Yang Kai cleaned up the cave a bit before picking out the best spot to set up his bedroom.
Soon after, Yang Kai left the cave and walked around the perimeter of Dragon Cave Mountain while thinking about the various arrays used to gather World Energy.
He had come into contact with this type of Spirit Array many times before. Tong Xuan Realm’s Soaring Heaven Sect, Nine Heavens Holy Land, the floating continent’s residence, Zong Ao’s palace on Rainfall Star, all these places had such Spirit Arrays.
Since Yang Kai had decided to stay here, naturally he wanted to create the best cultivation environment possible.
Yang Kai’s understanding of Spirit Arrays was fairly simplistic, with most of the knowledge concentrated around Alchemic Spirit Arrays, but all Spirit Arrays had some similarities between them, using different methods to achieve the same result, and with Yang Kai’s vast experience, designing and setting up a basic World Energy gathering Spirit Array was at least possible.
Creating a decent Spirit Array would require a piece of land with appropriate topology, supplemented by some materials that were connected together by various.
Although the area of Dragon Cave Mountain wasn’t too large, Yang Kai discovered that the natural conditions here were actually quite good. There were several peaks nearby the cave Wu Yi had shown him, and if took them as a foundation, he shouldn’t have any trouble arranging a good Spirit Array.
As Yang Kai walked through the mountains, he kept thinking about some of the things that Great Elder Xu Hui had told him when he was Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, especially about the mysteries of the Nine Peaks Spirit Array.
Soon, Yang Kai had some initial plans.
With these plans in mind, Yang Kai set out directly for Heavenly Fate City which was just fifty kilometres away.
Heavenly Fate City was considered to be an independent force under Shadow Moon Hall’s control. Even if Hai Ke Family was closer to Heavenly Fate City, because the city itself was extremely wealthy, it was not something a small family like theirs could manage.
Hai Ke Family only owned a few shops inside the city which provided jobs for their cultivators to earn some small profits.
Upon entering Heavenly Fate City, Yang Kai found that there were streams of people flowing through the streets and into the shops; the prosperity of this place was no worse than cities on Rainfall Star or Water Moon Star.
Most of the shop owners here belonged to Shadow Moon Hall or forces attached to Shadow Moon Hall. With so many people gathered around, money was also abundant, so every shop was a great money tree.
There were no guards at the gate to collect Saint Crystals. Shadow Moon Hall allowed anyone to enter and exit the city freely.
Yang Kai entered the city in high spirits and began walking around leisurely, browsing the various shops.
Soon, to his surprise, Yang Kai discovered that the value of Saint Crystals here on Shadowed Star was far greater than on other Cultivation Stars.
For example, a bottle of cultivation pills that would cost three hundred Low-Rank Saint Crystals on other Cultivation Stars only cost two hundred here.
Five hundred pieces of Low-Rank Saint Crystal were only worth about four hundred pieces here.
The isolation from the outside world allowed Shadowed Star to develop its own valuation for Saint Crystals, their scarcity making them more valuable, allowing one to purchase things for fewer Saint Crystal.
Yang Kai was quite excited.
Because he had more than 47,000 High-Rank Saint Crystals in his Black Book Space. The conversion between different quality Saint Crystals was roughly one to five, meaning one High-Rank Saint Crystal could be exchanged for five Mid-Rank Saint Crystals, and one Mid-Rank Saint Crystal could be exchanged for five Low-Rank Saint Crystals.
Carrying out the full conversation, Yang Kai had more than one million Low-Rank Saint Crystals and could buy many things he wanted.
He immediately set about buying the ore and materials he needed.
Afterwards, Yang Kai happily strode over to a shop called the Artifact Refining Pavilion.
In any city, there was always a place dedicated to Artifact Refining; whether it was on Tong Xuan Realm or the various Cultivation Stars of the Star Field, as long as there was a city filled with cultivators, such a facility would certainly exist.
Not many cultivators understood Artifact Refining, so they would often need to find skilled Artifact Refiners to help them. By setting up shops like this one, Artifact Refiners not only had an opportunity to practice their craft but also to gain a large sum of money.
Artefact Refining Pavilion in Heavenly Fate City could also be regarded as a subsidiary of Shadow Moon Hall, and of the dozens of Artifact Refiners working here, most of them belonged to Shadow Moon Hall or were hired by them. Those who were hired to work here by Shadow Moon Hall would have to give a portion of their profits to Shadow Moon Hall but had the freedom to come and go as they pleased, not having to answer to Shadow Moon Hall.
When Yang Kai arrived, he was surprised by the lively scene inside.
There were at least two hundred cultivators of varying strength waiting in line, waiting for those Artifact Refiners in Artifact Refining Pavilion to help them refine or adjust their artefacts.
