40: Chapter 40 Flying Sword and Flowing Clouds

Returning to Pingjiang City, Li Qing went to Houtu Hall at the first opportunity.

Now that he had more Spirit Stones on him, he had to upgrade his equipment, right?

With his current cultivation level of Qi Refining Stage 7, the Low Grade Flying Sword Jinchuan was clearly no longer suitable for him.

He needed to change to a High Grade Magical Artifact at the very least.

Furthermore, Li Qing also wanted to set up a Formation in the place where he lived, just to be prepared.

He kept feeling that since he had rejected Manager Chai Jie, that guy would not let the matter rest.

Even though fighting was prohibited within Xiuchun Market.

But this rule might not necessarily be able to control Tianyun Tower.

Li Qing did not wander around and walked straight to the Formation section.

He immediately took a liking to a Formation Plate at first glance; it was a First-Tier High Grade defensive Formation—the Gen Earth Trapping and Confusion Formation.

The palm-sized Formation Plate was engraved with dense, earthy-yellow Talismans; it felt heavy in his hand and emitted a calm, steady, and heavy aura.

Li Qing picked up the Formation Plate and carefully examined its description: It combined the three core functions of a trapping Formation, a confusion Formation, and a disruption Formation. Once activated, it would instantly form a solid Earth-element barrier, trapping the enemy inside. At the same time, the sky would be filled with swirling yellow sand and mist, causing people to lose their sense of direction, and it would constantly interfere with the enemy's operation of Spiritual Qi. Even if a Cultivator at Qi Refining Perfection rashly broke in, they would be trapped, thrown into a panic, and find it difficult to break out.

"Good stuff, this is absolutely a Divine Artifact for saving one's life!"

Li Qing was overjoyed and immediately asked for the price without hesitation.

The shop assistant replied respectfully:

"Fellow Daoist, this First-Tier High Grade Gen Earth Trapping and Confusion Formation is priced at one thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

One thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones! Li Qing's heart twitched slightly; it was indeed not cheap.

But once he thought about it being something to save his life, he immediately made up his mind:

"I'll buy it!"

Moreover, as long as the foundation of this Formation was not damaged and there were enough Spirit Stones, it could be used continuously.

After buying this Formation Plate, Li Qing looked towards the Medicinal Pill section nearby.

He prepared to purchase some healing medicine for emergencies; as for Medicinal Pills to increase cultivation, with the omnipotent Spirit Stones, Li Qing felt they were unnecessary.

Thus, he carefully selected among the shelves, buying several bottles of high-tier healing medicine and antidotes; these were all good things that could save his life at critical moments.

Thinking of the Red-tailed Fox in his Immortal Cave, Li Qing specifically veered into the Spirit Pet Medicinal Pill section.

He immediately took a liking to a bottle of beast nourishing pill; this Medicinal Pill could nourish a spirit pet's body, promote its growth and evolution, and enhance its spirituality and cultivation. For the Red-tailed Fox, it was simply a supreme treasure.

Li Qing did not hesitate at all and directly put this bottle of beast nourishing pill into his pocket.

It cost Li Qing a total of five hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones.

Having settled the Medicinal Pill and Formation, Li Qing came to the Talisman section.

Talismans were essential items for Cultivators when traveling; they did not require consuming one's own Spiritual Qi, could be activated at will, and could save one's life at critical moments.

He directly chose five First-Tier High Grade attack Talismans; the power of each one was comparable to a full-strength strike from a Cultivator at Qi Refining Peak, which was more than enough to deal with ordinary enemies.

One hundred Spirit Stones per sheet.

Besides this, Li Qing also bought three First-Tier High Grade defensive Talismans; after these Talismans were activated, they could instantly form a thick Spiritual Qi shield that could forcibly withstand one powerful attack. Whether facing attacks from Magical Artifacts or Spells, it could protect him, and at critical moments, it would absolutely save his life. Each was worth one hundred and fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Finally, Li Qing came to the core Magical Artifact section of Houtu Hall; this was the main event of the entire Houtu Hall. Everything displayed was a top-quality Magical Artifact, each full of Spiritual Qi and shimmering with Spiritual light; they were completely on a different level from the ordinary Magical Artifacts at those small stalls outside.

Li Qing's gaze slowly swept over the various Magical Artifacts; there were Flying Swords, Magical Bracelets, and Jade Pendants, everything one could expect. His main purpose for this trip was to change his Flying Sword, so his gaze remained fixed on the Flying Swords on the shelf.

