BookMe Chapter 321 - 259: Purchasing Demon Artifacts
Chapter 321 - 259: Purchasing Demon Artifacts
"Watch the ship. I’ll be back in two or three days."
Fang Qingyuan gave his instructions to Tuoba Ye, then left the Changqing and flew toward Five Finger Peak.
After Fang Qingyuan left, Tuoba Ye called to the others and they steered the Changqing toward a berth in the local harbor. When they arrived at the dock, they saw it was already crowded with all sorts of vessels.
The vast ocean was boundless. It was better to travel by sea vessel. Otherwise, if one relied solely on their own Spiritual Power to fly a Spiritual Boat and ran out, they would easily become a target for sea beasts.
After all, to a sea beast, the flesh of a Cultivator brimming with Spiritual Power was no different from a Miracle Elixir.
Fang Qingyuan altered his appearance, transforming into a burly, imposing man. His aura also changed, taking on the domineering sharpness of a Gold Attribute Spirit Root, making him seem highly aggressive.
With the Five Elements Undying Body, changing his appearance for a short time was a simple trick for him.
The truly difficult thing for a Cultivator to change was the signature of their Magical Power. The Cultivation Technique one practiced and one’s personality would both affect this signature.
It could be said that in the Cultivation Realm, a Cultivator’s unique Magical Power signature was their only true identifier. Techniques that could only change one’s physical appearance could only fool Cultivators of a lower realm. A Cultivator of a higher realm could see through such a disguise at a glance.
Fang Qingyuan’s current disguise worked by infinitely amplifying his Metal Spirit Root. While it couldn’t completely escape his original characteristics, it was enough to fool Cultivators who didn’t specialize in this particular field.
Donning a conical hat that concealed his aura, Fang Qingyuan silently entered the mountain. A moment later, two men in black came forward to receive him.
Fang Qingyuan took out the Black Market token he had received from Shen Wan Jun and showed it to the men. He was then led to the entrance of a long corridor.
After traversing the long corridor, when he saw light again, Fang Qingyuan found himself in a small, cramped room.
"Please wait a moment, sir. The auction will not begin for another day. If you have any needs in the meantime, you may call on me at any time."
Fang Qingyuan spoke in a raspy voice to the Qi Refining Cultivator in black before him.
"Are you still accepting goods for sale?"
The man in black bowed and affirmed.
"Of course we are. What goods would you like to sell, sir?"
One good thing about this Black Market was that they didn’t ask about the origin of the goods. As long as the items were authentic, they couldn’t be bothered to investigate whether they were stolen or seized.
"Eight bottles of Blood Life Pills!"
As Fang Qingyuan spoke calmly, the man in black visibly flinched. He then tried his best to remain composed and said.
"My apologies, sir, but I am not authorized to handle this matter. I need to report it to my superiors. Please wait a moment."
"Go on, then. Don’t keep this old man waiting."
...
A moment later, a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator in black hurried over. He invited Fang Qingyuan to a more spacious room and immediately got straight to the point.
"Eight bottles of Blood Life Pills. Fellow Daoist, would you mind taking them out for me to inspect?"
"Of course. Please, take a look, Fellow Daoist."
Fang Qingyuan took the eight bottles of Blood Life Pills from his storage bag and pushed them toward the man in black.
The man picked up one bottle, uncorked it, carefully tipped out a single pill, and began to inspect it using various methods.
An hour later, every single pill in the eight bottles had been inspected and authenticated.
Only then did the man in black ask.
"These aren’t ordinary Blood Life Pills, are they? They don’t have such a strong bloody scent. Could they be High-quality Blood Life Pills?"
Among Elixir Pills, there was a concept of "high-quality." When a Pill Master had an exceptionally good feel for the process during refinement, it was possible to create high-quality pills with medicinal efficacy 30 to 50 percent purer than ordinary ones.
The main ingredient for these Blood Life Pills had been replaced by Fang Qingyuan with the Longevity Vine. The finished products were naturally superior to those made from the original Profound Cyan Bloodthirsty Vine.
Fang Qingyuan simply nodded in response to the man’s speculation. ’There’s no need for me to explain anything else. As long as the items are real, that’s all that matters.’
Seeing Fang Qingyuan’s confirmation, the man in black stated his terms directly.
"There are two options. First, you can sell these Elixir Pills directly to us. We are willing to offer two hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones per bottle.
The second option is to consign them for auction. We will take a ten percent commission."
Without a second thought, Fang Qingyuan said.