As soon as Yang Kai appeared, many pairs of eyes landed on him, some of them containing a deep sense of vigilance, seemingly worried he would try to cut in line.
This scene couldn’t help reminding him of the crowds that gathered outside the Nine Peaks when Nine Heavens Holy Land had started offering Alchemy services. At that time, many people were willing to wait outside the Nine Peaks for several months to request Alchemy from the Holy Land.
At this moment, remember those scenes, Yang Kai couldn’t help understanding the anxiousness of those people.
Did he have to wait that long? Yang Kai couldn’t help frowning.
A man who was dressed up as a shop-hand walked over to Yang Kai at that moment. This man wasn’t too young and his strength wasn’t too great. Apparently, he had given up on advancing his cultivation and decided to work here in order to earn a livelihood.
Taking out a kind of pamphlet of sorts, he enthusiastically handed it to Yang Kai and smiled, “Take a look and choose for yourself, if there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me.”
Yang Kai accepted this pamphlet and after skimming it, he found that it listed the names of several dozen Artifact Refiners in Artifact Refining Pavilion along with their capabilities, fees, as well as a number.
Yang Kai asked and was informed that the number indicated how many cultivators were waiting in line for that Artifact Refiners’ services.
Yang Kai glanced at this pamphlet and discovered that the most skilled person already had more than thirty cultivators waiting for his services and that he was able to refine Saint King Grade High-Rank artefacts!
It was no wonder so many people were waiting for him. Artefact Refiners, like Alchemists, had their own hierarchies. The higher one’s grade, the higher end artefacts or pills they could refine.
It wasn’t easy for cultivators to find and collect the necessary materials for an artefact than for pills, so when choosing an Artifact Refiner, they would be extremely cautious, preferring to pay more for someone with higher skills than saving money by asking someone less proficient.
The fee of the Artifact Refiner who was capable of refining Saint King Grade High-Rank artefacts wasn’t low, but with such level of skill, there were naturally many cultivators who would be willing to pay.
Yang Kai’s gaze swept the names of the various Artifact Refiners and soon fixed on a certain one named Yang Yan, his brow furrowing as he carefully read their details.
“Which Artifact Refiner does honoured customer want to request refining services from?” The shop-hand asked with a smile.
“Is this information all accurate?” Yang Kai asked.
The shop-hand smiled, “Honoured customer need not be concerned. Our Artifact Refining Pavilion is an industry of Shadow Moon Hall and most of the Artifact Refiners here are Shadow Moon Hall’s disciples. Their means and capabilities have passed through Shadow Moon Hall’s strict evaluation and fair prices have been set. This is an upright business that will never engage in fraud.”
Yang Kai stared at this man deeply before lifting the pamphlet up and pointing to a certain name, “This person named Yang Yan charges so much and claims to be capable of refining Origin Grade artefacts, so why is nobody patronizing him?”
The number behind Yang Yan was clearly zero, which meant that no one was waiting in line for his Artifact Refining services. In contrast to him, the other Artifact Refiners were all crowded and busy.
The shop hand’s smile cramped slightly as he said, “Honoured customer, it’s like this, the quality guarantee of Artifact Refining Pavilion only applies to Artifact Refiners from Shadow Moon Hall, those Artifact Refiners on contract from the outside are not. Their skills and fees are all decided by themselves and we simply don’t have enough time to properly verify their claims. When Grandmaster Yang Yan came to the Artifact Refining Pavilion, we tried to stop her, but Grandmaster insisted that she was capable of refining Origin Grade artefacts. I don’t suggest you choose her, if there are any losses, we won’t pay compensation, and we have many other Artifact Refiners to choose from.”
Listening to this shop-hand, besides his surprise that Yang Yan was a woman, Yang Kai immediately understood that this was a method Shadow Moon Hall used to suppress foreign Artifact Refiners.
The guarantees of Artifact Refining Pavilion did not cover those Artifact Refiners hired on contract, so many cultivators who needed services would have an extra layer of concerns and avoid choose them if possible.
“Other Artifact Refiners…” Yang Kai frowned and slowly shook his head. The schedules of the other Artifact Refiners were quite full and it would take at least ten days for one to be free.
“Is honoured customer in a hurry? If that’s the case, you can leave the materials here and then pick up the finished product later,” The man made a suggestion.
Instead of answering, Yang Kai asked, “Did anyone ask Yang Yan for her services?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
The shop hand’s smile twitched as an awkward look spread across his face, seemingly unwilling to discuss the issue but eventually saying, “Honoured customer, I highly suggest you ask another Grandmaster to refine your artefact. The fee is smaller and also fairer.”
Even the shop-hand himself didn’t seem to have a favourable opinion about this Artifact Refiner called Yang Yan, which made Yang Kai very puzzled, wondering what was so bad about her skills.
