Chapter 77: Trade
With the experience from mending the longblade’s diagram, Qin Lie now had a pretty good idea on what to do when he mended the Dragon Bone Whip.
This time, he consciously organized his time and split the process into five stages. On each stage, he would mend only one fifth of the Amplification diagram, and after using nearly seven days of time, he had finally mended the Dragon Bone Whip’s Amplification diagram completely.
“The main diagram of this Dragon Bone Whip can condense wind energy, and it should be suitable for people who cultivate wind type art formulas. Hmm, wait, that’s not right; there’s also a bit of the flexibility of water. It looks like the spirit art your friend cultivates is pretty mixed. To mix water in wind, huh? Yeah, I suppose a custom-made spirit artifact is necessary. No wonder your friend would be looking for someone to have it specially made.”
Inside the courtyard, Li Mu held the Dragon Bone Whip Qin Lie had just mended and gave it a casual wave.
There was a sudden gust of wind in the courtyard, and a circle of gray blew over and actually became attached onto the Dragon Bone Whip.
When the Dragon Bone Whip was waved, it drove the thick gray wind to form a wind barrier which encircled the body of the whip.
At first glance, it would seem as if the Dragon Bone Whip had transformed into a Wind Dragon, and it even did all sorts of stunning attacking poses. Moreover, every one of these poses were incredibly lifelike, mimicking the flying jump of a dragon.
“Great show there Uncle Li,” Qin Lie cheered.
“It was only two careless swings, nothing to fuss over,” Li Mu replied in surprise. Then, he returned the Dragon Bone Whip to him and said, “This is the same situation as the longblade; your Amplification spirit diagram has overtaken the others again. Your one Amplification spirit diagram is more complex than the original Artificer’s main diagram, Spirit Gathering diagram, and Spirit Storage diagram put together, so they were all enclosed by your Amplification spirit diagram. Let me put it this way. Your Amplification spirit diagram has become the core of this Dragon Bone Whip, and it has greatly enhanced its ability to condense the power of wind.”
The mended Dragon Bone Whip appeared to be grayish-brown in color. It was slippery to the touch and felt like holding a snake in one’s hands.
Qin Lie really disliked the sensation. “This feels really weird; it’s so slippery to touch and doesn’t really feel comfortable. I wonder if Sister Qian would like it. I sure don’t think much of it personally.”
“The master of the Dragon Bone Whip’s wind type art formula has the power of water inside it, and water is slippery, so she should like that sensation a lot.” Li Mu smiled a little. “The fellow who created this Dragon Bone Whip does have some skill; he had taken the user’s every aspect into consideration. This slippery feeling is a flair of originality deliberately made to fit the user, so you don’t have to worry that your friend won’t like it.”
“Both the longblade and Dragon Bone Whip have had their spirit diagrams mended. But I have to wonder what their ranks are and if Big Brother Tu and Sister Qian could actually use them? I wonder if it could replace the spirit artifacts they’re using right now…” Qin Lie thought silently.
“Oh, right. While you were mending the whip’s diagram, that girl in white and the old servant had come by, and they are still asking about the Spirit Gathering Boards.” Li Mu raised his eyebrows and smiled lightly. “That girl seems to be very concerned about the Spirit Gathering Boards. It is probably because of the Spirit Gathering Board’s ability to gather the world’s spirit energy, and it just so happened that it can help her in some way. She must have a need in this aspect right now, so… she came over and offered a price herself.”
“Oh?” Qin Lie’s expression shook as he smiled,“What price?”
“Three Common Grade Seven spirit stones.” Li Mu chuckled. “I’ve already told her that I would have new stock in a few days, so she should come again pretty soon. Hmm, there’s no need for you to rush back to Nebula Pavilion right now. Go and make some enhanced version of the Spirit Gathering Board. There should be no problem at all if we sell it at five Common Grade Seven spirit stones.
“Alright.” Qin Lie nodded his head happily.
Basically, the so-called enhanced version of the Spirit Gathering Board was made from adding an Amplification diagram on top of the foundation of the Spirit Gathering Boards.
—For the current Qin Lie, this task wasn’t difficult at all, and it wouldn’t take too much spirit or mind energy to create either.
Therefore, to ensure that he had enough spirit stones to use in the future and to be able to buy more spirit tablets, he temporarily stayed inside the shop and used the remaining spirit tablets to create the enhanced version of the Spirit Gathering Boards.
Four days later.
Out of the remaining thirty five spirit tablets, thirty had been turned into the enhanced version of the Spirit Gathering Boards. The remaining three failed after experiencing some minor mistakes when the Spirit Gathering diagram and Amplification diagram were forcefully mixed together.
On the fifth day, the woman in white showed up as expected.
The woman whose clothes were whiter than snow prettily stood in front of the shop and drew a beautiful scenery around her. It was as if the world had suddenly become attractive.
A trace of anticipation leaked from her crystal-like pupils. “Have the Spirit Gathering Boards arrived yet?”
“They’ve arrived.” Li Mu gave a smile and nodded towards the shop at Qin Lie, signalling him to come out and present them.
Both the eyes of the woman dressed in white and the old servant lit up a little. It seemed that they valued the Spirit Gathering Boards greatly, and they both took the opportunity to look towards Qin Lie.
“This is the enhanced version of the Spirit Gathering Boards. Compared to the original, this one gathers the world’s spirit energy two times faster!” Qin Lie gave them each a board, then activated the diagrams inside the spirit boards. As it began to glow with a misty blue luster, the world’s spirit energy around them began to flow visibly towards this location.
The amount of nature spirit energy gathered by the two spirit boards was two times faster than what it normally would be in the shop!
