Chapter 319: Purchase Conditions

"The second featured treasure is a hundred-year jade marrow, one of the purest known sources of star power in this world, directly absorbable and transmuted to enhance cultivation with no side effects; the total star power contained within exceeds five hundred fifth-rank Star Jade Gui."

"This item is exchanged only—not sold—for Purple Spirit Ginseng, or other heavenly treasures capable of substantially boosting the spirit soul's power, with a consignment period of one year."

"The third featured treasure is five feathers of the Crimson Sparrow; most esteemed guests know its use—it is a priceless treasure for fifth-rank fire-star technique cultivators, greatly accelerating Star Gathering progress and usable in forging sixth-rank star weapons, one of the foundational materials for spiritual treasures."

"Similarly, this treasure is exchanged only—not sold—for an equal quantity of Earth Dragon Fungus, or double the quantity of other star-gathering treasures from any other element."

Hearing the Crimson Sparrow feathers had appeared, though he'd anticipated it, Xu Jin still felt a pang of helplessness upon learning the exact exchange terms.

At this moment, Xu Jin finally understood what his master Kou Jing meant: true treasures cannot be measured by wealth; most are traded for other treasures.

Any treasure that can be bought with gold or silver is a lucky find.

It seemed Xu Jin would need to obtain Earth Dragon Fungus first to trade for the Crimson Sparrow feathers.

But where could he find Earth Dragon Fungus?

In truth, he also wanted the hundred-year jade marrow.

With its total star power exceeding five hundred fifth-rank Star Jade Gui, use that as a benchmark.

Xu Jin currently cultivates six hours per day, consuming one fifth-rank Star Jade Gui per hour; at this rate, it takes roughly over twenty-five days to advance one realm.

That is, roughly every one hundred and fifty fifth-rank Star Jade Gui allows Xu Jin to advance one realm.

Five hundred would be enough to raise his cultivation by more than three realms.

By this calculation, it would save him nearly three months of cultivation time.

This was unquestionably a pay-to-win artifact.

Unfortunately, it was exchanged only—not sold!

Exchanged.

For even rarer heavenly treasures that enhance spirit soul cultivation.

Such items were even more precious.

Even if Xu Jin possessed them, he wouldn't dare trade them away.

He could only note them down and search slowly.

"The fourth featured treasure is called Nine-Leaf Golden Lotus Seed, capable of healing spiritual soul latent injuries, restoring the spirit soul's origin, and containing vast spirit soul power—ideal for breaking through spirit soul cultivation bottlenecks, and even more effective when forging the Nascent Soul!"

"This treasure is also exchanged only—not sold."

Its owner is seeking one Dragon Fish Cinnamon, or other heavenly treasures capable of reviving the dead, restoring flesh and bone, and reattaching severed limbs.

Xu Jin possessed the fourth treasure.

It had been given to him by the State Tutor.

That this treasure was among the auction's exchanged-only featured items made Xu Jin sigh inwardly.

The State Tutor had truly been sincere with him.

Such a treasure—he gave it away without hesitation, no strings attached.

Fortunately, Xu Jin had brought back the Star Jade Gui sealed with spirit soul power; otherwise, he might have felt uneasy.

But what he hadn't expected was that the required exchange was Dragon Fish Cinnamon—capable of reviving the dead and reattaching limbs.

This revealed just how precious and sought-after such heavenly treasures were.

But then again, on the battlefield, blades and spears show no mercy; a single misstep means death and the collapse of one's Dao, and severed limbs were common.

It was only natural such treasures were in high demand.

After the four featured treasures, the auction ended.

Liu the Shopkeeper arrived early at Xu Jin's private chamber and handed him a Jade Gui containing the settlement list of his bidding activity.

One glance, and Xu Jin was slightly startled.

The earnings exceeded his expectations.

The seals he consigned had sold for two hundred sixty-seven thousand strands of starlight—over twenty to thirty percent above normal price.

He had witnessed the process: fifth-rank lower and fifth-rank middle seals were the most sought-after.

Fifth-rank middle seals fetched bidding premiums of up to forty percent.

A single transaction had made Xu Jin rich.

Of course, ordinary seal artisans didn't earn this much.

Xu Jin earned so much for two reasons: first, the Star Jade Gui he used were all his own spoils—nearly cost-free.

Second, he restored his spirit soul power using Wen Meng; most other seal artisans relied on Three Yin Spirit-Cleansing Pills and prolonged sleep.

There was also the risk of seal explosions.

Now that Xu Jin's spirit soul power had reached fifth-rank ninth level, far surpassing most seal artisans, the risk of explosion was greatly reduced.

And there was proficiency.

Other seal artisans burned through Star Jade Gui to gain experience.