As he was just thinking about it, a burly man stormed out of an inner room while cursing viciously, a thick murderous intent pulsing from his body as he held a big war-hammer in his hands. The hammer itself looked quite good but as he stared at it, the burly man couldn’t hide his annoyance.
[Someone actually dares to curse out an Artifact Refiner?] Yang Kai observed this and asked himself.
Artefact Refiners and Alchemists all possessed extremely distinguished status as there were simply not many of them. In general, no cultivator would dare to offend one, because no matter who they were, at some point they would need them to help refining artefacts or pills. Offending an Artifact Refiner or Alchemist was equivalent to cutting off a possible source of help.
However, it seemed that the cultivators waiting in the lobby were already used to such scenes though, as if this was not the first or second time it had happened, none of them speaking up to persuade this burly man to lower his voice and instead just watching with interest.
The burly man cursed virulently as he stormed out, disappearing soon after.
“Ah, Grandmaster Yang Yan was cursed out again,” Someone in the hall, clearly taking pleasure in other’s misfortune, laughed.
“She deserves it, she can’t even properly refine a Saint King Grade artefact yet she claims to be an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner. If all Artifact Refiners were like her, how could we feel comfortable leaving our artefacts to them?”
“En, that’s right, I heard that someone came to Grandmaster Yang Yan with an artefact he had been using for several dozen years and asked her to perform some maintenance on it. It was originally an excellent Saint King Grade High-Rank artefact, but after that routine maintenance, it actually dropped in quality to become a Saint King Grade Mid-Rank artefact. That guy literally left here shedding tears of distress!”
“What does that count for? I heard that someone asked Grandmaster Yang Yan to refine him a sword, but when he came back what he got was a thick machete… Haa, how can one be a qualified Artifact Refiner if they can’t even meet the requests of their clients? She’s probably just boasting shamelessly about her skills. How could Artefact Refining Pavilion hire such a terrible Artefact Refiner?”
“It’s got nothing to do with Artefact Refining Pavilion. Grandmaster Yang Yan only has a temporary contract with them, everyone who seeks her out for Artifact Refining is warned explicitly by Artifact Refining Pavilion’s staff, but those people still choose to use her services, so they can only blame their own stupidity, thinking they can pick up a bargain with that fake Origin Grade Artifact Refiner.”
“I’d rather wait a few extra months rather than look for Artifact Refining from her.”
…..
All kinds of rumours and stories entered Yang Kai’s ears, causing his expression to become stranger and stranger.
The shop-hand also let out a big sigh, “Haa, Grandmaster Yang Yan is really too much, Artifact Refining Pavilion has warned her several times yet she still insists on acting this way, refusing to even apologize for her actions. From the looks of it, she’ll only be here for a few more days before being kicked out.”
“Why is that?” Yang Kai turned to look at him.
“Her acting like this is damaging the reputation of Artifact Refining Pavilion, something the higher-ups naturally cannot tolerate!”
“But from the looks of it, that war-hammer artefact that big guy took out was extremely high quality, and it also seemed to fit perfectly with his Saint Qi attribute, why was he not satisfied?”
The shop-hand laughed awkwardly and explained, “He didn’t order a war-hammer, he wanted a battle-axe…”
Yang Kai’s face went black, immediately understanding why that burly man was so angry. It was just as the others in the lobby had said, an Artefact Refiner that couldn’t meet the requirements of their customers was not qualified to call themselves an Artifact Refiner.
“Honoured customer, have you made your decision?” The shop-hand turned to Yang Kai again asked again.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded and handed the pamphlet back, “I’ll ask Grandmaster Yang Yan.”
The shop-hand was stunned and stared at Yang Kai strangely for a moment before asking, “Are you sure?”
Yang Kai smiled and nodded, “I’m not here for an artefact, just some simple tools, even if she’s not really an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner, she should be able to handle my request.”
“If that’s what honoured customer has decided, I won’t say anything more, please come with me!” The man stopped discouraging Yang Kai and led him to one of the rooms in the back of the pavilion, stopping before the door and motioning to Yang Kai to go in by himself, adding in a meaningful tone, “Good luck!”
Yang Kai laughed dumbly and walked in.
The room was quite large, covering at least a thousand square meters. There was a huge Refining Furnace in the centre of the room and Yang Kai could spot the outline of a figure sitting cross-legged behind it, probably the so-called Grandmaster Yang Yan.
The curses of the burly man from just now apparently had no effect on her as her aura showed no signs of disturbance, tranquil as an ancient well, only the sound of her breathing echoing in the room.
Yang Kai walked up to the mat in front of the Refining Furnace and sat down. Immediately after, the voice of Grandmaster Yang Yan called out, “What do you want to refine?”
