Gu An walked along the street until he stopped beside a tall wooden building.
The wooden building had flying eaves and interlocking brackets, carved beams, painted rafters, and glazed windows. Its main structure was built from sinking wood that gave off a faint coolness. Red pillars two zhang tall stood before the entrance, coiled with golden cloud patterns, while the counters inside displayed pills, magical artifacts, and talismans shimmering with spiritual light. Above the door hung a white jade plaque inscribed with the words "Treasure Gathering Tower" in flowing, dragon-like calligraphy.
This Treasure Gathering Tower was a property of the Qingyuan Sect, earning the sect a large number of spirit stones and spiritual items each year. Because it offered discounts to sect disciples, many Qingyuan Sect disciples were willing to come here to buy or sell.
Gu An had long heard of its reputation, but today was his first visit. As he stepped into the hall, he suddenly felt a chilling aura sweep over him, making his hair stand on end. It quickly disappeared, as if it had been an illusion.
His heart tightened. Gu An naturally knew this was no illusion. He had felt a similar aura from Foundation Establishment elders of the sect before, though this one was more blatant.
"Was that a warning not to try anything funny?"
There was a reason the Treasure Gathering Tower had grown so large! Just having a Foundation Establishment cultivator stationed here saved countless troubles. How could those small shops compete?
Just then, a female cultivator in a red dress approached him gracefully.
"Fellow Daoist, are you looking to buy something? As a fellow sect disciple, you get a ten percent discount." The female cultivator's voice was crisp, her red lips slightly parted, revealing a hint of snow-white skin at her neck.
Gu An couldn't help but marvel at the Treasure Gathering Tower's generosity, actually employing cultivators as attendants. Although she was only at the second layer of Qi Condensation, it was still rare.
"I want to buy a First-Grade Lower-Tier magical artifact, either water or wood attribute will do." Gu An averted his eyes and said in a deep voice.
"Very well, please come this way." The red-dressed female cultivator led Gu An into a quiet room, served him tea, apologized briefly, and went out to fetch the magical artifacts.
Gu An toyed with the teacup, waiting quietly. After a moment, the red-dressed female cultivator pushed open the door and entered, holding three wooden boxes in her hands.
The female cultivator placed the boxes on the table, her slender jade-like fingers brushing over them as she opened the first box.
Inside, a water-blue jade pearl emitted a radiant glow.
"This is a First-Grade Lower-Tier magical artifact, the Water Spirit Pearl. It is refined from a century-old clam pearl. When activated, it can summon a Water Spirit Barrier to protect the entire body. It requires low spiritual power to activate and offers decent defensive capability. It costs only ten spirit stones."
Gu An shook his head. This Water Spirit Pearl was of little use to him. He had already learned the Water Shield Spell, which offered stronger defense. Although the Water Spirit Barrier provided more comprehensive protection, it didn't supplement his abilities much.
More importantly, he didn't have many spirit stones, so he had to spend them wisely!
Seeing Gu An shake his head, the red-dressed female cultivator knew it was a lost cause and opened the second wooden box. Inside lay a dark green whip.
"A low-grade magical artifact, the Poison Dragon Whip. Wood attribute, refined from the tailbone of a Green Poison Python, tempered with blood poison. It kills upon contact with blood, extremely vicious. It costs twelve spirit stones."
Gu An's eyes lit up. Poison-he liked that. But he didn't know how to use a whip!
Even if he barely managed to activate it, it would only move in straight lines, losing its flexibility, greatly reducing the whip's power!
Moreover, he primarily cultivated water techniques and preferred water-attribute magical artifacts.
Gu An pointed at the third wooden box, signaling her to open it.
The female cultivator opened the third box, revealing a needle emitting a faint green light. The needle was half a foot long, uniform in thickness from end to end. The more Gu An looked at it, the more he liked it.
The red-dressed female cultivator introduced it: "The Emerald Shadow Needle, a fine product among low-grade magical artifacts. Its main material is Emerald Sinking Iron, mixed with Blackwater Copper, tempered with seven layers of poison. It activates extremely quickly, silently and without a trace."
"If a mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivator is careless, they could be killed by a single needle. The price is also higher-eighteen spirit stones."
