Chapter 199: This pair of magical artifacts, the Immortal Sister will surely like

Ye Fan looked enlightened, eagerly anticipating tonight's trade fair.

The group arrived at a mortal inn, and without seeing how Song Yun did it, the scene before them suddenly changed.

Seeing the hall that had just been full of diners and constant shouting now transformed into a countryside watchtower cottage, Ye Fan couldn't help but shrink his pupils.

At that moment, Song Yun's voice transmitted into his mind.

"Junior Brother Ye, we have already entered the trade fair site; you just saw it—this place has an illusionary barrier, the scale of this trade fair is not trivial, likely a Golden Core cultivator is overseeing it, so we must be careful."

Song Yun sent a mental transmission; hearing it, Ye Fan's heart rang with alarm, and he dared not be careless.

Golden Core cultivators can walk sideways in Yun Tian City, and to a sect they are equivalent to inner-door elders.

Song Yun thought for a moment and then sent another mental transmission to Ye Fan.

"Junior Brother Ye, you must not expose your cola; if you want to trade, let me handle it for you, and afterward you can settle with me using cola."

Song Yun doing this naturally also had ulterior motives, but it was likewise protecting Ye Fan.

Outside trade fairs are full of mixed talents; cultivators of modest ability who possess heavenly treasures must needs hide them, not show them, or else they will be targeted as soon as they leave this gate.

Ye Fan immediately nodded and clasped his hands in gratitude toward Song Yun.

"Thank you, Senior Brother, for the reminder; I'll have you bid for me a moment."

The trade fair operates as free exchange; besides members of the Artificers Guild who can vend here for free, other cultivators who wish to set up stalls must pay a spirit stone as venue fee.

Ye Fan and Song Yun had no interest in selling goods, so they went together into the cottage interior to seek desirable magical artifacts.

The watchtower cottage has three floors; the bottom floor consists entirely of entry-level magical artifacts.

Song Yun introduced the items to Ye Fan while casually strolling through.

"The artifacts on this floor are better suited for cultivators below the sixth layer of Qi Refining; the second floor is more appropriate for us, while the third floor usually does not trade for spirit stones but via barter, depending on whether we can afford what the other party desires."

Ye Fan listened while quickly and attentively scanning the artifacts on this floor.

Most artifact crafters are proud and aloof, not calling out their wares, but a few sociable ones sit at their stalls observing passing cultivators, occasionally shouting a couple of lines.

Suddenly, a voice of delight sounded in Ye Fan's ear; a cultivator with half-white hair called out to him.

"Little Dao friend, please stay."

Ye Fan glanced curiously sideways and saw before him an old man with kind eyes and benevolent bearing; on his table lay only two magical artifacts, both exquisite and petite hand‑shaken bells.

"Senior, may I ask what these are?"

The old cultivator rose with a smiling face, gave no answer, and first carefully examined Ye Fan once more.

At that moment, Song Yun, seeing Ye Fan halt his steps, came over to inspect; after a quick glance at the two hand‑shaken bell artifacts, he silently shook his head and sent a mental transmission to Ye Fan.

"Junior Brother, don't be deceived; these two artifacts are merely low‑grade, of little use to us—you should already be at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, right?"

Ye Fan nodded, yet had no intention of leaving.

He didn't plan to use them himself; he merely thought the two little bells were exceedingly lovely, carved entirely of white jade with delicate patterns, especially the bell tongues, which were actually shaped like lotus flowers.

Ye Fan instantly felt these little trinkets would be perfect to buy for his Immortal Sister as an ornament.

Seeing Ye Fan's eyes light up, Song Yun couldn't help but draw closer, wanting to see whether the artifact truly had any special merit.

Yet after looking repeatedly, he found nothing outstanding.

"Junior Brother, do you want to buy it?"

Ye Fan nodded without concealment, "Senior Brother, I want to buy them to give to my sister."

Song Yun had heard before that Ye Fan had a sister; judging from his demeanor, he seemed to hold her in great reverence.

Song Yun found it inconvenient to pry into others' private affairs, so he merely helped ask the old man.

"Senior, what is the function of this pair of Jade Bells, and how are they used?"

The old man glanced at Ye Fan with narrowed, smiling eyes.

"Little Dao friend, you intend to buy them for a woman, eh? I won't deceive you—these two artifacts cost five hundred spirit stones."

Ye Fan was about to nod in agreement when he heard Song Yun stomp his foot.

"Five hundred? For such low‑grade artifacts, you don't even mention their function, yet you demand this much right away? Old man, I'll give you another chance—say it again."

Seeing that Song Yun knew his trade, judging from his attire likely a scion of a noble clan, the old man dared not keep raising the price and hastily gave an embarrassed laugh.

"Look at this old fool of mine, grown muddle‑headed—two hundred spirit stones will do."

Ye Fan's eyes widened instantly, a sheen of sweat broke out on his body, and he gulped nervously.

From five hundred down to two hundred—lucky to have Senior Brother beside him, otherwise he would surely have been ripped off.

Ye Fan felt uneasy inside, thinking he really ought to gain more experience at places like this, or else he'd keep getting fleeced.

Handing over two hundred spirit stones, Ye Fan smoothly obtained the two bells.

The old man, aware he was in the wrong, dared not be careless when describing the artifacts' functions.

"I haven't given these artifacts a name; for now let's call them Jade Bells—the left one is for soul control, the right for beast control."

"You can look closely—the soul‑control bell's handle is carved with a ghostly face, while the beast‑control bell bears a wolf‑like creature."

The more Ye Fan looked, the more he liked them; their function was secondary, and given his Immortal Sister's ability, she would surely disdain low‑grade artifacts anyway.

But he currently lacks the ability to obtain spirit treasures, so he can only send small trinkets to express his feelings.

Seeing his junior brother truly liked them, Song Yun also spoke well of them.

"Although they are low‑grade artifacts, the soul‑control and beast‑control functions are not major, but their craftsmanship is highly ornamental; old Daoist, you surely aren't one of those artifact smiths who prize appearance over quality, are you?"

The old man couldn't help but roll his eyes at Song Yun, "Who wouldn't want to forge spirit treasures? But that requires the ability—though I'm old, my artifact crafting is still at the entry level; I'm grateful that the junior brother appreciates them, so this trip hasn't been wasted for me."

Ye Fan carefully placed the two bells into his waist‑worn storage pouch.

In front of Senior Brother, he felt uneasy putting them directly into his spirit treasury space.

Afterwards, the two went together to the second floor, and finally to the third floor, gaining much insight.

Aside from that pair of Jade Bells, Ye Fan bought no other artifacts.

Before breaking through to Foundation Establishment cultivation, he does not intend to take on dangerous outdoor missions again; for now he has no use for artifacts.

Magic implements are often tied to a cultivator's life and death; better to lack than to excess.

Song Yun also said: "Junior brother, there's no rush for those you haven't taken a liking to; our sect can also exchange magic implements, and you can also ask fellow equipment-crafting disciples to specially make one for you; transactions in the outside world are ultimately mixed in quality."

Song Yun came from an aristocratic family, naturally not lacking magic implements, so he didn't buy any.

Ye Fan nodded, then after returning to the inn gave Song Yun a small bottle of cola.

Seeing there were several sips of cola, Song Yun was overjoyed.

"Junior brother, you gave too much; two hundred spirit stones aren't worth that."

Ye Fan however said: "The extra counts as my filial respect to my senior brother; you've helped me a lot and taught me much, so please accept these colas."

Upon hearing this, Song Yun felt a surge of emotion, his confidence in Ye Fan growing stronger; this junior brother is indeed worth making close friends with!