Hearing this voice, Yang Kai couldn’t help peaking around the Refining Furnace at Yang Yan.
Because despite having been informed about it before, it was still surprising to meet a female Artifact Refiner!
More surprising though was that the sound of Yang Yan’s voice was incredibly melodious and enchanting, arousing Yang Kai’s curiosity about what this woman looked like.
After taking a glance though, Yang Kai felt somewhat disappointed as the only thing he could see was a pair of shimmering eyes staring back at him. Yang Yan had wrapped her figure in a big black robe and even her facial was covered with black wrappings, obscuring her features.
“Why is everyone like this? Did you come here for Artifact Refining or to stare at me?” Yang Yan muttered with dissatisfaction.
Yang Kai wore a dumbstruck look but quickly realized that everyone who had come before him must have reacted with the same curiosity as he did and swiftly apologized, “Sorry, I was just a bit curious about Grandmaster Yang Yan.”
“En,” Yang Yan didn’t seem to mind, asking once more, “What do you want refined?”
Yang Kai got down to business, “A few simple things, not artefacts. Let me show you.”
Saying so, Yang Kai took some pieces of paper that were set out next to the mat he was sitting on and made a few quick sketches.
The cultivators who came here for Artifact Refining services would always have their own ideas and requests, so this pen and paper were prepared ahead of time for them.
After finishing his drawings, Yang Kai passed them over.
Yang Yan accepted them and after flipping through them, seemed to be a bit surprised as she asked, “Do you want to arrange a Spirit Array?”
This time it was Yang Kai’s turn to be surprised, “You can tell that from just these rough sketches?”
Yang Yan laughed, “That’s nothing difficult, other than arranging a Spirit Array, these objects have no other use; if I couldn’t tell what they were needed for I’d be blind. Do you know understand Spirit Arrays?”
“I’m not very proficient,” Yang Kai shook his head and replied honestly. Although he was confident he could arrange a working Spirit Array, he couldn’t guarantee how effective it would be.
“Without a deep understand, fiddling around with these things will just be a waste, the ores and other materials required to refine these things are worth a lot of money after all,” Yang Yan said lightly.
Yang Kai was immediately displeased, “Arranging the Spirit Array is my business, your only job is to refine these things, I’ll pay you regardless of the outcome.”
He finally understood why Yang Yan didn’t have any customers, it seemed she liked to meddle in others’ affairs, such people were destined to be unpopular.
But to Yang Kai ‘s surprise, this woman didn’t make any effort to refute him and instead remained silent for a moment before suddenly saying, “I can help you refine these things, and I can even help you to arrange a good Spirit Array, but what are you prepared to offer as compensation?”
“You’re versed in arranging Spirit Arrays?”
“Can’t I be?”
“You’re not lying, are you?”
“What reason do I have to lie to you?” Yang Yan snorted disdainfully, “You can pay me after you’re satisfied with my arrangement. En, I don’t want much, looking at your strength, you’re probably not very well off, so how about a hundred High-Rank Saint Crystal? If you can take out that much, I’ll leave with you right now.”
“Are you short on Saint Crystals?” Yang Kai became somewhat vigilant, feeling that this woman was a bit too kind and enthusiastic. He had only requested her to refine a few simple tools yet now she was actually offering to come with him to arrange a grand Spirit Array for him, it was hard not to be suspicious.
“I’m an Artifact Refiner, of course I lack Saint Crystals, buying materials requires a lot of Saint Crystals.”
“Aren’t most Artifact Refiners very rich? Why are you lacking Saint Crystals?” Yang Kai was confused. If one were to ask who the richest people in the world were, it would either be Artifact Refiners or Alchemists, these two professions almost never needed to worry about wealth. At the very least, wherever they went, they would never be unable to feed themselves.
“Look at my situation. Do you think I could possibly have spare Saint Crystals?” In the darkness, Yang Yan gave Yang Kai an annoyed look.
Yang Kai immediately understood, since no one was coming to request Artifact Refining services from her, naturally she wasn’t able to acquire Saint Crystals.
The vigilance in Yang Kai’s heart lessened slightly but he still asked cautiously, “If you leave just like that, won’t there be any problems?”
“There won’t be. Artefact Refining Pavilion and I only have a temporary contract, I can leave at any time. En, in fact, they all want me to leave as quickly as possible so I don’t ruin their reputation, a group of ignorant fools!”
After thinking about it for a while, Yang Kai nodded and said, “Good, if you can really arrange a satisfactory Spirit Array for me, I’ll pay you a hundred High-Rank Saint Crystals.”
“Sounds good, let’s go,” Yang Yan said, taking the big Refining Furnace into her space ring and slowly standing up.