A fifth-rank seal artisan needed to burn through one or two thousand fifth-rank Star Jade Gui before reliably producing fifth-rank seals.

These were enormous costs.

But Xu Jin could resolve this cost with his Star Lamp.

Otherwise, even twenty percent profit from today's sales would have been his absolute limit.

Xu Jin had bid on ten Dragon Turtle Spirit-Forging Pills, one thousand-year turtle shell, and one sixth-rank lower-grade star weapon, spending a total of 154, 00 strands of starlight.

After deducting commission, he walked away with just over 100, 00 strands of starlight.

Suddenly, his finances were comfortable.

"Master Liu, regarding your first featured treasure—the Thunder Element Celestial Star Will—can we negotiate the price?" Xu Jin's sudden question made Liu the Shopkeeper's heart leap.

This Lord Qi, by asking this, likely had the means to purchase a featured treasure.

If one featured treasure sold, his performance wouldn't just surge—it would explode.

After today, he wouldn't remain a mere third-class shopkeeper.

He might leap several ranks.

This Lord Qi was truly his stroke of luck; he'd merely acted on a whim, never expecting such a reward!

Though delighted, Shopkeeper Liu dared not mislead Xu Jin out of greed: "Lord Qi, this treasure is non-negotiable. When we received it, the deputy chief himself came out, hoping the owner would relax the terms to facilitate the trade."

"But the owner said then: if he cannot obtain what he wants, he will not sell!"

Hearing this, Xu Jin smiled: "I don't mean to directly swap the item—I wish to add a condition."

"Add a condition?"

Liu the Shopkeeper pondered for several breaths: "You mean you're willing to trade a Wood or Water Element Celestial Star Will for this Thunder Element Celestial Star Will—but with an added condition?"

"Exactly."

At these words, Liu the Shopkeeper's heart leapt sharply.

Celestial Star Will was not rare on the Star River Battlefield, but anyone who possessed one invariably came from great lineage.

Those willing to trade it were even rarer.

"May I ask, Lord Qi, what condition do you wish to add? I cannot decide this myself—I must report to the deputy chief stationed here, who will then contact the owner before any decision can be made!"

"My condition is simple: I want to know precisely which star domain this Thunder Element Celestial Star Will originated from—and how to get there."

Xu Jin's intent was now crystal clear.

Killing a Star Domain King grants Celestial Star Will—a secret well-known on the Star River Battlefield.

The key is ability!

You must possess that ability!

In his past life, Xu Jin and most of his classmates all wanted to enter Tsinghua or Peking University; everyone knew that admission meant a completely different starting point.

But wanting to enter was one thing; having the ability was another.

In the end, not a single classmate got in.

Similarly, the origin of Celestial Star Will was no secret—everyone wanted it.

But he lacked the ability! After a dozen breaths, Liu the Shopkeeper led Xu Jin through the VIP passage into the Changsheng Auction House's VIP chamber and handed him a jade gui.

After fifteen breaths, Liu the Shopkeeper led Xu Jin through the VIP passage into the Changsheng Auction House's VIP room and handed him a Jade Gui.

"Lord Qi, these are some of our regular items, specially curated for VIP clients—such as the Dragon Turtle Spirit-Forging Pills you bid on today. If you have demand, you may purchase them directly from us, though prices are similar to auction bids and quantities are limited."

As a shopkeeper, he never missed a chance to boost his performance.

Especially with wealthy clients like Lord Qi—even a small purchase would significantly boost his numbers.

Liu the Shopkeeper then departed, and Xu Jin began examining the Jade Gui.

One glance, and he was astonished.

Damn—it felt just like online shopping from his past life!

The Jade Gui was exquisitely crafted, categorized meticulously; simply focus your mind upon it, and an image of the item appears, along with its description and price.

Aside from lacking a shopping cart and requiring manual ordering, the experience was nearly identical to online shopping.

Slightly addictive!

It contained everything: heavenly treasures, elixirs, star weapons, star artifacts.

Xu Jin even saw maps.

The Changsheng Auction House sold star domain maps—hundreds of them.

Divided into three tiers: detailed maps.

These detailed maps were the most expensive—one thousand strands of starlight per copy, containing precise cartography of the star domain, including alien species traits and even faction distributions—but they were the rarest.

The second tier was simplified maps—two hundred strands per copy, listing only general geographical features, some heavenly treasures, and alien traits; faction and city distributions were mostly absent.

The third tier was rough maps—fifty strands per copy, offering only basic orientation: such as "a mountain in this direction," "a great river there," "frequent encounters with powerful aliens in this area."

This made Xu Jin's eyes gleam.

These are treasures.

When he first ventured through those star zones, if he'd had these star maps, the difficulty would've dropped considerably.

Xu Jin had already decided—he'd buy them all.

