not linger and simply got up to take his leave. The shopkeeper got up to see him off, watching him walk out of the Hundred Medicines Pavilion, his eyes flickering slightly.

Only after the person had walked quite a distance did he take out a communication talisman, whisper a few words, and then put the talisman away.

On the other side.

Wang Mian then entered an old shop that sold all kinds of offensive and defensive magical artifacts and puppets. As soon as he entered, Wang Mian was attracted by the dazzling array of magical artifacts and puppets.

The display cases mainly contain low-grade Buddhist artifacts, with few mid-grade ones and even fewer high-grade ones. They come in all shapes and sizes and are quite diverse.

After explaining his purpose, Wang Mian was led into a soundproof private room. Without much conversation, he took out a large pile of storage bags and asked the shopkeeper to appraise them.

Upon seeing such a large number of storage bags, the shopkeeper couldn't help but scrutinize Wang Mian a few more times, making many guesses. Only after inspecting each storage bag did he quote the price.

After keeping the largest of the more than ten storage bags, Wang Mian sold them all, earning a total of over seven hundred spirit stones.

"Shopkeeper, take another look at the value of these magical artifacts." Wang Mian then poured out another large pile of magical artifacts.

Apart from that top-grade magic artifact, Wang Mian sold all his protective magic artifacts, leaving him with none of them.

There were more than twenty different kinds of ritual implements, piled up like a junk, which made the shopkeeper look on in surprise.

"Fellow Daoist, please have a seat and allow me to examine it."

The long-established shop had a good reputation and many customers. He had rarely seen a cultivator like Wang Mian who would give away more than twenty magical artifacts and more than ten storage bags.

How many cultivators did they abduct?

Without making a sound, they examined his magical artifacts. There were eleven offensive magical artifacts and fifteen protective magical artifacts, all of which were of medium quality, and some of them were of superior quality.

After a moment's hesitation, the shopkeeper finally spoke, "How about ten thousand spirit stones?"

A mid-grade magic weapon costs three to five hundred spirit stones, with defensive magic weapons being slightly more expensive. Offering such a price for recycling magic weapons is extremely fair.

The shopkeeper was unwilling to offend this vicious man.

Someone capable of killing so many mid-stage and even late-stage Qi Refining cultivators must not be a good person. They are probably not the only one in front of you. If you offend them even slightly and they target you, you will face a lot of trouble later.

"Can."

After calculating silently, Wang Mian accepted the price.

He then asked the shopkeeper to bring out the catalog of magical artifacts, preparing to purchase new ones. The enemy was always strong; even his magical artifact had been cut in two before, which made Wang Mian want to replace it.

After searching around this Dragon City for a long time, I finally chose this Craftsman's Pavilion. It has an excellent reputation, and its owner is a top-grade weapon refiner with a very strong background. Its magical artifacts are outstanding.

"Shopkeeper, don't bring out such ordinary goods to offend my eyes. What I want are exquisite magical artifacts." After flipping through a few pages, Wang Mian turned the pages faster and faster, and finally closed the album.

These were all ordinary magical artifacts, not the exquisite ones he needed. What he wanted to buy were the magical artifacts crafted by the master craftsman.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper understood.

After apologizing, he immediately took out another thin picture book, which was more exquisite than the thick one he had just seen.

"The finest magical artifacts in the pavilion range from low-grade to high-grade. The high-grade artifacts are all crafted by the pavilion master, while the low-grade and mid-grade artifacts are made by the pavilion's artificers," the shopkeeper explained.

Fellow Daoist is very wealthy; he is worthy of fine ritual implements.

After completing a big deal worth over ten thousand spirit stones, one can purchase a few exquisite magic artifacts to take home and also recoup some spirit stones. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?

He refilled the spirit tea cup and lit a new calming incense: "Fellow Daoist, please take your time reading. If you are hungry, I will send someone to Xiaoyao Residence to buy some spirit food and spirit wine."

This attitude made the usually composed Wang Mian chuckle inwardly.

He immediately shook his head and continued looking at the picture book.

The catalogue contains only about twenty high-quality ritual implements, each with a vivid illustration, complete explanations of their effects, and descriptions of their materials, before the price is listed.

Ordinary high-grade magic artifacts are priced between seven hundred and one thousand spirit stones, while the exquisite magic artifacts crafted by high-grade magic artifact refiners are all priced above one thousand spirit stones.

He has no intention of purchasing low- to mid-grade magical artifacts today; he will only purchase high-grade ones.

"Shopkeeper, why is this sword case so expensive?" Wang Mian asked, pointing to one of the designs. "Five thousand spirit stones? Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would probably only pay that much, right?"

Even the finest high-grade magic artifacts used in the Qi Refining stage cost less than 1,500 spirit stones, and their power is immense enough to bridge the gap between a cultivator at the half-level and the first level.

More of those are magical artifacts that only Foundation Establishment cultivators can access, crafted by second-tier artifact refiners, and are divided into natal magical artifacts and auxiliary magical artifacts.

A magic weapon costing thousands or even tens of thousands of spirit stones is something that cultivators in the Qi Refining stage dare not even dream of. Even if they obtained it, the magical power of a cultivator in the Qi Refining stage would not be sufficient to control such a magic weapon.

A single strike, or even a half-strike, can drain a person of their magical power.

"Fellow Daoist, this Five Elements Sword Box is the treasure of my Craftsmanship Pavilion. It was forged by the Pavilion Master using Five Elements Iron. It is no exaggeration to call it a top-grade magic weapon."

"The Five Elements Iron is the basic spiritual material for Foundation Establishment cultivators to forge their natal magic weapons. Even if this sword box is used to the Foundation Establishment stage, adding some spiritual materials to it and refining it will make it a Foundation Establishment natal magic weapon."

"This sword box has the ability to nurture swords. If it is paired with a high-grade magic sword made of Five Elements Iron, it will form a sword array on its own when activated, which can rival the late stage of Qi Refining."

"Furthermore, it comes with a sword control technique, which is already quite expensive. That's why I dared to buy such a large amount of spirit stones."

The shopkeeper explained the price of the ritual implements clearly.

He couldn't help but sigh, this fellow Daoist had a discerning eye; he had taken a liking to this treasure of the pavilion at a glance. This magical artifact was indeed as he had said, with many benefits, immense power, and suitable for long-term use.

It's not without its flaws, otherwise it wouldn't have been sitting unsold for so long. The price is extremely high, the sword-wielding technique is difficult to master, and the consumption is enormous.

"Send a top-grade magic sword?" Wang Mian asked.

The shopkeeper nodded: "I'll give you five thousand spirit stones. Five top-grade magic weapons of the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—are all masterpieces. Fellow Daoist, this is already the price after the discount. This Five Elements Sword Box was originally priced at seven thousand spirit stones."

This is the pinnacle of the Pavilion Master's weapon-forging career.

I once thought that I could sell it to the core disciples of the immortal race after it was made, but in the end no one was interested. This magic weapon was extremely expensive and a painstaking work. It was left unfinished for a long time before the price was lowered.

Having finally found a customer with plenty of spirit stones, the shopkeeper naturally wanted to sell them.

Wang Mian tapped the table, lost in thought, without answering the shopkeeper's question.

He undoubtedly loved the Five Elements Sword Box. This magical artifact not only had a sword formation but also the ability to nurture swords. With all five magical artifacts appearing together, plus his own sword energy, it was likely that even someone at the seventh level of Qi Refining could contend with it.

It can be used for a long time without needing to replace the ritual implements.

It's good.

It's expensive!