Chapter 351: Picking Up a Bargain

"Shopkeeper, how many spirit stones for this bottle?" Lu Yang asked casually, crouching down.

"You have an excellent eye, honored guest. This Pure Jade Bottle was retrieved by my own hand from a secret realm left behind by a Nascent Soul cultivator. It contains diluted Primal Grand Water, priced at eighty thousand spirit stones."

Lu Yang's eyelid twitched as he thought to himself, you're robbing me blind, the entire nether worth of a Golden Core cultivator is only about a hundred thousand spirit stones.

Moreover, the Immortal Fairy had already informed him that the Primal Grand Water inside had been diluted ten thousand times over, even a puddle of my own urine would contain more ambient power than this.

In the market, if your mind is slow, your knowledge lacking, or your eye untrained, you are bound to be swindled.

Fortunately, he possessed the Immortal Fairy.

"What is the efficacy of this bottle of pills?"

"Cultivators often find it difficult to form their Core in a single attempt. This bottle of pills can simulate the process of Core Formation, matching the reality with sixty percent similarity, greatly enhancing the success rate of forming the Core. Thirty thousand spirit stones a bottle," the vendor promoted enthusiastically.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou exchanged a glance, somewhat bewildered; didn't everyone succeed in Core Formation on their very first try?

Lu Yang shook the medicine bottle and smiled, saying, "Shopkeeper, you aren't being honest. Even with a sealing technique to bind it, the medicinal efficacy of these pills is still dissipating. Thirty thousand a bottle is the price for intact pills, not for the state this bottle is in."

The vendor praised Lu Yang's sharp eye with a beaming smile on his face, though inwardly he was alarmed, realizing he had encountered someone who truly knew the trade.

"And this flying sword, surely you won't claim this was a weapon used by the master of the secret realm," Lu Yang remarked nonchalantly, displaying an attitude that left the vendor entirely uncertain of his stance.

The vendor was too deep in his own game to see clearly, but Meng Jingzhou understood perfectly well that Lu Yang had laid all this groundwork precisely for the sake of this flying sword.

Could a flying sword so utterly broken truly conceal some hidden secret?

"This flying sword possesses a rigid texture, remaining uncorrupted through a century of time. Although it might not qualify as an accessory for a Nascent Soul cultivator, it is undoubtedly one of their close-combat treasures. Having endured a great battle, repairing it would actually incur a net loss, which is why it was left in the secret realm!" the vendor asserted with absolute certainty, as if he had witnessed the Nascent Soul cultivator slaying enemies with the flying sword with his own eyes.

Lu Yang did not buy into the vendor's ghost stories, yet another question suddenly occurred to him: how could an immortal sword become so ruined and shattered, for it should not be in such a state even after hundreds of thousands of years.

Unless it had truly undergone a catastrophic battle, causing the immortal sword to be broken!

Who could the enemy have been?

"Enough, save those words to deceive others. Don't think I can't tell that the quality of this flying sword is highly concerning, barely usable even for a Golden Core cultivator, it ought to be the sidearm of a Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Although the vendor did not know the origin of the flying sword, he could not allow Lu Yang to dictate the final verdict.

"This is absolutely the weapon of the secret realm's master during their Golden Core stage, it could not possibly be something used during Foundation Establishment!"

Lu Yang wore an expression that suggested he could not be bothered to argue: "Three thousand spirit stones. The flying sword is broken to this extent, I will still have to mended it after buying it back."

"At least twenty thousand!"

"We are leaving," Lu Yang rose to depart on the spot.

"Oh, wait, the price can still be negotiated further, eighteen thousand spirit stones!"

Lu Yang spoke with indifference: "Five thousand spirit stones."

The vendor gritted his teeth. When he set up his stall in other places, everyone disdained the flying sword for being too broken, and no one would buy it. This time at the Qingzhou Grand Festival, someone was finally willing to purchase it with great difficulty. If he missed this opportunity, there was no telling when the next time would be: "Five thousand it is then, consider it making a friend!"

Seeing Lu Yang obtain the flying sword just as he wished, Meng Jingzhou curiously asked via true energy transmission: "What is the origin of this flying sword?"

"A flying sword used by an ancient immortal."

Meng Jingzhou gasped, looking at Lu Yang with envy; he had truly picked up an incredible bargain!

Originally, Lu Yang had intended to ask indirectly where the vendor had obtained the flying sword, but the moment the vendor spoke, he claimed it came from a secret realm opened by a Nascent Soul cultivator, showing that nothing genuine could be gleaned.