Before long, his gaze firmly locked onto a High Grade Flying Sword named Flowing Cloud.

The blade of the Flowing Cloud Flying Sword was slender and long, with a pale cyan color throughout. The sword body shimmered with faint cloud-patterned Spiritual light; it looked exquisite without losing its sharpness, and it felt just right in his hand.

Li Qing heard the shop assistant introduce that this Flying Sword had extremely fast flight speed and was incomparably fierce when attacking, making it especially suitable for close-quarters surprise attacks. It fit his Qi Refining Stage 7 cultivation level perfectly, making it handy to use.

Li Qing tested its feel and became more satisfied the more he looked at it; he directly asked for the price and, spending five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, bought it without hesitation.

From Formations, Medicinal Pills, and Talismans to the core Magical Artifact Flying Sword, Li Qing looked and bought along the way. As long as it was something he felt was useful and could improve his self-preservation ability, he did not hold back at all and bought everything in bulk.

The shop assistant on the side accompanied him the whole time, his Face beaming with joy, diligently following him to introduce the functions of various items. Watching Li Qing spend Spirit Stones lavishly on purchases, he was already overjoyed in his heart. If this big deal was completed, he would be able to get quite a lot of commission; this was a rare big client.

After everything was bought, Li Qing looked at the bill and saw that, altogether, he had spent a full two thousand nine hundred and fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

In the past, he was just a poor Loose Cultivator; let alone spending so many Spirit Stones, even if he spent one hundred, he would feel heartache and be unable to sleep for several days.

But it was different now; he had just earned a large sum of Spirit Stones from Spirit Rice trading. With money in hand, he had confidence. In this dangerous Immortal Realm, as long as he could make himself safer and have one more path to survival, no matter how many Spirit Stones he spent, it was worth it. He was completely in a state of "having money makes one willful."

Li Qing walked out of Houtu Hall, and the sunset was slowly setting. The orange-red afterglow sprinkled on him, plating him with a layer of faint golden edges.

...

Tianyun Tower.

Manager Chai Jie sat in a private room on the second floor, toying with a jade cup in his hand. His Face was so gloomy that water could drip from it. Thinking of being rejected by Li Qing in public earlier and losing Face, the anger in his heart could not be suppressed.

He grew up in Tianyun Tower. Relying on his family's power, he had always acted wildly and tyrannically among the low-tier Cultivators in Pingjiang City. It was always him bullying others; when had he ever been treated with such disrespect by an unknown Loose Cultivator? He could not swallow this anger no matter what.

"Master, that Loose Cultivator Li Qing, whom you asked me to watch earlier, just came out of Houtu Hall. He was making massive purchases inside and spent quite a lot of Spirit Stones."

A servant dressed in black, with a cultivation level at Qi Refining Peak, lowered his head and walked respectfully into the private room to report to Manager Chai Jie.

This was Manager Chai Jie's slave; they all shared the same name in the Chai Family: Chai Servant.

Upon hearing this, Manager Chai Jie slammed the jade cup in his hand onto the table, making a "clanging" sound, and asked with a sinister look in his eyes:

"Oh? This poor Loose Cultivator sold a lot of Spirit Stones worth of Spirit Rice and still dares to go to Houtu Hall to make massive purchases; he actually has some ability. You tell me carefully, what did he buy?"

"Replying to Master, this small one was watching at the entrance of Houtu Hall and did not dare to get close, so I don't know specifically what he bought." The subordinate hurriedly replied, not daring to have the slightest concealment.

"Useless thing, you can't even handle such a small matter well!"

Manager Chai Jie scolded angrily, then ordered coldly.

"You immediately take people to investigate for me and find out Li Qing's background clearly! What exactly has he done recently, where did he get so much high-quality Spirit Rice, who does he usually associate with, and where does he live? Investigate everything clearly for me; do not let a single detail slip by!"

"Yes, Master, this small one will go handle it immediately!"

Chai Servant hurriedly responded, turned around, and ran out quickly, not daring to have the slightest delay.

Manager Chai Jie watched Chai Servant's departing back, a cold, sinister smile curling up at the corner of his mouth.

Li Qing, is it? Daring to not give me, Manager Chai Jie, Face, and even daring to reject my request; I want to see what kind of confidence you have.

Once I find out your background, regardless of whether you suddenly struck it rich or have some hidden backer, I will settle this account with you sooner or later. Don't think you can just let it rest; my, Manager Chai Jie's, Face is not so easy to reject!