Chapter Thirty-Six: The Sword Casting Pavilion

  Bǎi qì xuān is the largest store in Píngnán Gǔ Fāng Shì, not only with the most magnificent scale and the strongest background, but also operating the most expensive treasures in the market - magical instruments.

  In recent days, Bai Qi Xuan has procured a large batch of various magical tools from somewhere and the four disciples who received the news rushed to buy them, forming a long dragon-like queue in front of Bai Qi Xuan's shop.

  Li Muran also arrived early in the city and was among the crowd, still in a relatively forward position.

  "What kind of ritual instrument should I buy?" Li Muran thought to himself, for a Yuanshu Sect cultivator, the most common ritual instrument was none other than a talismanic sword.

  The sword itself is a flying sword, and for the cultivators of the wandering period, it can also be used to fly with the sword; in addition, the difference between the talismanic sword and other flying swords lies in the fact that various talismans are pre-engraved on its surface. The unlocking method is only lightly touched by the sword light, which can unlock most of the seals on the talismans, making it convenient to use them quickly.

  At the beginning of the grand ceremony, that young Mo Yunzi, Master Mo's uncle, used a symbol sword to manipulate the ancestral symbols and open the light for all the disciples. The scene at that time was still remembered by Li Muran.

  "But a high-quality sword talisman is exorbitantly priced, and an inferior one isn't of much use either." Li Muran hesitated in his heart, after all the talismans he used were relatively low-level, mid-tier spell talismans, with simple seals that were easy to unlock and use, not requiring much assistance from a sword talisman.

  Generally speaking, only those powerful, sealed and complex talismans require the assistance of a sword to be cast.

  "Spirit stones are limited, it's better to use them to buy a defensive magic tool!" Li Muran thought to himself. A high-quality defensive magic tool could block a fatal blow at a critical moment, and that was the treasure he needed most right now.

  Just as Li Muran was lost in thought, a cold laugh echoed beside him:

  "Haha, unexpectedly, there are even a few mid-term disciples of Qi Mai who have come to buy magical instruments!"

  Li Muran was taken aback, looking around and finding that indeed several disciples before and after him were much older, with auras that were even more majestic and condensed, all of whom were late-stage Qi Refining disciples.

  In the entire queue waiting to buy the law instrument, there were only three or four disciples in the middle stage of Qi Mai like Li Mu Ran, and all the others were disciples in the late stage of Qi Mai; those little disciples in the early stage of Qi Mai didn't even dare to come and join in the excitement, they could only watch from afar.

  Li Muran remained silent and ignored others' ridicule.

  Not long after, Bai Qi Xuan started business, the disciples in line one by one walked into the store, and then there were special staff members responsible for receiving them.

  The one who received Li Muran was a dark-skinned youth, slightly older than Li Muran, and also had a middle-stage Qi Refining cultivation.

  The shop assistant glanced at Li Muran and inadvertently revealed a hint of disappointment, then asked faintly: "What artifact does this junior brother want to buy?"

  "I'm thinking of buying a defensive artifact, with high quality and no limit on the five elements attribute. The stronger the defense, the better - at least it should be able to withstand a dozen or so Flame Burst attacks without taking any damage." Li Muran expressed his thoughts and then looked expectantly at the other person.

  "Is that a defensive magic tool of medium grade or higher?" said the store clerk.

  "Exactly!" Li Muran nodded happily.

  "No!" The shop assistant said coldly.

  "None?" Li Muran was taken aback, "Sold out so soon?"

  "If you don't have it, then you don't," the shopkeeper said somewhat impatiently. "If you want other magical tools, please speak up quickly. Otherwise, don't hinder our business, there are still many senior brothers waiting to buy magical tools behind you!"

  Li Muran had to retreat to the side upon hearing this, and the shop assistant, seeing Li Muran give way, immediately beamed with a smile and bowed to the late-stage Qi Refining disciple behind Li Muran, saying: "This senior brother, I wonder what kind of artifact you'd like to buy?"

  "I want a mid-grade defensive artifact with golden properties, preferably a shield." The late-stage Qi Pulse disciple said loudly, his voice not small, and Li Muran was right next to him, so he naturally heard it clearly.

  "This brother will also be disappointed and leave!" Li Muran sighed in his heart.

  Who knew, the shopkeeper agreed and said: "Alright alright, our store has a few items that meet your requirements, I'll go get them right away, please wait for a moment!"

  "Hold on!" Li Muran turned around and questioned the store clerk: "I also wanted to buy a defensive magic tool just now, why did you say there wasn't any?"

  "Hmph!" The shopkeeper sneered coldly, saying: "This kind of artifact is at least 400 to 500 spirit stones at the cheapest. You're just a mid-stage Qi Refining disciple, can you afford it?! I'm wasting my breath talking to you!"

  The shop assistant said, and then went back to the store to get the law enforcement equipment without looking back, leaving behind Li Muran who was somewhat angry and other Qi Mai Houqi disciples who were watching with a smile.

  Being looked down upon like this, if it were any other vigorous young man, they would have taken the spirit stone out of their storage bag and smashed it into the face of that "looking down on people" shop assistant. But Li Muran was after all much more calm and composed, he didn't say anything else, just shook his head, self-mockingly smiled, and left the Hundred Goods Pavilion.