To inflate their prices, vendors would do everything possible to fabricate the origins of their items, meaning this flying sword came from a Nascent Soul secret realm at the very best.

It was likely picked up by some random Nascent Soul cultivator by chance, and its source could no longer be traced.

Lu Yang examined it for a moment; the flying sword was ruined, yet there were no bloodstains or notches, and the cross-section was rough, looking as if it had been snapped by sheer brute force.

His instinct as a Sword Spirit Root told him that this had once absolutely been an unparalled sword of supreme quality.

"Was the Qilin Immortal a sword cultivator?"

"Was the Qilin Immortal a sword cultivator?"

The Immortal Fairy shook her head: "No, the Qilin Immortal didn't use swords. Let's go, let's see what other good things there are."

"Wait a moment, if the Qilin Immortal didn't use swords, what was this flying sword used for?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you before? When the Qilin Immortal did something wrong, those two girls, Dragon and Phoenix, would stand all the flying swords upright to form a square, forcing the Qilin Immortal to kneel on the tips of the swords."

"So the Qilin Immortal commissioned the Ying Tian Immortal to forge a batch of flying swords that looked brilliantly sharp and extraordinary at a glance, but had no power when used, feeling just like kneeling on foam."

"Later on, those two girls, Dragon and Phoenix, discovered this matter, and in a fit of rage, they snapped all the flying swords. The one in your hand is one of those pieces."

Lu Yang: "..."

So I spent five thousand spirit stones just to buy back a piece of junk like this?

Lu Yang had originally thought to invite the old senior Immortal Fairy to lend a hand, allowing him to pick up a bargain and letting Meng Jingzhou pick one up too, so they could both experience the joy of finding hidden treasures.

Looking at it now, he decided to forget it, lest the Immortal Fairy squander Meng Jingzhou's spirit stones as well.

"My Lord, the disciples of the Laurel Immortal Palace, the Five Elements Sect, and the Prison Suppressing Sect have arrived, and are currently waiting at the entrance," a subordinate reported respectfully.

Hearing this, the Governor nodded slightly, holding the people of the Five Great Immortal Sects in high regard: "Only three branches? The Dao Seeking Sect and the Hanging Temple have not arrived? Then invite them all over."

The Qingzhou Grand Festival was jointly organized by the Qingzhou government and several local first-rate sects of Qingzhou. If people from the Five Great Immortal Sects came, it would elevate the prestige of the Qingzhou Grand Festival.

"Back then, that ancestor of the Dao Seeking Sect served as Governor here and set an excellent precedent," the Governor remarked with emotion. Setting aside whether the people of the Dao Seeking Sect were reliable in their actions, their unconstrained and wild ideas were absolutely unmatched by anyone else.

Case in point, this Qingzhou Grand Festival was an idea conceived by the people of the Dao Seeking Sect.

If the Qingzhou Grand Festival was hosted well, it would be counted towards his political achievements.

The most attractive aspect of the Qingzhou Grand Festival was the exchange among cultivators, but internal exchange within the Five Great Immortal Sects was already sufficient, and their peers were all geniuses, so they hardly cared for this festival.

Sending people here was merely to show respect to the Qingzhou government.

"Why are you staring, go quickly," the Governor looked in confusion at the subordinate who remained standing in place.

"My Lord, the situation is like this, the immortal sect disciples seem to have no place to stay."

"What about the official courier stations?"

"According to your instructions, My Lord, in order to make the high-stage cultivators feel the warmth of the government, they are all staying in the courier stations."

"What about the inns at the foot of the mountain?"

"They are all fully occupied."

"Then construct a few temporary rooms."

"There is no space. During the initial planning, in order to accommodate more people, every single spot was completely filled."

The Governor found himself in quite a dilemma. It was a good thing that the Five Great Immortal Sects sent people over, but if they failed to provide proper hospitality and left a bad impression, it would be difficult to invite the people of the Five Great Immortal Sects in the future.

"Is there truly not a single room built by the government left?" The Governor refused to give up hope and urged his subordinate to think again.

The subordinate actually did think of a place: "There is indeed a place that can accommodate people, and it occupies a massive area with a particularly large number of empty rooms. It was also built by us, so moving in would just take a word from you, without needing to spend any spirit stones."

The Governor's eyes lit up: "Where is it?"

"The prison cells."