"Cold Water Sword, water attribute high-tier attack spiritual artifact, emits an icy chill, capable of freezing and injuring enemies, seven hundred spirit stones."
"Fire Pearl, fire attribute high-tier attack spiritual artifact, extremely high temperature when unleashed, capable of scorching bones and flesh, nine hundred spirit stones."
"Spirit Turtle Shield, water and earth attribute mid-tier defense spiritual artifact, can expand and contract to cover up to three people, one thousand two hundred spirit stones."
...
After examining several magical artifacts, Lu Qian had a rough idea in his mind. He then slouched back in his chair, impatiently tapping the table, "Keep that Spirit Turtle Shield for now. Besides that, I need a high-tier metal attribute attack spiritual artifact and a fast-flying spiritual artifact."
Then, turning his head, he amiably asked Jiang Qingfeng, "Fairy, what kind of spiritual artifact would you like? Just say the word, and I'll buy it for you right away."
The prices of these high-tier artifacts had already exceeded Jiang Qingfeng's expectations. Shocked by his words, she quickly reminded herself of her current identity as the "Iceberg Beauty," took a teacup in hand, and pretended to take a sip calmly, trying hard to speak with a nonchalant tone, "Nothing I like, no need to spend lavishly."
"How can that be?" Lu Qian said eagerly, "Meeting the fairy is a blessing I've cultivated over several lifetimes. Today, I must buy something to give the fairy a token of remembrance."
Jiang Qingfeng almost spat out her tea. Fearing that she might break character, she turned her head away to avoid looking at Lu Qian.
Lu Qian then instructed, "This fairy has water, wood, and earth three-element spiritual roots. Bring out whatever suitable high-tier magical artifacts you have for her to see."
The shopkeeper thought, Wow, people from major sects really make a big scene when they court women. He carefully attended to them, smiling so broadly that his face creased.
Meanwhile, Taotao was more gleeful, freely bounding around the shop. Several mortal shop assistants, carrying various snacks, cautiously followed her, indulging the little girl to no end.
Before long, a pile of boxes with sealing talismans was brought in by the staff. The shopkeeper took out a token and unlocked the talismans, introducing each item to the two.
"White Rainbow Sword, Clear Spirit Wall, Python Whip, Dazzling Bell..."
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, under Lu Qian's eager persuasion, Jiang Qingfeng "reluctantly" chose a Cold Frost Sword, a high-tier water attribute flying sword. It excelled in speed, and when wielded, mist shrouded the sword light, concealing it from view to confuse the enemy, making it hard to discern the sword's direction. The price was eight hundred spirit stones.
Lu Qian also picked out a flying spiritual artifact, a White Jade Flying Ship, a high-tier artifact with a relatively fast escape speed, accommodating up to six passengers when fully deployed. Qi Cultivation Stage practitioners cannot directly control spiritual artifacts for flight and must rely on specialized flying spiritual artifacts. The ship was priced at seven hundred spirit stones.
Including the previously chosen defensive spiritual artifact, the Spirit Turtle Shield, Lu Qian still needed to pick an attack spiritual artifact to replace his previous mid-tier flying sword. Being a Gold-Water spiritual root practitioner, he could skillfully use both gold and water attribute artifacts, but the fierce and sharp nature of metal attributes matched well with attack artifacts. Therefore, he searched through the row of high-tier metal attribute artifacts, striving to find something truly to his liking.
Flying swords, flying hammers, flying rings, flying knives... and various exotic weapons. When he reached the last box, Lu Qian let out a mild exclamation, finding three bright silver needles inside the box.
"These are Starlight Needles, six inches long, three in a set, capable of penetrating surfaces with pinpoint precision, extremely sharp, and incredibly fast." The shopkeeper smiled broadly, "This set is six hundred spirit stones."
This was the cheapest high-tier artifact Lu Qian had seen in the shop. He raised his eyebrow, "Defective goods? Dare show it here?"
The shopkeeper hurriedly responded, "Oh no, we wouldn't dare use defective goods to deceive distinguished guests. The materials and craftsmanship for the Starlight Needles are top-notch, costing six to seven hundred spirit stones at least. They are sold at a loss not due to quality but because very few can use them effectively."
Ignoring the shopkeeper's talk of a loss sale, Lu Qian picked up a silver needle to examine it. Intricate and shifting arrays were carved onto the needle, and its tip was extremely sharp, resembling a point of starlight under the light. As his fingertip approached within three inches, a sharp intent was felt. Quality-wise, it was undoubtedly the finest.
Seeing Lu Qian's interest, unwilling to offend a distinguished guest, the shopkeeper explained honestly, "There's a design issue with this artifact. As you know, cultivators use divine sense to control artifacts. Early-stage Qi Cultivation practitioners have chaotic divine sense and weak spiritual power, making artifact control impossible. Mid-stage practitioners have unstable divine sense and limited spiritual power, able to control at most one artifact. By late-stage, practitioners can handle two artifacts, usually choosing one for attack and one for defense."
"The Artifact Refiner, however, fancied overcoming this limitation, allowing cultivators to control multiple artifacts. First, designing them as needles makes them much lighter than flying swords, greatly reducing spiritual power expenditure. Then, linking the silver needles with an array to make them a set meant to be controlled simultaneously."
"Oh? The Artifact Refiner seems a bit overconfident," Lu Qian commented with a slight sneer, though an idea sparked in his mind.
The shopkeeper lamented, "Indeed, when completed, its limitations became apparent. Though a set, they can only be launched and retrieved together, attacking the same spot. So how's this different from a single flying sword? To have three needles attack separately, spinning as desired, requires both strong and precise divine sense control, beyond what Qi Cultivation practitioners can achieve."
"Foundation Establishment Feathered Scholars could naturally use it, but they use spiritual artifacts, so why would they pay for this set?"
"Thus, the Starlight Needles have remained unsold, only offered at a loss. No cultivator has found them usable yet. Perhaps sir should consider something else; we also have—"
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Seeing Lu Qian casually lift the three silver needles, a surge of spiritual power made the Starlight Needles dance and float in mid-air.
Once a magical artifact or spiritual artifact is held, with a bit of familiarity and sufficient spiritual power, it can be used.
"Sir," the shopkeeper said cautiously, "you're welcome to try, but dozens of others have already tried without success—"
He suddenly fell speechless, the wooden box in his hand clattering to the floor.
Under everyone's astonished gazes, the three silver needles in Lu Qian's palm sharply vibrated, then unfurled like blooming flower buds, shooting out in three directions!
Since merging with the other soul, Lu Qian had been puzzled.
Why had his memory become so astonishing, recalling everything clearly from childhood, even gossip? Why had his thinking become so fast that any thought would flash through clearly with incredible speed?
It was as though there were an engine in his mind, processing information like light or electricity. Instantly, he could combine, infer, calculate, and reconstruct various bits of information, reaching clear conclusions.
In this cultivation world, what the modern world calls willpower, thinking ability, and perception are collectively termed as one thing — divine sense.