"A bit expensive, but I really like it." Gu An muttered to himself, then suddenly raised his head and asked, "After the discount, it's sixteen spirit stones, right?"
"Yes, as a fellow sect disciple, you get a ten percent discount." The red-dressed female cultivator replied with a smile.
"Then I'll take the Emerald Shadow Needle." Gu An made up his mind, took out sixteen spirit stones, and handed them to the red-dressed female cultivator. She put away the spirit stones and the other two boxes, while Gu An stored the Emerald Shadow Needle into his storage bag.
"Does Fellow Daoist need anything else?"
The red-dressed female cultivator smiled seductively, but to Gu An, she looked like a man-eating demon, coveting his last three spirit stones.
"A few pills for regulating the body of mortals." Gu An forced himself to endure the heartache.
"Very well. Hundred Herb Nourishing Pills, one spirit stone for three pills. How many pills does Fellow Daoist want?"
"Just one spirit stone's worth."
Seeing that the female cultivator was about to speak again, Gu An quickly waved his hand.
"No more, no more."
With that, Gu An took the pill bottle, pushed open the door, and left, bumping into a chubby young man.
"Are you blind? If you damage my spiritual robe, can you afford to compensate?"
The chubby young man spoke with an arrogant tone. Gu An frowned, ignored him, and quickly walked away.
Seeing this Qingyuan Sect disciple flee, the chubby young man thought he had cowered. Snorting twice, he walked inside.
Arriving at the gate of Qingyuan Immortal City, Gu An retrieved his Black-Scale Horse and galloped away.
What Gu An didn't notice was that two black-robed cultivators standing at the gate had been observing him for some time.
"Shopkeeper, what do you think? This fat sheep stayed in the Treasure Gathering Tower for quite a while. Should we..." The one-eyed black-robed man's voice was hoarse, his hand making cutting gestures in the air.
"Are you stupid? That's a Qingyuan Sect disciple. Aren't you afraid of the Qingyuan Sect's enforcement team hunting you down?" The shopkeeper said angrily, disappointed.
"At worst, we'll just run out of Qingyuan Sect territory. With our late-stage Qi Condensation cultivation, we can live gloriously anywhere." The second man was still unconvinced.
"Then use your brain. Is that a fat sheep? What fat sheep rides a Half-Spirit Horse? Huh?"
Seeing the second man still arguing, the shopkeeper suppressed his anger and explained in a low voice.
"Oh, so he's just a poor guy. Not worth it! Not worth it!"
"Hey, shopkeeper, look at this chubby young man. He's radiating spiritual light."
The shopkeeper followed the sound and saw a chubby young man adorned with jewels and treasures. He couldn't help licking his lips and sneered, "This one's good. Follow him."
...
Having narrowly escaped disaster, Gu An had no idea that a chubby young man had been robbed. Of course, even if he knew, he wouldn't have any particular feelings about it.
It had nothing to do with him.
The Black-Scale Horse galloped like thunder and lightning, heading toward Blackrock Commandery in Yun Kingdom. It rested only three hours a day, traveling under the stars and through wind and dew. In less than three days, they entered the territory of Blackrock Commandery.
"Let's go home first. It's a good chance to see how my parents are doing." Gu An sat on the Black-Scale Horse, trying to identify the direction. "Blackstone City should be to the east. Half an hour and we'll be there."
The Black-Scale Horse snorted, shaking its head in displeasure. It had been running all day, was tired, and wanted to go on strike.
"Good Little Black, hold on a little longer. We're almost there." Seeing this, Gu An could only console it.
Little Black was the name Gu An had given it, based on the idea that a humble name made it easier to raise. He hoped it would live longer and contribute more to him. After all, it had cost him two spirit stones.
This Black-Scale Horse had been raised by humans since childhood. Although it couldn't understand human speech, it could grasp the general meaning. However, after hearing Gu An's words, Little Black still refused to move, plainly throwing a tantrum.
Gu An had no choice but to take out a handful of spiritual grain from his storage bag. He had found this while tidying up his small courtyard before leaving. There were only a few handfuls in total, and Little Black ate them all.
"Since you've eaten my spiritual grain, you have to work hard." Gu An threatened fiercely, then slapped the horse's rump. Little Black started running again, kicking up dust as it disappeared into the distance.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGt98Yq5c9Q
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