  "A mid-grade defensive artifact costs 400 to 500 spirit stones, it's indeed very expensive!" Li Muran thought to himself. Although he had enough spirit stones, with his current cultivation level at the middle stage of Qi Refining, taking out so many spirit stones at once would inevitably be quite shocking and attention-grabbing.

  "The streets are so bustling, and naturally there are many thieves hiding among them. If I really openly buy a defensive artifact, it will definitely attract the attention of some thieves, and being targeted by thieves is hard to defend against!" Li Muran weighed the pros and cons, and finally gave up on the idea of buying a defensive artifact.

  Li Muran strolled around the market, and also bought some talismans and ink. Unbeknownst to him, he arrived in front of a shop called "Zhu Jian Ge".

  This is also a hardware store, just smaller in scale. At this time, there was only one customer in his thirties in the store.

  "Good luck!" Li Muran walked into the Sword Casting Pavilion, just about to ask a question, when a middle-aged man in his 40s, who was the shopkeeper, came out with a smile and said: "This young brother, our store's artifacts have been sold out, temporarily no goods. If you're interested, come back in ten days or half a month."

  "Is that so?" Li Muran frowned and asked, "Then what is this customer here to buy? Does your esteemed shop think I'm too shallow and not worthy of coming to purchase a treasure?"

  "Little brother, you've misunderstood!" The shopkeeper smiled warmly and said: "This guest has come to commission a forged artifact. Our store has a master craftsman from the Sword Spirit Sect who is in charge of refining artifacts. If customers provide their own materials for refinement, we can also accept commissions to forge various artifacts on their behalf. We only charge a certain processing fee."

  "Commissioned forging?" Li Muran's heart moved slightly, and he immediately said in a low voice: "I was just about to do the same!"

  "Really?" The shopkeeper looked at Li Muran with a slightly suspicious gaze, but still spoke politely: "If so, please come inside and discuss the details. A craftsman will arrive shortly to take care of it."

  Li Muran followed the words and walked into the inner hall, sat for a moment, then a man in his thirties with a bare upper body came in, with a loud voice: "Do you want to forge a magic weapon?"

  "Exactly!" Li Muran said: "Your Excellency is..."

  The burly man interrupted Li Muran's words and said, "First take out your materials and let me see. If the quality is too poor, it won't do! Not any scrap metal can be used to forge a magic weapon!"

  "Can the demon bird's materials be used?" Li Muran said, and then took out more than a dozen iron wing feathers of the eagle and a pair of eagle claws from his storage bag.

  "Hmm, what excellent material!" The big man's eyes sparkled with interest as he stepped forward a few paces to examine the materials more closely.

  "Ah, yes. The genuine long feathers of a second-class demonic bird Iron Winged Eagle and a pair of eagle claws." The big man nodded repeatedly after taking a glance.

  At a glance at the other party, Li Muran judged the origin of the material, and his heart relaxed. It seemed that this refiner was very familiar with demon materials, and his experience must not be shallow.

  "Not bad, these materials can be used to refine equipment!" The big man nodded towards Li Muran and said: "These feathers are very sharp and are wind-attribute materials, suitable for refining into flying knife artifacts; as for this pair of eagle claws, they are very complete, I have an idea that can be tried."

  Dahan and Li Muran started a detailed discussion, and their conversation was also quite polite.

  Half an hour later, Li Muran left the Sword Casting Pavilion with satisfaction. A month later, he could come here to retrieve the finished magic weapon.

  ……

  Kuanglu Mountain Range, a vast mountain valley in front of the three-tiered Lingquan Spring.

  This valley is located in the center of Ganglu Four Sects, and like Sanzhang Spring, the largest spiritual spring in the Ganglu Mountains, it belongs to the shared area of the Four Sects and does not belong to any sect.

  At this time, hundreds of disciples and elders from the four schools of Kuangtou gathered here, but the valley was still relatively quiet, with no one shouting loudly, at most only whispering to each other.

  After all, with the sect's elders present, these disciples didn't dare to be presumptuous. One by one, they stood honestly in their original positions, some lowering their heads and not speaking, while others looked around restlessly.

  Mu Li was one of them, he looked around and whispered to Li Muran beside him: "The disciples of the Great Ming Temple are indeed mostly monks who have left home, and only about 30% of the secular disciples have not shaved their heads."

  "The senior brothers of Jianling Gate are the most imposing, each with a stern expression, an aura that's intimidating and oppressive, and they all wear a sharp sword at their waist - as if afraid others won't know they're sword users! Do they need to show off like this, can't they just put it in their storage bag?!"

  Li Muran smiled and said, "Hehe, this is the rule of Jianlingmen. They open their eyes with swords, people don't leave their swords, and swords don't leave people. In this way, they always wear swords on their bodies. It's said that after a long time, it can make people and swords more familiar, and the power will be even greater when used. Don't underestimate them, among the four sects of Kuanglu, Jianlingmen is openly the first in terms of disciples' strength."

  "Ah-ha!" Mu Li stuck out his tongue and looked away in another direction.

  "Wow, the Danxin Sect really has a lot of female disciples!" Mu Li suddenly exclaimed: "What a pity that most of them are wearing veils and can't see their true faces... Hmm, it seems like one of my senior sisters is looking at me!"