Yang Kai swept his eyes up and down her, and although he still couldn’t see her face, he found that this woman was quite petite, the top of her head only reaching his shoulders, but even her thick black robe couldn’t hide her pair of towering peaks.
Not only were these mountains grand in size, they were also exquisitely shaped… Yang Kai couldn’t help stealing a few more glances at them.
Leaving the room, Yang Yan asked Yang Kai to wait outside for a moment while she went somewhere else in Artifact Refining Pavilion. After a short while, Yang Yan walked out calmly and signalled to Yang Kai to lead the way.
Yang Kai didn’t waste any time and summoned out his Star Shuttle, flying off in a certain direction with Yang Yan following close behind.
After the pair left, there seemed to be a burst of cheers from the Artifact Refining Pavilion. Many cultivators were celebrating that Grandmaster Yang Yan had finally left and would no longer ruin their client’s artefacts. As for the misled Yang Kai, no one said anything to dissuade him, even the shop-hand who previously spoken to him stood at the door to Artifact Refining Pavilion and waved furiously at Yang Yan, as if hoping she would fly as far away as possible.
On the way to Dragon Cave Mountain, Yang Kai and Yang Yan moved forward side by side, but strangely, he always felt that this woman’s eyes were deliberately staring at him, an eager look creeping onto her face.
After first Yang Kai didn’t pay this any mind, but after being stared at for quite some time, he couldn’t help feeling a bit uncomfortable and asked, “Why are you staring at me like that?”
Yang Yan lifted her eyes to meet his and pouted, “Who is staring at you!”
“Then what are you looking at?”
“I’m looking at the Star Shuttle you’re riding,” Yang Yan snorted, “A Saint King Grade High-Rank Star Shuttle, not bad. Would you like me to enhance it? I guarantee I can increase its performance by ten perfect. Of course, you’ll need to acquire the right materials, En, and you’ll need to pay me some compensation.”
Yang Kai almost fell off his Star Shuttle upon hearing this, only managing to calm himself down a moment later and direct a suspicious look towards Yang Yan and ask, “You couldn’t really be an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner, could you?”
Enhancing an artefact was very different from refining one from scratch, with the former being more difficult. Someone capable of enhancing a Saint Grade High-Rank artefact needed to at least be an Origin Grade Low-Rank Artifact Refiner.
Yang Yan daring to say such words meant she was confident in her ability to accomplish it.
“Of course I am,” As soon as Yang Kai mentioned her Artifact Refiner Grade, Yang Yan puffed up her well-rounded chest and her pretty face filled with an air of pride.
Outside in the bright light of day, Yang Kai discovered that this woman’s looks were just as sweet as her voice. She possessed an innocent and harmless look that could easily make others feel comfortable around her.
Yang Yan’s expression didn’t contain any traces of deception, but as he knew nothing about her, Yang Kai was naturally not going to take her at her word.
“Since you’re an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner, why are you so poor and miserable?”
“Because no one believes me,” Yang Yan muttered in distress, “No one has dared ask me to refine high-grade artefacts. Those who came to me for refining all just wanted junk, so the payment I could receive was also quite poor.”
“Back in the lobby of Artifact Refining Pavilion, I heard someone say that you made a Saint King Grade High-Rank artefact drop in quality to a Saint King Grade Mid-Rank one, is that true?” Yang Kai gave her a weird yet inquisitive look.
“That’s right,” To Yang Kai’s surprise though, Yang Yan actually nodded and admitted it was true, continuing on in an unabashed manner, “The cultivation of that guy was only Third Order Saint Realm. With that kind of strength, he can’t fully control a Saint King Grade High-Rank artefact, Saint King Grade Mid-Rank is his bottom line. By lowering the grade of that artefact, I increased the amount of power he can display in battle. When his cultivation improves, he can just come to ask me to enhance the artefact again.”
“I also heard that you have refined a large machete for someone who asked for a sword…”
“What does he know? His cultivation technique, Martial Skills, and even Saint Qi attribute are all designed for broad weapons. A long sword is too elegant of a weapon, he wouldn’t be able to exert his full strength using one, a big machete is his best option. After he uses it for a while, he’ll understand my good intentions and thank me for being so considerate.”
Yang Kai sighed, not knowing whether he should believe what this woman was saying. If everything she said was true, she might really be an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner, something incredibly rare considering her age.
From her appearance, it seemed like this Yang Yan was even younger than Yang Kai himself, so it was only natural no one believed she was an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner.
Whether she was lying or not, and Yang Kai couldn’t discern.
“Yang Yan, you can’t act that way. As an Artifact Refiner, your highest priority should be to meet the requirements of your customers, not refine artefacts according to your personal ideas. You aren’t them, how do you know what is best for someone else? You making an arbitrary decision like that will just end up causing problems.”
