Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

Those who know this are familiar with Qianji Pavilion, but those who don't might mistake it for a trading market in Chaotiandu.

"Is there really a way to solve the problem of carrying the Thunder Hammer around in this place?" Looking at the messy Thousand Machine Pavilion, Ning Xiu suddenly had a big question in his mind.

"Silver Scale Breastplate, five taels of gold per piece, limited quantity, first come first served."

"The Azure Sea Spirit Pearl, extracted from the body of a clam maiden, is extremely rare. Bring your price to discuss."

"A half-finished book, its pages have a unique fragrance, its origin is unknown, worth one hundred taels of silver."

Ren Qianxing did not tell Ning Xiu that Qianji Pavilion was the largest trading market for extraordinary people and eccentrics within the Demon Subduing Division.

Any cultivator belonging to the Demon Subduing Division will come here to sell or buy goods; some of these are genuine treasures, while others are just money-grabbing gimmicks.

Whether you can find a real gem in the stall area depends entirely on your knowledge and discerning eye.

Ning Xiu carried a large hammer as he passed by, and the sight instantly attracted many cultivators, both openly and secretly, who all scrutinized this extraordinary-looking young man.

Among them were many discerning individuals who immediately recognized the identity of the golden hammer on Ning Xiu's shoulder.

"He died in an accident ten years ago while traveling. The Thunder Hammer of a Rank 3 Immortal Purple Thunder True Man, good heavens! This is a great treasure."

"Who is this kid? He looks unfamiliar. I've never seen him in the Demon Extermination Bureau before."

"I actually obtained the Thunderclap Blade, but I don't know why there's only one, and the Purple Lightning Blade is nowhere to be seen."

Ning Xiu couldn't hear the whispers of these people; he walked along, glancing around as he went.

He wanted to find out where the solution to the problem of carrying things around that Ren Qianxing had told him was.

At this moment, a stall not far away caught Ning Xiu's attention.

This stall doesn't sell anything else, only two cushions. Ning Xiu walked closer and saw a muscular, bald man sitting on the left cushion, wearing only a loincloth.

The person on the right is a pretty woman with two small white horns on her forehead.

When Ning Xiu saw the woman with horns, he was taken aback. The Thousand Machine Pavilion sold demonic creatures? Wasn't that against the regulations of the Demon Subduing Division?

Perhaps the stall owner guessed Ning Xiu's thoughts from his expression, and immediately spoke up to explain: "Young man, he is not a demon, but a half-human."

A half-human is a offspring that may be produced when a demon and a human unite.

Its appearance is clearly that of a half-human, half-demon, with some very obvious demonic characteristics.

Unlike demons, they are completely human in terms of body, except for some parts that resemble demons.

"Aren't they considered a threat or potential danger? Why are they locked up and sold?" Ning Xiu asked, puzzled.

“Young brother, half-humans are no different from humans. They receive normal guidance and grow up from childhood. Except for certain minor characteristics, they are human. According to the rules, they can be bought and sold, and their status is the same as that of maids and servants. In fact, half-humans are also pitiful people. Their mothers were insulted by demons, and it was not their intention to be born with these characteristics. We should give such people a way to live.”

Since this rule existed, Ning Xiu didn't press the matter further.

Seeing him carrying a hammer, the stall owner said, "Young man, this weapon of yours must be quite heavy. It must be tiring to carry it by yourself all the time. I suggest you buy this strong man and use him as a servant. That way, when you go out, you can hand the weapon to the servant to carry, thus freeing up your hands. Wouldn't that be much easier?"

Having a servant is a common practice among martial artists; it involves hiring a strong and capable person to help carry your weapons.

When battle occurs, weapons are taken from the servants to fight.

This is somewhat similar to the story of Zhou Cang carrying Guan Yu's sword and leading his horse.

However, Ning Xiu was not very accepting of this method, since having a grown person by his side made movement somewhat inconvenient.

Moreover, his Thunder Hammer weighed 320 jin, which was not something an ordinary person could lift.

However, the suggestion of serving as a servant did provide Ning Xiu with some ideas.

Why not ask a puppeteer for help to create a puppet that can house the Thunder Hammer?

Just like Ren Qianxing's two puppets, they always followed him.

When needed, open the puppet's body and take out the Thunder Hammer.

When not in use, the Thunder Hammer is stored back inside the puppet.

Wouldn't that make things more comfortable?

There are three thousand great paths, each with its own way of storing things. No one has stipulated that martial arts cannot rely on the help of puppetry.

With this in mind, Ning Xiu immediately began searching for puppet shops in the area.

【029】Custom-made puppet worth one thousand taels

Those who can open shops in Qianji Pavilion are mostly extraordinary people.

According to the regulations of the Demon Subduing Bureau, only those who have reached the sixth rank or above in a certain field can apply for the qualification to open a shop in the Thousand Machine Pavilion.

In other words, if you want to open a medicine shop, you need to be at least a sixth-grade physician.

If you want to open a weapons and armor shop, you need to be at least a sixth-grade weapon casting expert.

Similarly, the shopkeeper who runs a puppet shop is also like this; in the vast world of martial arts, the puppet path is actually not considered an unpopular one.

Wooden oxen and flowing horses were often used to help with farming and transporting goods; these things were made by puppeteers.

Speaking of the Puppet Path, it is actually a relatively new path, originating from the Carpenter's Path.

Later generations took a different approach, specializing in the field of puppetry, and in just over three hundred years they achieved a new era, establishing their own unique style and foundation.

