Chapter 23: There Are Two Suns in the Sky

The work of receiving customers in front of Hua Feng Ju wasn't difficult either; Master Master Hongmei had hired the necessary staff.

But outsiders could never truly be one's own; Master Master Hongmei couldn't just take anyone as a disciple.

So Zhong Ningyao went to the back chamber to assist Master Master Hongmei, while Yulou was given the task of guarding the shop.

Thanks to the pre-promotion of the Red Lantern's Immortal Romance Double Eleven event, the number of cultivators in Qing Xi Fang surged to the point where many had to sleep on the streets, and thus Hua Feng Ju's customer count had also increased recently.

But still...

Yulou lay on his chair reading a cultivator's travelogue, and upon noticing newcomers, he glanced at them with the corner of his eye and knew at once they were merely here to broaden their horizons.

A low-quality artifact forged by a proper artificer, once it bore the three basic sealing arrays, cost at least forty spirit stones.

Forty spirit stones were, of course, insignificant compared to the "disciple fee" paid by Yulou and his brother, and paled beside the Mirror Silver Thread Shield.

Yet even this small amount, many free cultivators couldn't afford.

In battle, they often relied on simple spells, basic talismans, and ordinary weapons infused with spiritual materials—so they wouldn't lose money.

Yes, they wouldn't lose.

Due to the poverty of free cultivators, many were so destitute that even if squeezed dry, they couldn't scrape together fifty spirit stones.

If the talismans used in battle were too expensive, even after looting the battlefield, they'd still end up in the red.

"Hey, how much is your cheapest artifact?"

A middle-aged free cultivator asked.

"Eighty spirit stones—for a flying sword, forged from ninth-rank Han Bin Iron and ninth-rank Bai Yu Wood. Want to take a look?"

The shop assistant hawked Master Master Hongmei's monkey-version "flying sword."

"A flying sword made of Han Bin Iron and Bai Yu Wood? Only eighty spirit stones?"

The middle-aged free cultivator's eyes lit up instantly, urging the assistant to bring it out for him to see.

The assistant glanced at Yulou; Yulou rose and retrieved Master Master Hongmei's monkey-version flying sword from the cabinet.

But when he opened the box and saw the flying sword, even Yulou's composure was shaken.

At the Ghost Market auction, Master Master Hongmei's monkey-version Han Bin Iron daggers still had a finger-sized blade and were somewhat worthwhile.

But this eighty-spirit-stone "flying sword" the assistant was hawking...

It was the "Monkey Version 2.0—Baby Monkey Edition," a further shrunken version of the Heavy Combined Brigade's Mountain Cat variant—a tricycle combined brigade.

The flying sword was no bigger than a pinky finger, and even that was split down the middle, leaving only half a pinky.

It wasn't a flying sword; it didn't even qualify as a flying dagger—best described as a thick "flying needle."

To embed all three basic sealing arrays into such a tiny space proved Master Master Hongmei's artificing mastery was truly extraordinary.

Yulou held the box and presented it to the free cultivator who had inquired.

"Look, it's small, yes, but it bears three sealing arrays, and its blade is genuinely forged from Han Bin Iron.

You know Han Bin Iron's properties—artifacts made from this spiritual iron hold massive advantages in battle; wooden artifacts, Cloth Techniques, and other inferior materials can't withstand its strikes."

The middle-aged free cultivator had roamed the Cultivation World for years; though at the bottom, he'd seen many fine artifacts wielded by others.

He stared at the "flying sword" in the box, fell silent for a long while, then looked up at Yulou.

Seeing Yulou, impossibly young, the free cultivator, who had wasted half his life still stuck in the Qi Gathering stage, felt a pang of melancholy.

He asked hopefully.

"Seventy-five spirit stones—can you do it?"

To him, this garbage among low-quality artifacts wasn't garbage.

It was a lowlife's supercar, a pauper's dream artifact.

It seemed ridiculous, but it truly bore three sealing arrays, and it truly was forged from Han Bin Iron!

"No haggling, cultivator—this artifact was forged by my master, Master Master Master Hongmei.

It's small, yes, but all low-quality artifacts are small; there are even smaller ones—but do they have Han Bin Iron?

And the sealing arrays my master embedded are far more practical than those of ordinary artificers.

Eighty spirit stones may sound expensive, but Han Bin Iron artifacts are rarely made into low-quality ones.

In fact, we've already sold several of these 'flying swords' in the past two days."

Han Bin Iron, Han Bin Iron, still Han Bin Iron!

Artifacts forged from this spiritual iron do have unique qualities—they slice through Cloth Techniques as easily as reaching into a pocket, and can even stand up to spiritual wood artifacts.

Zero functionality, but genuine cost-effectiveness in attack power!

Moreover, artificers pursue profit, yet also seek to hone their artificing skills; they usually forge Han Bin Iron into Mid-Quality Techniques, so low-quality Han Bin Iron artifacts rarely stay on the market long.

Even the Red Lantern's Merit Hall couldn't stock these monkey-version Han Bin Iron flying swords—they're too low-profit.

Only Master Master Hongmei, whose artificing mastery is extraordinary, still refuses to abandon these tiny scraps.

Staring at the "flying sword" in the wooden box, the middle-aged free cultivator gritted his teeth and said:

"Fine, eighty spirit stones—I'll pay you forty as a deposit; hold it for me.