Previously, this could only be accomplished through the use of four Spirit Gathering Boards.
“Enhanced version…”
Both the woman dressed in white and the old servant’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. They gave each other a look and appeared to be slightly excited.
Immediately, they too activated the enhanced version of Spirit Gathering Boards in their hands and carefully felt the changes within.
A long time later, the woman in white’s expression turned serious as she exclaimed with a cool voice, “How many spirit stones?”
“Five Common Grade Seven spirit stones!” Qin Lie exclaimed in a low tone and tightened his fists in secret. He was also feeling anxious and was filled with anticipation.
If all thirty two spirit boards could be sold, then it will amount to a hundred and sixty Common Grade Seven spirit stones!
A single Common Grade Seven spirit stone could be exchanged for twenty five spirit tablets, and he could exchange a hundred and sixty Common Grade Seven spirit stones for a total of four thousand spirit tablets!
Four thousand spirit tablets!
When he practiced the Spirit Gathering, Amplification, and Spirit Storage spirit diagrams, he had only spent over a thousand spirit tablets. This meant that if this business was successful, he wouldn’t have to worry about spirit boards for at least one or two years!
“Okay, I’ll take everything!” the woman dressed in white barely gave it a thought before she nodded immediately after. She even added, “How much you have equals to how much I want. As long you have them in stock, I’ll take them all.”
Qin Lie was so excited that his entire body was shaking. Even his gaze on the lady in white had blazed up all of a sudden.
“Ahem!”
Li Mu shot him a glare and scolded him on the inside that the kid was not living up to his expectations. It was only a hundred and sixty Common Grade Seven spirit stones and he was excited to this degree? This was simply too embarrassing.
“For now, this is all we have. It’s not easy for me to come by a shipment, so if you truly have heart, then you may visit often and ask. Who knows, maybe there will be new stock then.”
“Here are thirty two Profound Grade One spirit stones, which is the equivalent of a hundred and sixty Common Grade Seven spirit stones. Please keep it well.”
The old servant pointed towards the table, and crystal clear fist-sized rocks, that were like diamonds, rolled out into the open,
They rolled out before Qin Lie’s eyes.
Each rock was of the same size and possessed a misty glow. When he moved closer, he could see that the rocks were very transparent.
—These were real Profound Grade spirit stones!
These Profound Grade spirit stones were exactly what Manifestation and Netherpassage Realm martial practitioners would use. Spirit stones of this grade were the true currency used by high level forces.
“Qin Lie, do put away the things first,” Li Mu said loudly.
His eyes shining, Qin Lie let out a silly giggle twice before he smilingly put the Profound Grade One spirit stones properly into the cabinet beneath the table.
“If I can create enough enhanced Spirit Gathering Boards, then maybe I can buy myself a spatial ring…” He was already making calculations inside his heart, and with his eyes still sparkling with energy he thought, “Back at Ling Town, that Lu Li from Seven Fiends Valley had carried herself in an arrogant manner and looked down on me. But even she… did not have a spatial ring on her hands, did she?”
“The spirit art you’re cultivating is pretty special; it appears to be thunder and lightning. Young man, your special spirit art may be of use to us in certain aspects, are you interested in coming on a trip with us outside the city? Do not worry, I can assure you that it will be much better than working here as an apprentice, and there will be some benefits for you as well,” suddenly said the old servant after closely examining Qin Lie.
“Not interested,” Qin Lie immediately rejected. In his opinion, creating the enhanced version of the Spirit Gathering Boards beats any benefits right now.
“Do you really not want to consider?” The old servant frowned.
“Nope!” Qin Lie affirmed his decision.
“Let’s go.” The woman in white nodded her head before sweeping a glance over Qin Lie.
Her cool gaze stayed a bit longer at the nebula pattern on the chest area of Qin Lie’s clothes before she meaningfully said, “We will meet again very soon.” Once she said that, only then did she and the old servant turn around and leave Li’s Shop.
“This girl is incredibly beautiful, and her abilities… are just as extraordinary. It also seems that she is slightly interested in the art formula you’re cultivating.” Li Mu proceeded to curl up atop his recliner again, and he spoke while rocking in comfort, “Are you telling me that you’re not interested at all in such a beautiful young lady?”
“No.” A gentle and elegant figure quietly appeared in his mind as he shook his head.
“I don’t believe you.” Li Mu’s gaze was teasing. “There are almost no kids in this world who aren’t attracted by the other sex. Either you already have someone in your heart or you’re abnormal. When your Uncle Li was about your age, hehe, I have zero immunity on this aspect, so I guess I was notorious…”
Qin Lie’s interest was immediately piqued as he said full of energy, “Tell me the details!”
“You scamp, you’re still telling me you’re not interested?” Li Mu looked dumbfounded before he waved his hands. “Now scram. Uncle Li has so many love debts it’ll take forever to finish. Too lazy.”
“Someone who looks so dirty with a year-long smell like Uncle Li can actually have many love debts?” Qin Lie marveled with a strange expression. “I guess those women who hooked up with Uncle Li should have… quite the heavy taste.”
“Cough cough! Cough cough…” Li Mu suddenly coughed loudly as if he had choked on something.
On the same evening, Qin Lie carried the longblade and Dragon Bone Whip in a oilcloth and left Li’s Shop for Nebula Pavilion.
“Qin Lie, Elder Han had said to immediately invite you home once you got back!” The guard immediately informed him with a serious expression when he saw him return.
Qin Lie shuddered once, and his eyes abruptly brightened as he thought to himself: Could it be that there is news of Grandpa?
……