Yang Yan seemed even more aggrieved when she heard this though and muttered, “But I can’t stand seeing those people waste so many good materials like that.”
Yang Kai shook his head and said no more.
After a short while, the pair arrived at Dragon Cave Mountain and landed in front of the mountain cave. Yang Kai was surprised to find that Yu Feng and a group of familiar faces were actually moving around, seemingly carrying some things into the cave.
Noticing Yang Kai’s arrival, Yu Feng ran over with a big grin on his face and patted Yang Kai’s shoulder affectionately, “I heard Young Lady say you decided to stay, is that true?”
“En.”
“En, very good, in any case, you don’t have any family or acquaintances on Shadowed Star, remaining here and helping out the Young Lady is simply the good luck your ancestors passed down to you. En, Young Lady asked us brothers to help you arrange this cave,” Yu Feng pointed at the cultivators who were walking in and out of the cave, all of whom Yang Kai had seen aboard the Starship.
Taking out a Space Ring, Yu Feng handed it to Yang Kai, “This is the ring you were originally wearing, my brothers and I have put a little welcome gift inside it for you, everyone made some contributions. In the future, we’ll all be one family, so don’t refuse.”
Yang Kai took it and swept the contest with his Divine Sense, discovering a few hundred Low-Rank Saint Crystals and several bottles of commonly used healing pills. There wasn’t much inside this Space Ring, nothing compared to how much it originally contained, but Yang Kai still accepted it seriously and nodded in thanks.
It was only then that Yu Feng seemed to realize the existence of Yang Yan, exclaiming in surprise as he stared straight at her for a moment before grinning ambiguously, “Brother, you’re quite fierce, after such a short time here you’ve actually managed to bring back a woman from the outside? Where did you find her? She’s superb, quickly tell brother so I can look for one myself.”
Yang Yan’s face went cold as she stared gloomily towards Yu Feng.
Yu Feng immediately let out a dissolute laugh.
Yang Kai then explained, “This is Grandmaster Yang Yan.”
“Grandmaster?” Yu Feng’s face froze stiff, “What kind of Grandmaster?”
“I invited her here from Artifact Refining Pavilion, she is proficient in Artifact Refining and is going to help me arrange a Spirit Array.”
“An Artifact Refiner?” Yu Feng immediately put away his frivolous smile and respectfully cupped his fists while bowing deeply to Yang Yan, “This Yu had acted disrespectfully to Grandmaster and humbly asks for forgiveness!”
Although Yu Feng looked like a delinquent and oftentimes seemed unreliable, even he understood how distinguished an Artifact Refiner was, so despite Yang Yan appearing quite young, he didn’t dare treat her casually, because no one could guarantee that this woman wouldn’t one day become an outstanding Artefact Refiners he would need to request help from in the future.
Yang Yan’s complexion was still somewhat bad but she still gently nodded.
Yu Feng quickly added, “Since this Young Lady is an Artefact Refiner, can you help me refine an artefact?”
“Sure.” Yang Yan’s eyes immediately brightened and she quickly agreed, “What type and grade of artefact?”
“You two talk… I’m going to inspect things!” Yang Kai couldn’t bear to look at Yu Feng’s sloppy expression and quickly found an excuse to leave.
Many cultivators moved in and out of the cave, appearing quite busy. After spending a few months aboard that Starship, Yang Kai became acquainted with and made friends with this group. Some people he was familiar with while others he wasn’t, but under Wu Yi’s command, these people had come here to help Yang Kai set up his cave residence. There was no trace of dissatisfaction on anyone’s face; on the contrary, they all seemed quite enthusiastic.
Many people called out to and said hello to Yang Kai, with Yang Kai thanking them in response.
After a brief walk around the cave, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a bit warm.
The cave had been completely transformed. In the stone room, Yang Kai had chosen as his bedroom, a large bed, chairs, benches, and lighting had been put up, giving it a cosy feel. The other places nearby had also been cleaned up and expanded, making the cave more spacious and habitable.
It was clear that these men had worked quite diligently, many of them coming up to Yang Kai, patting him on his shoulder with a smile, and telling him that if he ever felt aggrieved or was bullied in the future, he could come to the Hai Ke Family’s manor to find them and they would help get justice for him.
Yang Kai smiled and accepted their good intentions.
Very satisfied with the renovations inside the cave, Yang Kai came back out.
Yu Feng stood nearby with a somewhat pensive look on his face, but Yang Yan had disappeared.
“Where is that woman?” Yang Kai came up and asked.
“Oh, she said she was going to survey the nearby terrain and that she’d be back in a little while,” Yu Feng responded casually, his expression suddenly becoming bitter as he asked, “Yang Kai, I asked her to help refine me a Spirit Grade artefact, and I even provided all the necessary materials, so why did she still charge me fifty Low-Rank Saint Crystals? Isn’t that price a bit too high?”