The remaining forty, I'll get from the Red Lantern's Merit Hall when they arrive—I'll exchange merit for spirit stones and pay you the rest!"

Yulou hesitated, closed the box, and the middle-aged free cultivator turned away, disappointed.

He'd found an artifact he loved, one he could just barely afford—but...

Perhaps this was just life.

He thought so, and a bitter ache rose in his chest.

"Cultivator, wait!"

"I'll seal this box with wax for you—come back and claim it.

But we can only hold it for two months; longer isn't possible. Is that acceptable?"

Two months was calculated based on Hua Feng Ju's turnover rate.

Yulou was only Master Master Hongmei's disciple, not Master Master Hongmei's son; he couldn't casually borrow Master Master Hongmei's interests to play the generous one.

"Deal, deal!"

The rogue cultivator happily paid the deposit and left with the sale contract Yulou had drawn up.

He carefully tucked that thin sheet of paper into his robe, afraid it might suffer any mishap.

After half a lifetime of seeking immortality in vain, he was finally about to have a real magical artifact!

Yes, it was absurdly small, but low-grade artifacts were all small.

Yes, it only had three layers of prohibitions, but it could still be smoothly controlled with divine sense.

Yes, it looked laughable, but it could become a reliable companion and helper.

With it, from now on when traveling he could straighten his back just a little.

With it, from now on when fighting he would also have a 'trump card.'

With it, even if in the future I can't reach Qi Refining, I could still leave a treasure for my descendants.

The monkey-version flying sword wasn't perfect, but for the one who bought it, it was perfect.

Touching the protective spirit tool the clan leader had given him at his waist, Yulou could feel the spirit rhyme within quietly licking his palm.

Similar to Lin Lin Lin Lin Shijie's two spirit tools, this waist-belt spirit tool could actively shield him when Yulou encountered danger.

Between a scion and a rogue cultivator lay an impassable gulf.

Yulou was no immortal; in this sea of suffering shaped by great cultivators, he couldn't even ferry himself across, so how would he dare have any savior's heart to ferry others?

Between a scion and a rogue cultivator lay an impassable gulf.

Between Yulou and the Purple Mansion family's Jiang Baobian also lay an impassable gulf.

Between Jiang Baobian and the True Person Danri who was about to arrive also lay an impassable gulf.

The immortal road is long; one must forge ahead with determination!

The Dao path is full of hardship; one must keep a will as firm as iron and stone!

Having finished the emergency account-balancing task, Zhong Ningyao and the two Yulou brothers were no longer busy; she was now leading the brothers along the road to the Qing Xi Racecourse.

Horse betting, the most popular event in Qing Xi Fang, held once every ten days, and there happened to be one tonight.

"Gao Jian, Gao Jian—better rename him Cao Jian, loves treating human lives like grass; he's already beaten two so-called 'bandit cultivators' to death, he and his master are both beasts."

Zhong Ningyao was grumbling about Gao Jian's beastly behavior.

"Lin Lin Lin Lin Shijie, we shouldn't speak carelessly out here…"

Very satisfied with Wang Yuan's warning, Yulou felt that Uncle Rong Yuan's slaps had truly had an effect.

"You don't know, the refining fee Gao Jian gave my father was ten spirit stones per fireworks artifact.

That fireworks artifact was made of common iron, with only a fingernail-sized piece of purple copper added; he said refining one layer of activation prohibitions on the purple copper would do.

That surnamed Jiang used the tens of thousands of spirit stones of unity fees to crank out over a hundred pieces of this junk.

I bet over a hundred pieces added together didn't even cost five hundred spirit stones!"

Lin Lin Lin Lin Shijie Ningyao truly hated him; Jiang Baobian's greedy display was too ugly.

The unity fees paid by shops like Huafeng Residence had all been embezzled by these beasts.

In her view, Jiang Baobian deceived the Red Lantern above and hoodwinked the cultivators of Qing Xi Fang below—could she not even curse him for it?

"Mind your words, Lin Lin Lin Lin Shijie; these matters are beyond our control, so don't think about them—thinking only brings vexation."

Yulou said in a low voice.

"Why did it get a little brighter?"

Zhong Ningyao, whose cultivation was the highest, was the first to sense something was wrong.

It was clearly evening, the very time of the setting sun, yet the world between heaven and earth seemed to suddenly brighten.

Wang Yuan raised his head and looked at the sky.

"Why are there two suns in the sky?"

Twin suns hanging in the sky—Yulou and Zhong Ningyao were also stunned.

There were two suns in the sky.

One was an orange-red setting sun, the other a golden blazing sun.

Yulou felt his coccyx trembling; the shock in his neurons traveled from his coccyx all the way up and crashed into his brain, and he gave a start.

"Is this the Red Lantern?" Zhong Ningyao murmured.

Wang Yuan said nothing; seeing his big brother still in a daze, he smoothly shielded Fairy Ningyao in front of him first.

Then he quietly stood beside his big brother, and even felt with his hand the Thousand-Li Talisman on his leg and the Hundred-Li Free Escape Talisman in his sleeve.

If that second sun wasn't something the Red Lantern people had created, then run!

Take the dazed idiot Yulou and run together!

'When trouble comes, retreat behind the crowd; when there's gain, yield to fellow Daoists first… always keep a Thousand-Li Talisman on your leg, guard your whole body and preserve your immortal path!'

Family-rules boy, Wang Yuan, step out!