Chapter 18: Treasure Gathering Pavilion

Wang Ping left and first found an inn, then opened one by one the storage bags he had obtained from slaying the rogue cultivators, and checked their contents.

These storage bags were the cheapest kind, not as good as the ones issued by the sect, and could not hold much.

Besides the ones issued by the sect and the one given by Chiyanzi, he still had ten storage bags on him.

After checking them, Wang Ping couldn't help but feel disappointed; these rogue cultivators were indeed all paupers.

From the ten storage bags he obtained a total of 130 spirit stones, six low-grade magical artifacts, three damaged magical artifacts, three jade slips, and one black iron plaque of unknown material.

What surprised Wang Ping somewhat was that he actually obtained a talisman made from beast hide among these spoils.

Wang Ping poured spiritual power into it to examine it, and the talisman, which originally had no luster, instantly emitted a bright light; according to the feedback from his spiritual power, it was a defensive talisman.

As for its grade, from the spiritual light ring it released it was actually a first-rank intermediate talisman; he did not know whose unlucky owner it was, but it had not yet been released when he slew them.

In the world of cultivation, the grade of a talisman is determined by the spiritual light ring it releases.

A first-rank talisman releases a white light ring; one ring indicates a low-grade talisman, two rings a medium-grade, and three rings a high-grade.

A first-rank talisman corresponds to the Qi Refining stage, while a second-rank talisman corresponds to the Foundation Establishment stage.

A second-rank talisman releases a red light ring.

The art of talisman making is profound and extensive, often grouped with formations, pill refining, and artifact refining as the four most esteemed professions in the world of cultivation.

Unexpectedly obtaining an intermediate talisman put Wang Ping in a good mood.

Besides this talisman, he looked down on everything else; whether storage bags or low-grade magical artifacts, they were not to his taste.

Selling all these would surely yield a considerable number of spirit stones, Wang Ping thought to himself.

He carefully stored that talisman, then stuffed the rest of the items into a storage bag; when he touched the black iron plaque, he hesitated for a moment, then put it away as well.

After sorting the spoils, Wang Ping left the inn and headed toward the city's largest artifact trading pavilion.

Phantom Moon City has a simple layout, with three horizontal and four vertical major roads dividing it into wards.

Most of the city's artifact trading pavilions are located in the most luxurious ward of Phantom Moon City, Eternal Peace Ward.

Without a doubt, the largest artifact trading pavilion in Eternal Peace Ward belongs to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

It is said that the Treasure Gathering Pavilion has branches throughout the Hundred Nations Alliance.

In Zhao State there is only one such branch, and part of the reason Phantom Moon City is bustling is due to the presence of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

The Treasure Gathering Pavilion trades worldwide, possesses countless treasures, and is renowned as owning one-third of the world's treasures.

Such bravado may seem arrogant, but they indeed have the capital to back it up.

Being able to spread across the Hundred Nations Alliance, the Treasure Gathering Pavilion naturally has a heaven-reaching background behind it.

Rumor has it that behind the Treasure Gathering Pavilion stand not only dozens of Nascent Soul True Lords, but also a Spirit Transformation Ancestor.

Whether these rumors are true or false is unknown; at least the Zhao State branch of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion has been open for over a thousand years without any incident.

When Wang Ping arrived, he found it not lively; after a moment's thought he understood why.

The Treasure Gathering Pavilion is famous, holds many treasures, and is strong; the treasures it sells are priced somewhat higher than those on the open market.

Of course, there is a reason for the higher price; whether pills, talismans, or magical artifacts sold by the Treasure Gathering Pavilion come with a guarantee.

After Wang Ping entered the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, a woman dressed in a green fine-patterned gauze skirt walked over gracefully.

No wonder it's the Treasure Gathering Pavilion; even the receptionist woman had such an aura, and Wang Ping silently admired her.

"Welcome to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion; may I ask what you need, fellow cultivator? In the Treasure Gathering Pavilion we have pills, talismans, magical artifacts, and various materials—everything you could want."

"Everything you could want?"