“A penny invested is a penny well spent!” Yang Kai patted him on the shoulder and said gravely, “Just accept it, you took the initiative to ask her yourself so it’s too late for regret.”
Yu Feng still felt annoyed, “If I knew earlier I would have gone to Artefact Refining Pavilion in Heavenly Fate City to find someone to refine it, then the cost would have only been half as much. It’s a big loss. That girl seemed poverty-stricken so I felt some pity for her and tried to give her some business but this is how things turned out… I just hope she doesn’t ruin my materials.”
“Ruining the materials isn’t likely, but getting an artefact you want might be a bit tricky…Right, why do you want a Spirit Grade artefact?” Yang Kai asked in confusion. Yu Feng was a First Order Saint King, a Spirit Grade artefact wouldn’t be able to increase his strength in the slightest. Something of that grade would only be used by True Element or Immortal Ascension Boundary cultivators.
“It’s a gift for a Junior,” Yu Feng grinned.
After some time, Yang Yan returned.
Without a word, she took out the pen and paper from her Space Ring and then began sketching something, from time to time her brow furrowing as she became lost in thought. Yang Kai and Yu Feng stood to the side and didn’t disturb her.
After the time it would take to boil a cup of tea, Yang Yan looked at the sketches in her hand and nodded with satisfaction before handing them over to Yang Kai and saying, “Modify the nearby terrain according to these diagrams. You seem to have a lot of people here so it should only take you a day or so.”
Yang Kai took the diagram and examined it together with Yu Feng.
Yu Feng wasn’t able to glean anything from this sketch but Yang Kai was actually thoroughly shocked, immediately realizing that Yang Yan possessed impressive skills. Regardless of her true ability in Artifact Refining, she was definitely a Grandmaster in terms of arranging Spirit Arrays.
If the terrain was modified according to this diagram, it would be far simpler to arrange the Spirit Array Yang Kai wanted and the benefits it would provide after being completed would be significantly stronger.
“Understood,” Yang Kai put the diagram away and turned to Yu Feng, “I’ll have to trouble all of you for a bit.”
Yu Feng said with a grin, “No need to act polite, Young Lady has already ordered us to help you in any way necessary, naturally, we’ll put our best into it. Just wait a moment, I’ll gather up some people.”
After Yu Feng left, Yang Yan said, “Did you understand the markings I made?”
Seeing Yang Kai nod, she nodded back and said, “Then you supervise their work, I’ll go refine the other components of the array. Right, give me the necessary materials.”
Yang Kai took out all the materials he had previously purchased and gave them to Yang Yan.
Yu Feng soon led a group of people out of the cave, and after Yang Kai gave them a brief explanation, all of them readily agreed to help.
Dragon Cave Mountain immediately became lively, with several dozen cultivators moving about in groups of three to five, digging up valleys, levelling off hills, or felling extra trees, transforming the surrounding terrain in exact accordance with the drawings of Yang Yan.
No one here was an ordinary mortal so the task of remodelling the terrain was naturally quite easy for them and was completed in less than a day.
When the crowd returned to the cave, Yang Yan had just finished her work as well and ran out carrying several oddly shaped objects, causing some confusion amongst the onlookers.
Ignoring everyone else, she simply nodded to Yang Kai before flying off. Everybody only saw her petite figure shuttle through the mountains, landing here and there from time to time, appearing quite busy.
Yu Feng scratched his head and asked with a puzzled look, “Yang Kai, what kind of Spirit Array are you arranging that requires so much effort?”
“You’ll understand soon enough,” Yang Kai didn’t say anything and simply waited with a smile.
He was now completely confident in the Spirit Array that Yang Yan was arranging.
Yang Yan soon arrived at the last hill and after a brief bit of work, flew up into the sky and stood mid-air, waving towards the crowd with her small hand.
“Finished!” Yang Kai muttered lightly before waving back to Yang Yan, the latter quickly flying back over.
Suddenly, a subtle change in the World Energy aura occurred, with the World Energy within a few dozen kilometres of the six peaks which comprised Dragon Cave Mountain being drawn in by some kind of invisible suction force.
This attraction wasn’t violent but instead quite smooth.
Yu Feng’s complexion changed greatly and couldn’t help shouting out, “You were arranging an Aura Gathering Spirit Array?”
Yang Kai smiled and nodded.
“Amazing, you can actually arrange an Aura Gathering Spirit Array without the use of Saint Crystals?” Yu Feng asked as he and the other cultivators present directed looks of admiration towards Yang Yan.
There were also some places in the Hai Ke Family manor that were especially rich in World Energy aura which were specifically used by the disciples to cultivate, but those places were all specially arranged after consuming a massive amount of effort and financial resources. On top of that, all of them required a considerable amount of Saint Crystals and other rare treasures to maintain their effect.
