After some thought, Ji Yuan roughly explained his intentions, omitting the part about dynastic turmoil.
Seeing that a portion of his words was clearly missing, Zhao Yuansong glanced around and immediately understood. He didn't press for details and instead began to introduce the surroundings.
As they talked, the group ambled aimlessly through the area, occasionally stepping into some shops.
However, for the most part, Ji Yuan only looked. While the items before him were good, they were not essential to him.
Zhao Yuansong, on the other hand, purchased quite a few things for himself and his junior disciples. Though none were overly precious, they were precisely what the group needed at the moment.
The group walked and browsed, eventually stopping outside a shop, where everyone but Ji Yuan showed an expectant expression.
"Tian Qiao Pavilion is the most renowned sacred ground of the art of artifact crafting in the dynasty. Its produced artifacts, heavy implements, and even spiritual treasures and divine weapons are all considered absolute treasures in every aspect," Zhao Yuansong explained.
This was both a cultivation sect and a merchant guild that spanned the dynasty's territories. The artifacts it produced had higher quality and stronger power among those of the same tier. It was even rumored that many powerful figures commissioned Tian Qiao Pavilion to forge their spiritual treasures.
As they spoke, the group entered the shop. The moment they crossed the threshold, the scene before them blurred. In an instant, a space far larger than it appeared from the outside materialized before their eyes.
Dozens of cultivators had already gathered within Tian Qiao Pavilion's shop. In the vast space, low murmurs overlapped, creating a lively atmosphere.
At a glance, Ji Yuan noticed that most of the cultivators present were at the second realm, and he even spotted two at the third realm.
This place also differed from other shops. While shop assistants were scattered throughout, they never guided customers or introduced products. Instead, they let patrons browse freely, only to be approached for inquiries if something was unclear.
However, Ji Yuan thought about it and realized that given Tian Qiao Pavilion's reputation in the Great Yu Dynasty, they didn't need to worry about their goods not selling. In fact, if their prices weren't considerably higher than elsewhere, they would likely have been bought out long ago.
"Tian Qiao Pavilion's items are expensive, but you get what you pay for. They are absolutely worth the price," Jiang He approached and whispered to Ji Yuan. "It is said that disciples of Tian Qiao Pavilion must be able to independently refine artifacts with three restrictions using ordinary materials before they are considered to have achieved minor success and are allowed to have their sect's mark appear in the shop."
Legend had it that within Tian Qiao Pavilion's mountain gate stood a spiritual treasure, a square cauldron tens of feet high, comparable to a mountain peak. Any substandard artifacts refined by the sect's disciples were thrown into this cauldron to be remelted and broken down into raw materials.
Under such rules, coupled with Tian Qiao Pavilion's thousands of years of inherited craftsmanship, even an artifact forged by just one of their disciples would possess stronger power and higher quality among those of the same tier.
However, the price was also significantly higher than ordinary artifacts!
Ji Yuan was astonished after just a few glances. For an artifact with three restrictions, using ordinary materials, the price was thirty percent higher than in other shops.
But the items here, each imbued with pure spiritual energy and radiating strong spiritual light on the surface, were indeed extraordinary.
Currently, he was not lacking in spiritual treasures. He still had several suitable artifacts in his Shanhe Bag, so he had no intention of buying anything. Looking around was simply for the sake of broadening his horizons.
Zhao Yuansong and the others, however, truly lacked one or two crucial artifacts for self-defense, so they examined everything with great seriousness.
When choosing spiritual artifacts, cultivators often did not solely consider power and appearance. The most important requirement was whether it suited them.
Therefore, they examined things carefully, scrutinizing one artifact for a long time without making a purchase, constantly comparing it with others. They were exceptionally patient.
In fact, it wasn't just Zhao Yuansong and the others. The dozens of cultivators present were the same. They often considered for half the day without being able to acquire one or two items.
Out of boredom, Ji Yuan led Xia Dong to wander aimlessly around the area, not with the intention of buying anything, but purely for amusement.
However, as they walked, he noticed a staircase to the side, realizing that there was a second floor.
After a moment's thought, seeing no one to stop them, he curiously led Xia Dong upstairs.
As soon as they reached the second floor, Ji Yuan saw two spiritual treasures radiating intense spiritual light placed on wooden platforms beside the stairs. Although sealed by restrictions, they still emitted spiritual pressure.
However, these two spiritual treasures likely did not possess direct combat power and were more oriented towards support. Thus, despite their strong spiritual pressure, they could not even deter a first-realm cultivator.
Of course, this was also related to the restrictions on them. Otherwise, the full spiritual pressure of even the lowest-grade spiritual treasure would be enough to force a first-realm cultivator to retreat dozens of feet, making it impossible to approach.
Beyond the two spiritual treasures, in the hall, wooden platforms stood in rows, each displaying items. Colorful spiritual lights intertwined to form a spectacle.
There were significantly fewer cultivators on this floor than on the first, but their cultivation was also much stronger, generally being in the mid-to-late second realm, or even the third realm.
The shop assistants here, like on the first floor, simply waited to be summoned and never proactively recommended products.
"A common sword-type artifact still costs eight hundred thousand taels of patterned silver!" Xia Dong couldn't help but grumble after taking only a few steps.
However, Ji Yuan was not surprised by this price at all. He even wondered if, given Tian Qiao Pavilion's reputation, it wouldn't cost another hundred to two hundred thousand taels of patterned silver?