Wang Ping silently muttered, "Do you have spirit-realm stones? Hah, I do."

"Though I complain, on the surface I still smile," he said.

"I want to sell some things first!"

The green-clad woman's smile did not change as she gently said:

"Please follow me, fellow cultivator!"

Having said that, she slightly turned sideways, extended her right hand in a guiding gesture, and led Wang Ping to a tea table in the rear courtyard.

Then she gave a slight bow, withdrew from the spot, and not long after a middle-aged cultivator in the late stage of artifact refining entered, clasping his hands as he introduced himself:

"I am Tian Min, a first-class steward of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion; may I ask your name, fellow cultivator?"

Wang Ping replied indifferently, "My surname is Wang."

In the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, aside from the pavilion master, the rest are stewards; a first-class steward corresponds to these Qi Refining cultivators, while a second-class steward corresponds to Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Tian Min nodded, smiled, and asked, "Fellow cultivator Wang, what treasures do you wish to sell?"

Seeing that the other party got straight to the point, Wang Ping did not waste words, directly taking out a handful of storage bags from his bosom and placing them on the table.

Upon seeing the handful of storage bags placed on the table, Tian Min's facial muscles twitched imperceptibly twice.

Naturally, he was not shocked by those storage bags; as a steward of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, he had seen countless treasures.

What truly left him speechless was that his years of experience told him these items were likely obtained through slaughter.

When he first entered, he noticed this fellow cultivator had an otherworldly, tranquil demeanor, yet deep down he was also a killer embryo.

With his years of experience purchasing treasures, he could tell at a glance that the value of these storage bags was obvious.

Seeing that the other party made no further move after just a glance, Wang Ping inwardly praised him, then waved his hand, causing the low-grade magical artifacts, the damaged magical artifacts, and the jade slips to appear on the table.

He examined the jade slips; they contained mostly low-grade techniques, plus a cultivation method not too bad, which was only slightly better than his Blue Wood Longevity Technique.

Unfortunately, it was a water-system cultivation method.

This time Tian Min stood up, examined each magical artifact in turn, and finally placed the three jade slips on his forehead one after another, each for no more than three seconds.

Wang Ping merely watched silently; each jade slip had been set by him with a minor spell that allowed only a small portion to be viewed.

If the other party tried to forcibly break his spell, the jade slip would instantly shatter.

Tian Min checked quickly; after finishing examining the last jade slip, he pondered a moment and then spoke:

"These storage bags are of low quality; on the market they sell for 100 low-grade spirit stones each, while the Treasure Gathering Pavilion buys them for 80 spirit stones each. You have produced ten storage bags, so the Pavilion offers 800 spirit stones. What do you think?"

Wang Ping knew the other party had lowered some prices, but the other party's price was still fair and within his acceptance range, so he immediately nodded and agreed.

Tian Min then quoted: "These magic artifacts are actually low-grade; I'm sure you, fellow Daoist, can see that. Treasure Gathering Pavilion is willing to offer twenty spirit stones for each piece; as for the remaining damaged items, they're worth even less—I'll take charge and bundle them for ten spirit stones. How does that sound?"

Wang Ping nodded; the quote was still fair. In the cultivation world, low-grade magic artifacts aren't worth many spirit stones, basically hovering around twenty-five.

Not even as good as the lowest-quality storage bag; the reason for this situation is naturally that rarity brings value.

The main material for crafting storage bags, void stone, is extremely scarce, resulting in few storage bags being produced, and high-quality storage bags are even rarer.

Seeing Wang Ping nod and agree, Tian Min then announced the price:

"Six magic artifacts total 120 spirit stones, the damaged items ten spirit stones, making a total of 130 spirit stones."

Tian Min then continued quoting: "Three jade slips; two of them record low-grade techniques, mostly repetitive, worth little—Treasure Gathering Pavilion offers fifty spirit stones!"

"As for the last jade slip, it is a water-system cultivation method that barely reaches premium grade; Treasure Gathering Pavilion offers five hundred spirit stones!"

Wang Ping frowned and spoke:

"Too low!"