The shopkeeper Liu hadn't arrived yet, so Xu Jin kept flipping through, indulging his online shopping habit.

He idly flipped through the section on elixirs—nothing new—until he suddenly spotted a category: Minor-Class Elixirs.

This piqued Xu Jin's curiosity.

What did "Minor-Class" mean?

With a thought, he clicked in.

The first item that appeared was the Xuan Huang Ning Xing Dan.

Xu Jin's gaze sharpened; he quickly checked the details.

The Xuan Huang Ning Xing Dan uses Xuan Huang branches as the main ingredient, refined with seven other rare spiritual herbs; its effect is double that of a Superior Star-Refining Elixir.

Xu Jin was greatly delighted upon reading the description.

Who said there were no elixirs for fourth-rank Ning Xing cultivators?

Here it was.

But the following description and price made Xu Jin slightly startled.

Side effects: Slightly stronger toxic residue than Superior Star-Refining Elixir; after consuming twenty pills, one must cleanse the internal organs with star power, combined with three Superior Transformation Elixirs, to completely purge the toxicity.

Price: 200 strands of starlight per pill.

Seeing this price, Xu Jin was stunned.

No wonder it's called "Minor-Class"—such a high price due to extreme side effects.

This is likely why it can't be widely adopted.

The Superior Star-Refining Elixir costs fifty Dao merits per pill at the Chen Guo Dao Academy—equivalent to five strands of starlight—but that's a welfare price from the Chen Guo Dao Academy.

Xu Jin had just seen: on the Star River Battlefield, the normal price for a Superior Star-Refining Elixir is ten strands of starlight per pill—doubled.

If we compare it to the Superior Star-Refining Elixir, the Xuan Huang Ning Xing Dan doubles the effect.

But the price? It's increased twentyfold!

In short: poor quality, exorbitant price!

Especially since clearing the toxicity requires three Superior Transformation Elixirs—each costing at least a hundred strands of starlight, totaling three hundred strands.

Essentially, only ultra-rich elites—or fools—use this.

Xu Jin didn't want to be a fool; he moved to skip it.

But he flipped past it, then flipped back.

Because Xu Jin had just done the math.

Others using this elixir are fools—but Xu Jin might not be.

Because Xu Jin has the Can Dou Platform, which can nurture elixirs with starlight.

After three nurture cycles, the effect multiplies sixfold!

If the potency of a Superior Star-Refining Elixir is 5, after three nurtures it becomes 30.

Then the base potency of the Xuan Huang Ning Xing Dan is 10; after three nurtures, it becomes 60.

It still looks like a doubling.

But in reality, for others, potency increases by 5; for Xu Jin, it increases by 30!

That's a massive difference.

Of course, nurturing two Superior Star-Refining Elixirs would yield the same result.

But the time required is different.

Xu Jin's fourth-rank Can Dou Platform nurtures sixteen pills at once, producing a batch every fourteen days; even if he takes two per day, it only lasts eight days—nowhere near enough.

But if he uses it to nurture Xuan Huang Ning Xing Dan, the same time yields double the effect.

As for the cost?

For Xu Jin, it's no problem.

Just wipe out one or two more star zones, and he'll solve this!

In an instant, Xu Jin felt he'd discovered a supreme treasure.

To others, this Minor-Class elixir has abysmal value—but for Xu Jin, its value is extremely high.

He must buy it—and buy a lot.

As he pondered, Shopkeeper Liu suddenly entered, beaming.

"Young Master Qi, we've received a reply from the seller—he can provide the source, but the transaction must happen quickly! If you complete it within three days, he'll come in person to provide the source." Liu said.

"Fine!" Xu Jin agreed at once, then asked, "Why must he come in person? Can't we just transact through you?"

Xu Jin asked this due to safety concerns.

Face-to-face transactions could bring all kinds of problems.

Most who possess the Will of Heaven and Stars are fifth-, sixth-, or even seventh-rank experts; Xu Jin didn't want to attract trouble!

"Young Master Qi, who would dare hand such treasures directly to us? We always act as intermediaries and arrange face-to-face deals!" Liu chuckled bitterly.

"But if it's face-to-face, I'm even more worried about my safety!" Xu Jin voiced his concern.

"Young Master Qi, rest assured—we've done this many times. We can arrange the face-to-face deal while ensuring your identity remains secret," Liu said.

After hearing Liu's explanation of the transaction method, Xu Jin felt reassured.

Soon, Liu contacted again and set the transaction for three days later.

The seller won't arrive at Chen Guo War City until then.

"Three days?"

Then returning to Xingyang Battlefield would be pointless.

Better to train for a few days at the Star-Picking Tower in Chen Guo War City.

Besides, he hasn't plucked his next Golden Star yet.

(End of Chapter)