The cheapest spiritual artifacts in the world cost at least tens of thousands of taels of silver, but most of them were items with one or two restrictions. For every additional restriction in an artifact, its price would soar significantly.
Not to mention some artifacts, whose materials themselves were incredibly precious, further increasing their price exponentially.
And for artifacts produced by Tian Qiao Pavilion, using extraordinary materials and possessing nine restrictions, even if it was just the most common type of sword, the price of eight hundred thousand taels of patterned silver was not expensive at all.
Similarly, the Cold Moon Shuttle in Song He's hand, also with nine restrictions and made of extremely precious materials, plus being refined by the Mingyue Sect for three hundred years, would fetch at least one million five hundred to one million six hundred thousand taels of patterned silver if put up for sale.
Note that this is patterned silver, not the common silver used by ordinary households.
Within the Great Yu Dynasty, one tael of patterned silver could be exchanged for four to five taels of ordinary silver.
"Even if I were a maid for three or four hundred years, I couldn't afford the cheapest artifact here," Xia Dong shook her head, her face filled with bitterness.
Looking at it, it made one lose the desire to even cultivate.
Working hard for a lifetime, yet unable to afford the cheapest artifact in the shop, was indeed discouraging.
"No matter what you do, you need a bit of ingenuity, and cultivation is no exception," Ji Yuan glanced at her and said slowly.
He had deeply realized this point from the moment he embarked on the path of cultivation, which was when he first entered Mingxin Pavilion and witnessed items that could be called "sky-high."
He had also heard that alchemists were the most profitable, which was why he became an alchemist through the Great Dao Records.
However, even though he understood this long ago, he was still shocked by the prices listed here.
He was not short of wealth now. Besides his accumulation over the past year, the matter involving the Li family alone had brought him considerable fortune.
But if he excluded essential items like spiritual treasures, his remaining money and spiritual items combined amounted to only over two million taels, not enough to buy even a few excellent spiritual artifacts here.
This made Ji Yuan feel a sense of unreality. Back in Qianyu City, tens of thousands of taels were considered a staggering amount, and the annual tax revenue of over a hundred thousand people was only about that much.
But after leaving the county town, he discovered that hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of taels of silver were merely numbers.
With deep emotion, Ji Yuan suddenly stopped, his brow furrowed as he looked at an artifact on the wooden platform before him, a clear look of interest on his face.
"Did the young master take a liking to this item?" Xia Dong asked from the side.
He nodded slightly, his gaze constantly studying a pale blue long whip. The more he looked, the more he liked it, feeling an innate sense of closeness.
A shop assistant noticed and quickly approached. He bowed slightly before the two of them and said respectfully, "This item was forged by a master of artifact crafting from Tian Qiao Pavilion using thirty-seven types of water-element spiritual materials. Although it is still a blank, it already possesses nine restrictions. Its power is not inferior to any artifact of excellent quality."
The shop assistant stated that if opportunities arose in the future, or if some cost was incurred, it was not impossible for this item to be upgraded to a spiritual treasure.
Even now, the toughness of this whip was already comparable to, or even superior to, ordinary spiritual treasures. If it weren't for the lack of a key core component, it might have already evolved its own restrictions and become a true spiritual treasure.
Ji Yuan nodded slightly. After examining it for a long time, he looked at the price tag. The blank artifact, a long whip, cost a hefty one million eight hundred thousand taels of patterned silver.
After some thought, he turned to the shop assistant beside him, "Can your esteemed establishment accept spiritual items as payment?"
"Certainly, but it will be calculated at cost price, not the selling price," the shop assistant's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan nodded and asked him to lead the way. In a short while, they arrived outside a private room.
Pushing open the closed door, the interior was simply furnished. Besides a few tables and chairs, there was nothing else.
Behind a wooden table sat an elder with white hair, who was likely the appraiser here.
Ji Yuan was direct and efficient. He immediately took out the spiritual items from his Shanhe Bag, filling more than half of the private room. Everyone's vision was filled with countless spiritual lights.
It was no wonder the furnishings here were simple; they likely considered the quantity of items brought by guests. If there were too many furnishings, a transaction might become somewhat undignified.
The white-haired elder took a full fifteen minutes to sort the various spiritual materials, determine their prices, and place them into separate Shanhe Bags.
All the spiritual materials obtained from Mingxin Pavilion and the Li family were valued at a total of one million nine hundred and seventy thousand taels of patterned silver. After deducting the cost of the long whip, Tian Qiao Pavilion still needed to return seventeen thousand taels of patterned silver.
"Esteemed guest, please wait a moment." After ushering Ji Yuan and Xia Dong into another waiting private room, the shop assistant hurried away.
This place was much more pleasing to the eye than the appraisal room. Besides elegant furnishings, it was also adorned with many exquisite trinkets.
The two had only just begun to look around when the door to the private room was pushed open. Immediately, two maids brought in four or five plates of pastries and preserves, along with two cups of rich spiritual tea.
"Congratulations to our esteemed guest for acquiring the item of your heart's desire." A woman entered the private room, carrying a wooden tray. On it rested a pale blue long whip and seventeen gold notes of one hundred taels each.
Ji Yuan casually put away the gold notes and then took the whip into his hands. Feeling its aura, his joy grew even stronger.
Even the vital energy within his body became more active under the whip's influence, and the lingering water qi in his flesh and blood began to emerge bit by bit.