Translator: AnubisTL
After a lengthy negotiation, Li Qing finally managed to haggle the price for refining a batch of Dustfall Pills down to 13,000 merit points, including the cost of the spirit herbs.
Old Man Jian had initially demanded 18,000 points, nearly causing Li Qing to storm out in protest.
"Heh, you're quite the bargainer, young man," Old Man Jian grumbled, slightly displeased. "In all my years, no one has ever managed to get a discount on pill refinement from me. You've truly broken new ground."
Li Qing replied smoothly, "Master Jian, you misunderstand. The spirit herbs required for Dustfall Pills are quite obscure. Even if you kept them, they'd likely be of little use to you."
"In tens of thousands of years, the Tonggu Continent might not even see a single ascended being. Rather than letting these herbs rot in your hands, why not trade them to me and put them to good use?"
Old Man Jian stopped complaining and waved his hand dismissively. "Alright, alright. Do you want to open the furnace now?"
Hearing this, Li Qing chuckled wryly. "I'd love to open the furnace immediately, but I'm new here and don't have any merit points yet. Let me gather enough first."
"Hmph, then I won't keep you any longer. You may leave as you please," Old Man Jian said, turning his back on Li Qing and dismissing him.
Having received his marching orders, Li Qing wisely departed Old Man Jian's cave abode.
As he flew out of the floating island peak, he inquired about the cost of renting a cave abode. To his shock, it would cost 1,500 merit points per year!
Stunned by this revelation, Li Qing could only gape before retreating in dismay.
"Merit points for everything! This is driving me crazy," he sighed, feeling the familiar pinch of poverty he'd experienced when first entering the cultivation world, when he'd practically wanted to split a single spirit stone in half to make it last longer.
After wandering through the city and pondering his options, Li Qing decided to sell some of his less essential possessions to earn merit points.
Even setting up a stall in the market required paying merit points to the city—though it was relatively cheap, costing only one merit point per day.
To secure some initial capital, Li Qing returned to the stone tablet where missions were posted and accepted all the artifact refinement tasks in one go.
For Li Qing, artifact refinement was the simplest and least dangerous mission. Other tasks, such as collecting spiritual objects or claiming bounties, all carried some degree of risk.
Artifact refinement, however, could be completed within the city walls, requiring minimal effort or mental strain.
These refinement commissions primarily came from cultivators in the Core Formation and Nascent Soul realms. Some sought repairs for rare treasures, while others requested the creation of new magic treasures, with clear and detailed specifications.
Thus, Li Qing traveled throughout the city, personally visiting the cultivators who had posted the commissions to refine their treasures.
It was somewhat poignant to see a once-invincible great power of the human realm reduced to this.
Fortunately, artifact refinement was indeed no challenge for Li Qing. He completed each commission with ease, often finishing them shortly after arriving at the client's residence.
The clients' eyes lit up when they saw the finished products Li Qing presented.
"Impressive! When did such a skilled artifact refiner appear in Profound Ancient City? With your talent, why aren't you serving as the Giant Spirit Race's exclusive refiner in Giant Spirit Royal City?"
Li Qing was stunned by this revelation. After a long pause, he asked, "What? The Giant Spirit Race would hire humans as artifact refiners?"
"You didn't know? The Giant Spirit Race highly values human pill refiners, formation masters, artifact refiners, and the like. They especially prize cultivators with exceptional skills and invite them to cultivate in their royal city."
"Over the years, they've poached quite a few human cultivators with mastery of cultivation techniques."
Silence fell as Li Qing absorbed this information. After a long moment, he collected his contribution points for the artifact refinement commission and took his leave.
No one had ever mentioned this to him before, but he couldn't blame them—he hadn't revealed his profession as an artifact refiner either.
"Ah, still a newcomer, knowing nothing. If only I'd understood this sooner, I wouldn't have taken so many detours!" Li Qing shook his head, ultimately deciding to remain in the human walled city for a while longer.
After all, the Lord of Void Spirit City had promised him a spot in the Heavenlight Secret Realm, and he remained keenly interested in the opportunity at Condensed Light Lake.
After repeatedly moving around the city and refining artifacts, Li Qing finally accumulated 2,800 merit points!
He had completed nearly all the artifact refinement commissions posted on the stone tablet, and it was unlikely any new missions would appear in the near future.
With this, he finally stopped his relentless pace. His first act was to rent a cave abode on one of the Floating Mountain Islands within the city for a year, immediately spending over half of his hard-earned contribution points.
"Hmm, not bad. At least I have a place to settle down now, no more running around."
Entering the cave abode, Li Qing let out a long sigh of relief.
While the space felt cramped compared to his independent spirit peak at the Lingyun Sect in the human realm, its greatest advantage lay in its dense spiritual energy. The spiritual energy within the cave abode was so concentrated it was almost condensing into mist—a testament to its location on a top-grade fifth-tier spirit vein land.
Feeling the abundant spiritual energy surrounding him, Li Qing's spirit relaxed considerably.
He established a strict restriction formation both inside and outside the cave abode, then took a short rest to restore his mental state to its peak.
Next, he opened his storage bag and began cataloging the items he had scavenged from the lower realm.
"First, there's the corpse of this Fifth-Tier Yellow Immortal. Its True Bone still retains its spirituality, so refining a simple spirit treasure shouldn't be a problem."
"As for the fur and flesh, I can dismantle them and sell them directly. Talisman masters and body refiners should be interested."
"Next are the divine abilities and cultivation techniques. I managed to obtain some scattered five elements daoist arts from the Five Elements Spirit Saint, but I'm not sure if they'll sell."
After careful calculation, Li Qing estimated that selling his current inventory could earn him several tens of thousands of merit points.
The spirit treasure refined from the Yellow Immortal's True Bone should fetch a high price, but the final value would depend on the quality of the refined product.
"I was planning to visit the World of Eternal Night to see if passage between the two realms was still possible. But with the powerful and unpredictable formation enveloping the city, any unusual movements might be detected. It's best to avoid traveling back for now."
Li Qing hadn't forgotten how the city lord's manor's royal guard had pinpointed his location with uncanny accuracy.
Finally, he took the miniaturized Heavenly Wonder Immortal Mansion in his hand.
In the next instant, his figure flickered, and he vanished into the immortal mansion.
With a subtle flicker of his divine sense, Li Qing surveyed the entire Heavenly Wonder Immortal Mansion.
(End of the Chapter)
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