Chapter 19

Ba Yicheng let out a light laugh and cupped his hands to the female cultivator. “What you said couldn’t be more true, Senior. My junior sister is never short on elixirs—she was born with a ‘Nascent Soul Stage Guarantee’ ticket in her mouth. Her father is a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, her mother is early-stage Nascent Soul, and both are well known: one is a renowned artifact forger, the other has already advanced to sixth-rank alchemist. Elixirs and magical tools are never lacking in her house. Not to mention, my own master is her uncle, and our grandmaster dotes on her beyond measure. She’s been surrounded by treasures since childhood.” His words might have seemed boastful, perhaps even ostentatious, but at this moment, they carried a subtle warning. With both parents at the Nascent Soul stage, an uncle who is a sword cultivator at the same stage, and a grandmaster in the Soul Transformation realm, anyone coveting her wealth would have to think twice about their own abilities.

Everyone present was experienced enough to read between the lines. Moreover, a Nascent Soul sword cultivator swept his gaze around the room as Ba Yicheng spoke, making it abundantly clear that she was not without backing. With parents who were both an alchemist and an artifact forger, she was not someone to offend lightly—only to be befriended.

So, everyone took Ba Yicheng’s words in stride, laughing them off with a few jokes, and the matter was left at that. Only the female cultivator’s expression was a little unnatural, but she said nothing more. At her age, she was hardly naïve; pride was one thing, but not always worth the trouble.

The atmosphere remained congenial. After a few light-hearted jests, the pale-faced male cultivator finally spoke. “With such a little tycoon among us, don’t be stingy—who knows, you might really trade for something good.”

“I don’t have anything too precious. Even if I did, it wouldn’t suit a child like you. Consider this just to get things started, so no need to laugh at me.”

“I have here a pair of Demonic Shears, a top-grade treasure. I’d like to exchange for the core of a seventh-rank gold-elemental beast.”

The item itself wasn’t particularly rare, but its value was equivalent to the request. As soon as he brought it out, someone traded for it. Li Mengze clicked her tongue in awe. My goodness, a sixth-rank beast matches a Nascent Soul cultivator, and a seventh-rank is mid-Nascent Soul. Not to mention, gold is the most fearsome combat element. People like him just bring out such treasures as if it’s nothing—no wonder they say a Nascent Soul cultivator’s wealth could fill the storage bags of countless Golden Core cultivators.

Perhaps this man had set a good example; the rest of the exchanges proceeded smoothly. When most had finished, Wei Qingtong finally opened his mouth.

He took out from his pouch an item that Li Mengze found rather odd: a small drum, three feet long and square, with two tiny drumsticks attached. It looked like a child’s toy, yet it drew collective gasps from the room.

Li Mengze didn’t know what it was, but judging from everyone’s reaction, it was either extremely rare or highly sinister—certainly not something ordinary.

“This is a Demonic Pattern Drum. A Nascent Soul cultivator can use it to control three Nascent Soul corpse puppets. I’d like to exchange it for a piece of Goldsand Stone the size of a fist.”

Li Mengze stared at him in disbelief. How bold he must be, to openly present something more wicked than anything a demonic cultivator would dare use, without a hint of shame or concern for his sect’s reputation. From that moment, Li Mengze decided she would respect this upright-looking uncle—not only was his cultivation high, but his face was thick enough to be a shield. She resolved to learn from him and stride boldly down the path of shamelessness herself.

Goldsand Stone wasn’t rare, but a fist-sized piece was. It absorbed the essence of sun and moon over centuries and, though a mineral, was said by some to eventually take human form, much like spirit beasts—though no one had ever witnessed it.

Goldsand Stone was essential for sword cultivators when refining their life-bound artifact, increasing both its durability and the fusion of various minerals, while self-replenishing spiritual energy. Many sword cultivators considered it indispensable.

The Demonic Pattern Drum was valuable, but so was the Goldsand Stone—not something most people had on hand. Yet, as luck would have it, someone present did have such a piece. That person, not a demonic cultivator, had no use for the drum and promptly sold it to a demonic cultivator present for eighty thousand top-grade spirit stones—both parties left happy.

After the elders finished their exchanges, the three juniors looked at each other. Ba Yicheng and Wen Yuanyuan had no particular needs; both had supplementary skills in artifact forging, and their items were either beneath Nascent Soul cultivators’ notice or too precious to part with. Better to observe and learn.

