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After all, with just a little nurturing, he could potentially gain a future array master—a deal that seemed worthwhile no matter how you looked at it.

Otherwise, Qingchen had always disdained those who had no use for him.

“This servant will certainly do her utmost, studying diligently without ceasing, and will never disappoint Young Master in the slightest,” Su Zixuan quickly declared.

Along the way, Qingchen concisely explained the sect's general situation and the various explicit and implicit rules of the market to Su Zixuan.

Su Zixuan listened extremely attentively, nodding frequently, firmly remembering every word.

Upon reaching the market entrance, a light screen shrouded the bustling scene within.

Qingchen revealed his token, representing his status as an outer disciple of the Ningxuan Sect, and the disciple guarding the light screen immediately allowed him to pass.

He then took out three low-grade spirit stones and processed a temporary token for Su Zixuan, recording her aura.

Within the Dixuan Market, disciples of the Ningxuan Sect could freely enter and exit, under the sect's protection.

However, the rules were much stricter for visiting cultivators.

Those below the Foundation Establishment stage needed to register their origins and pay three spirit stones to obtain a temporary token valid for only one year.

Foundation Establishment cultivators, however, did not need to pay and received a ten-year token upon registration.

Of course, if one owned a shop or property within the market, these rules could be waived.

The Ningxuan Sect's actions were not primarily motivated by greed for the spirit stones, but rather by a desire to control the flow of people, facilitate the recording of information about cultivators from other sects, and ensure the market's overall stability.

The three spirit stones were said to only cover the cost of recording cultivator auras and the materials used to create the tokens.

Entering the market, a wave of noise washed over them.

Shops lined both sides of the street, vendors' cries filled the air, and cultivators of all kinds moved about, their spiritual energy swirling and mixing.

The scene resembled the city of Juexian Island.

Qing Chen first found an inconspicuous teahouse and arranged for Su Zixuan to wait in a private room.

Then, he turned and walked into a quiet alley. When he emerged, he had changed into the appearance of an ordinary middle-aged man, wearing a bamboo hat, and his aura had become more subtle, though his mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation was not deliberately concealed.

He wandered alone along the dozen or so main streets of the market, his gaze sweeping over the various shops that bought and sold materials, secretly comparing prices.

Finally, he stopped in front of a shop called 'Hundred Forging Pavilion,' a small shop that exuded a calm and imposing air.

Stepping inside, a shop assistant greeted him.

Qing Chen didn't say much, directly stating his purpose: to sell materials. He was then led to the back room, where he met an elderly man in a gray robe with a gaunt face.

Judging from the fluctuations of his spiritual energy, he appeared to be at the late stage of Qi Refining.

"Shopkeeper, take a look at these goods, what price can you offer?" Qing Chen's voice was hoarse as he unfastened the two storage bags from his waist, turned them upside down, and gave them a gentle shake.

With a clatter, all sorts of demonic beast materials poured out, piling up into a small mountain on the open ground in front of him.

Most of them were claws, teeth, carapaces, venom sacs, and scales, with a large portion clearly originating from mid-stage first-tier demonic beasts.

The shopkeeper's previously indifferent gaze brightened slightly after sweeping over the pile of materials, and his hand stroking his beard paused.

"Fellow Daoist... to have hunted so many demonic beasts, your skills are truly extraordinary! I admit, I doubt I could match your abilities with such a large quantity of demonic beast materials." His words carried a hint of genuine surprise.

"These weren't hunted by me alone; I was merely responsible for bringing them," Qing Chen said calmly, offering the excuse he had prepared earlier. "Shopkeeper, would you please appraise these materials?"

"Hehe, no problem, no problem." The shopkeeper didn't ask any further questions, squatted down, and began carefully examining and appraising the materials.

He picked up a ghostly blue venomous stinger, his fingertips gleaming with spiritual light as he examined it: "The main stinger of a mid-grade first-tier venomous leech, exceptionally well-preserved, its venom intact."

He then tapped a damaged tortoise shell: "The carapace of an Ironclad Turtle, unfortunately quite damaged, its value will be somewhat reduced."

.......

Finally, he carefully picked up the clump of transparent gelatinous substance: "The venom sac of a Spirit Light Jellyfish! So well-preserved, truly rare!"

He counted the items one by one, calculating rapidly in his mind. After a while, he straightened up and said to Qingchen, "Fellow Daoist, I've calculated that these materials, all in all, total six hundred and fifty low-grade spirit stones. What do you think?"

Qingchen's heart stirred. This price was several dozen spirit stones higher than the prices he had secretly inquired about from several other sources, which seemed fair, even slightly surprising.

He showed no sign of his true feelings, simply nodding slightly: "The shopkeeper is an honest man, so let's go with this price."

"Fellow Daoist, you're so straightforward!"

The shopkeeper's smile widened, and he immediately asked, "I wonder if you need anything else? Our shop also deals in various magical artifacts, all of superior quality."

Qing Chen readily replied, "That's exactly what I was thinking. My companions suffered considerable losses this time and need some new, suitable tools. If you have any, please show me some mid-grade or high-grade magical artifacts. The ordinary ones are unnecessary."

He didn't even mention top-grade magical artifacts.

After all, Qing Chen's actual cultivation level was only at the peak of the fifth level of Qi Refining. Generally speaking, for a cultivator at this level, being able to wield two mid-grade magical artifacts was already quite remarkable.

However, he cultivated the *Brahma Demon Refining Technique*, possessing considerable magical power, and his spiritual sense had already reached the level of the late Qi Refining stage.

Therefore, he could still wield a high-grade magical artifact in combat.

As for top-grade magic artifacts, they were somewhat difficult for him to handle. It was like trying to stir a large vat with a toothpick—utterly incompatible.

Generally speaking, top-grade magic artifacts were only chosen by cultivators at the peak of Qi Refining or those who had just broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

“Haha, fellow Daoist is truly a straightforward person, clearly someone who knows their stuff.”

The shopkeeper clapped his hands and laughed, his expression becoming more serious. “Speaking of magic artifacts, my shop does indeed still have some. I imagine low-grade magic artifacts are no longer worthy of your attention.

In recent years, I have personally crafted a batch of fine mid-grade and high-grade magic artifacts! Fellow Daoist, why don't you take a look at these?”

As he spoke, he took out several rectangular jade boxes from a seemingly more exquisite mid-grade storage bag at his waist and opened them one by one on the table.

The moment the jade boxes opened, a faint spiritual light emanated, and a sharp aura subtly permeated them.

“Fellow Daoist, please look at this.”

The shopkeeper pointed to the first jade box, inside which lay two flying swords, one large and one small, side by side.

The larger one is about three feet long, with a narrow blade and hidden lightning patterns; the smaller one is only a little over a foot long, its spiritual light restrained.

"This is the [Mother and Child Thunder Shadow Swords]. The mother sword is of superior quality, and the child sword is of medium quality. When unleashed, the child sword is hidden within the lightning light of the mother sword, silent and stealthy, specifically designed to break through protective spiritual light, making it impossible to defend against. If one's magical power is profound enough, the power of both swords will be even greater when unleashed together..."