This allowed the Puppet Way to completely break free from the Carpenter Way and finally develop its own schools and cultivation methods.

In the past, puppeteers needed to use mediums such as iron wire and copper wire to control the puppets' movements, but nowadays, the ways to control puppets have become increasingly diverse and endless.

Therefore, many puppets existed as commodities and circulated among the people, becoming helpers in their daily work.

After wandering aimlessly around the Thousand Machines Pavilion, Ning Xiu finally found a very deserted puppet shop.

When he entered the store, no employee came to greet him. Instead, a woman sitting behind the counter was busy with something.

He didn't even lift his head, not even glancing at himself.

Ning Xiu was curious, so he immediately went over to see what this person was doing.

The woman looked to be in her late twenties, with her hair casually tied in a braid and draped over her shoulder.

Looking down from above, Ning Xiu saw that the woman had a high nose bridge, cool eyes, and extremely delicate features. She was a naturally aloof beauty.

She kept changing tools and fiddling with a three-foot-tall wooden figure on the table. Slowly, without the woman using any special methods, the little wooden figure began to dance on the table on its own.

The woman smiled knowingly; even making such an insignificant little thing brought her genuine joy.

"This must be the spirit of craftsmanship," Ning Xiu thought to himself.

Seeing that the other person had stopped working, Ning Xiu asked, "Are you the manager of this shop?"

The woman looked up at him and nodded: "That's right, my name is Nie Ying. What would you like to buy, sir?"

"Here's the thing, I'd like to ask you to customize a puppet that can be housed inside my Wengjin hammer. The puppet needs to be durable, fast, easy to control, and lifelike."

Ning Xiu raised the Thunder Hammer in his hand and then stated his requirements for the custom-made puppet.

Nie Ying remained calm and showed no surprise. After hearing Ning Xiu's request, she took a soft ruler and walked out from behind the counter.

They began measuring Ning Xiu's Thunder Hammer with great professionalism.

"How heavy is your weapon?"

"Three hundred and twenty jin exactly."

After measuring all the dimensions of the Thunder Hammer, Nie Ying put away the measuring tape and asked, "Making a custom puppet isn't too difficult, and the price is usually not too high. However, two of your requirements involve custom materials, which require expensive materials. Otherwise, it won't meet your requirements for durability and speed. Can you accept that?"

Ning Xiu asked, "Approximately how much silver is needed?"

"To be conservative, at least one hundred taels of gold." Nie Ying thought for a moment, and finally held up three slender fingers.

Upon hearing the other party's offer, Ning Xiu almost choked up on the spot.

Huang You bought the Thunder Hammer for four thousand taels of silver.

In the exchange and measurement system of the Shang Dynasty, one tael of gold was equal to ten taels of silver.

I was planning to get a sheath for my Thunder Hammer, but it would cost me another thousand. This money is really easy to earn.

"Shopkeeper, is there any special feature to a puppet costing a thousand taels? Could you tell me about it so I can understand it better?" Ning Xiu said.

"Of course. I usually make puppets for others, mostly using wood as the material. It's cheap, lightweight, and durable. The main reason is that people use these puppets to move goods and carry cargo."

If used in battles against evil spirits or other people, they would usually break at the slightest touch. Therefore, puppeteers typically use mineral materials such as iron and bronze to create combat puppets.

However, this material has a drawback: it is not very fast. If you are in a hurry, it may even slow down your journey.

To address this situation, we puppeteers devised many solutions, namely, choosing special materials that are both lightweight and sturdy to make puppets.

But good things usually have one drawback: they're expensive. If you want a puppet that's both durable and fast, you absolutely have to spend more money.

The most commonly used special materials are the silver meteorite iron from Nanjiang Prefecture and the heavenly vine dragon wood from Daliang Prefecture. They are not afraid of fire or water and can withstand a force of about three thousand catties.

Both are excellent materials that are both light and strong, but the price reflects that; both are very expensive.

Nie Ying's explanation was very detailed, allowing Ning Xiu to fully understand why this custom-made puppet was worth a thousand taels.

After listening to what was said, Ning Xiu couldn't help but be tempted. If that were true, it would be a perfect container to store the Thunder Hammer on a daily basis.

However, Ning Xiu has only just joined the Demon Subduing Division and is currently somewhat short of money.

The only money he had was the three hundred taels of silver notes he had taken from the corpse of the three-faced demon.

Thinking of this, Ning Xiu asked, "Shopkeeper, may I pay you a deposit of three hundred taels first, and then pay you the remaining seven hundred taels after the puppet is completed?"

Nie Ying waved her hand: "Sure, then I'll start making it for you."

"Thank you for your trouble." Ning Xiu nodded, and after discussing his requirements for the puppet's appearance with Nie Ying in more detail, he left the shop.

Besides the three hundred taels of silver notes, he also obtained two bottles of unknown pills and three skull-shaped throwing knives from the three-faced demon.

Ning Xiu had been thinking about selling all these things, but he hadn't had the chance to do so.

Ning Xiu had a rare free time today, and being in a trading place like the Thousand Machines Pavilion, he naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity.

When the Demon Slayer goes out on investigation missions, in addition to encountering evil spirits, it is also common for him to find demons and fight with them.

The items looted from the demons were either used by the demons themselves or sold to the Thousand Machine Pavilion for some silver.

Ning Xiu wanted to sell pills first, so he went into a pill shop on the same street.

The business here is much more lively than Nie Ying's puppet shop. The shop is filled with a fragrant aroma of spices, making people want to sniff it several times.