Li Mengze, however, didn’t stay silent. She had plenty of items usable by Nascent Soul cultivators, but was reluctant to part with them. Still, she hoped to gather some rare spiritual herbs, as opportunities to trade with Nascent Soul cultivators were rare indeed.

She had already planned ahead. She did possess several millennium-old spirit plants in her spatial pocket, some of which she’d propagated since the spiritual energy there had grown abundant. Using the opportunity to retrieve items from her storage pouch, she prepared several samples and placed them on the table.

“My mother prepared these for me earlier, but my cultivation isn’t yet high enough to refine them, so I’d like to trade for some rare and unusual herbs to give my mother as a gift. She recently advanced to sixth-rank alchemist, and I don’t have much else to offer her.” Her words brimmed with filial affection and admiration.

The spirit plants she laid out were lush and full of life, each with considerable age. She only asked for rare varieties, not caring about their vintage, which made them all the more welcome.

Li Mengze presented five spirit plants. Aside from one particularly precious Shapeshifting Herb, the rest were ordinary millennium-old spirit herbs. In an alchemist’s hands, a single millennium Shapeshifting Herb could be refined into five top-grade Shapeshifting Pills.

As Nascent Soul cultivators, nearly everyone had a spirit beast on the verge of transformation, so the sight of the Shapeshifting Herb made eyes light up.

In the end, the spirit plants were divided among several demonic cultivators. Perhaps the climate in the Demon Domain had altered many local plant species—there were many unfamiliar to Li Mengze, making this a harvest in itself, though she wasn’t sure how useful they might be in the future.

The exchange gathering had not been in vain; everyone left with something of value. Even Wen Yuanyuan and Ba Yicheng, who made no trades, felt they had broadened their horizons and satisfied some small measure of pride. Even among Nascent Soul cultivators, not all were as well-off as these scions of great clans. For itinerant cultivators without the backing of a sect, their foundations were often much weaker.

After the others left, only Wei Qingtong and the three senior brothers remained. They changed to a different room, ordered some dishes from a spiritual chef, and allowed themselves a rare moment of relaxation amidst their busy lives.

Li Mengze knew little about the Demon Domain, but Wei Qingtong and Ba Yicheng were well acquainted with it.

Even someone as reserved as Wei Qingtong looked after his younger sect members, sharing a few useful, if not strictly confidential, pieces of information.

For example, though the Tianyi Secret Realm was located within the Demon Domain, part of the realm was suitable for cultivation. Only the central area was saturated with violent demonic energy—absorbing it risked spiritual energy backlash, even death by explosion—so it was best avoided. The rest of the realm, however, was much the same for demonic and orthodox cultivators alike.

Within the central area stood the Hall of Inheritance, said to hold sword, alchemy, and artifact forging legacies. Though the legends had never been confirmed, many entered the secret realm in hopes of obtaining them. After all, ancient alchemical and forging techniques differed greatly from those of the present day, and much could be learned. Anyone who succeeded would gain immeasurably.

Danger was inevitable, but opportunity and risk always went hand in hand.

Li Mengze furrowed her brow. Why did this plot sound so familiar? In the novel, the heroine had obtained both the alchemy and artifact forging inheritances in a secret realm, while the sword inheritance was given to a loyal protector who had always followed her. Although the protector only received half of the legacy due to his talent, it was enough for him to eventually break through from Nascent Soul to Soul Transformation.

Though he became one of the most powerful figures on the Azure Continent, it never caused the heroine to abandon the male lead for his embrace. Still, with the sword inheritance, the protector defeated a genius disciple from Kunlun at the centennial tournament. While this didn’t dethrone Kunlun as the foremost sect, it did tarnish their reputation.

Li Mengze had no particular opinion of the heroine—a white lotus, albeit a false one; everyone lived their own way, and she had no grounds for criticism. But after so many years in Kunlun, where everyone treated her kindly, even a block of wood would develop feelings, let alone someone as warm-hearted as herself. Even if she could not repay Kunlun greatly, she could never stand by and watch someone trample on the sect she owed so much to.

So Li Mengze made a silent vow: even if she could not claim the inheritance herself, she would make sure someone from Kunlun did so before anyone else could.