"The second option. Put them in tomorrow’s auction. There’s no need to generate hype beforehand."
The man in black looked a bit regretful. If he’d had a month’s notice for this batch of pills, he could have attracted most of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the Iron Wind Islands.
But the owner insisted, so he could only comply. After accepting the eight bottles of pills, he left a corresponding security token and departed in a hurry.
After the man left, Fang Qingyuan’s expression soured slightly. ’I sold that bottle of authenticated Blood Life Pills at a loss.’
...
"A Second-Order Top-grade Demon Artifact! Starting price is thirty Top-grade Spirit Stones, with a minimum increment of one. Bidding starts now!"
As the auctioneer on stage shouted, Fang Qingyuan called out loudly.
"Thirty-one!"
’I’ve learned my lesson this time. I’ll only increase the bid by one stone. The situation where I jumped the bid by five at once probably won’t happen again.’
However, the price Fang Qingyuan offered was quickly surpassed. After about a dozen breaths, the price of this Second-Order Top-grade Demon Artifact had been driven up to forty-seven stones.
At this price, the number of bidders dwindled. Every single Top-grade Spirit Stone was hard-earned, and even Demon Cultivators had to worry about money.
"Fifty!"
After Fang Qingyuan called out this price, all other voices in the hall fell silent. A Foundation Establishment Cultivator wearing a cloak stared coldly at Fang Qingyuan for a few moments before finally saying nothing.
This was the same Cultivator who had bid forty-seven Top-grade Spirit Stones. It seemed he genuinely wanted this Demon Artifact. However, the Longevity Vine in Fang Qingyuan’s Immortal Mansion was waiting to be fed with Demonic Qi. Fang Qingyuan couldn’t be bothered with someone else’s feelings.
As the next item was being auctioned, one of the men in black delivered the Demon Artifact to Fang Qingyuan.
Fang Qingyuan accepted it and casually tossed it into his storage bag as if it were an ordinary Magical Artifact, giving no indication that he had just spent fifty Top-grade Spirit Stones to acquire it.
After payment was settled, the man in black smiled and retreated, while Fang Qingyuan turned his attention to the next auction item.
Four or five items later, another Second-Order Top-grade Demon Artifact appeared. The probability of Demon Artifacts appearing in this overseas Black Market was much higher than in White Mountain or the Southern Border.
’It’s probably because one can slaughter living beings out here. Demonic Dao Magical Artifacts grow stronger the more they kill, making them quite popular.’
But as a result, the owners of Demonic Dao Magical Artifacts also changed frequently. After all, those who kill will eventually be killed. Some Cultivators didn’t even live as long as mortals.
This led to Demonic Dao Magical Artifacts frequently appearing on the Black Market. A Demon Artifact that hadn’t passed through the hands of four or five owners couldn’t be considered a proper Demon Artifact.
Naturally, Fang Qingyuan wouldn’t give up on this second Demon Artifact. The total amount of Demonic Qi contained within a single Second-Order Top-grade Demon Artifact was comparable to over a thousand jin of Demon Summoning Soil—or in some cases, as much as three thousand jin.
So in Fang Qingyuan’s eyes, this Demon Artifact wasn’t some astonishingly powerful weapon of mass slaughter. It was drop after drop of Life Source Liquid, and pill after pill of Blood Life Pill.
"Sixty Top-grade Spirit Stones!"
Fang Qingyuan once again won the Demon Artifact with a bid one-fifth higher than the market price. After he stored this Demon Artifact in his bag, the gaze of the Foundation Establishment Cultivator who kept losing to him grew even colder.
However, it was too early for him to be giving such cold glares, because Fang Qingyuan bought up the next four Demon Artifacts as well.
Finally, it was time for Fang Qingyuan’s Blood Life Pills to be auctioned, but by this point, he had lost all interest.
Half a day later, Fang Qingyuan slipped away from the Black Market, carrying six Demonic Magical Artifacts, two third-order low-grade Fire Attribute Spiritual Materials, and the one thousand five hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones he had earned.
Once outside Five Finger Peak, Fang Qingyuan didn’t go directly to the Changqing to meet Tuoba Ye. Instead, he picked a direction and began to fly away at high speed.
Five hundred li later, over a desolate stretch of sea, Fang Qingyuan suddenly sneered.
"After five hundred li, even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator would have consumed nearly half their Magical Power. Fellow Daoist, how much longer are you going to follow me?"
As Fang Qingyuan’s voice faded, the figure of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator appeared thirty li away. He slowly flew up beside Fang Qingyuan, his eyes like ice.