On the other hand, when Yang Kai and Yang Yan arranged the Aura Gathering Spirit Array around Dragon Cave Mountain, Yu Feng and his brothers only saw them consume a few materials. As for Saint Crystals, not a single one was used.
“The terrain here is quite good, if not for that point, such a Spirit Array couldn’t have been arranged,” Yang Kai explained casually. “The full effects of it will also only become apparent over time.”
Yang Kai truly didn’t know what kind of effect his newly-arranged Spirit Array would have. It may ultimately be unsatisfactory, but this place was just his initial base on Shadowed Star so he didn’t plan on investing too much effort into it. Even if the effects turned out somewhat disappointing, it wouldn’t bother Yang Kai too much.
“All that’s missing is time… as long as there is enough time, this place will have the densest World Energy aura within a thousand-kilometre radius,” Yang Yan who flew back said with great confidence as she swept her eyes across her masterpiece, “The cultivators who owned this territory before must have been blind, this place is a true Land of Hidden Dragons yet they left it here to fallow.”
“A Land of Hidden Dragons?” Yang Kai looked at her suspiciously.
“It’s the name for a piece of land that has this particular type of topography,” Yang Yan replied casually, “Even if I explained it to you, you wouldn’t understand, you just need to know that it is very suitable for arranging Aura Gathering Spirit Arrays. It’s called Dragon Cave Mountain, right?”
Yu Feng nodded.
“En, it didn’t acquire such a name for no reason, it’s just that no one who could judge its value had come along,” Yang Yan puffed out her chest slightly, as if she was proud she knew about its worth.
Yang Kai and Yu Feng exchanged somewhat bitter glances for a moment before Yang Kai said, “Do you want to tell Wu Yi about this? She said she would give me this mountain, but if she wants to take it back now, I won’t mind.”
“Although I can’t make decisions on behalf of the Young Lady, I doubt very much she would try to take back the gifts she sent out,” Yu Feng grinned, “You can live here with peace of mind, if you need anything, come to the manor. If the World Energy aura here really becomes that rich in the future, we might also come here to live. What that time comes, brother can’t kick us out, alright?”
Yang Kai smiled and agreed, saying they were always welcome.
Yu Feng and his group then returned to the Hai Ke Family manor.
With the Spirit Array completely arranged, Yang Yan’s work had come to an end. In accordance with their previous agreement, Yang Kai took out one hundred pieces of High-Rank Saint Crystal and handed it to her, her payment for having helped set up this Aura Gathering Spirit Array.
Yang Yan unceremoniously accepted it and began counting the Saint Crystals block by block with a joyful look on her face.
Yang Kai shook his head and stopped paying attention to her, turning around and flying into the cave, entering the only stone room, taking out the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags, and setting them up.
These Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags comprised a single artefact that he had received from the middle-aged female executive of Rainfall Star’s Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce branch and were specially designed to assist one in their cultivation. Their effect was also surprisingly good.
The main reason Yang Kai wasn’t too concerned about the effects of Yang Yan’s Spirit Array was because of the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags. As long as the Aura Gathering Spirit Array had some effect, he would be able to multiply it with this artefact. Naturally, the better the Aura Gathering Spirit Array was, the happier Yang Kai would be, as this two-pronged approach would be able to concentrate the surrounding World Energy even faster.
Just after Yang Kai finished setting up the Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags, Yang Yan silently appeared, her black robe still covering her from head to toe as she squatted down and stared at one of the flags, her eyes flashing a somewhat scary light.
“Why haven’t you left yet?” Yang Kai was surprised.
“I still have to refine a Spirit Grade artefact for that Yu Feng, I made a deal with him after all,” Yang Yan answered quickly before turning a fiery gaze towards Yang Kai and hurriedly shouting, “An Origin Grade Low-Rank artefact?! Where did you get it? You’re only a Third Order Saint, how could you have possibly acquired such a high-grade artefact?”
Yang Kai frowned slightly and replied, “Someone gifted it to me.”
“Do you want me to further refine it? Aiya, there are really a lot of impurities inside these seven flags! As long as you let me work with it, I can improve their effectiveness by at least fifteen percent!” Yang Yan proclaimed, her eyes now containing an undisguised burning madness.
Yang Kai’s face turned black, and he finally discovered that this woman was simply obsessed. As long as she discovered a high-grade artefact, she would immediately want to refine and enhance it. Whether she was telling the truth or not though, Yang Kai couldn’t tell.
Yang Kai didn’t know what she was capable of, so he wouldn’t take risks. The Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags was the greatest help he cultivated in the future, which would let her refine it casually.
Yang Kai quickly shook his head to refuse.
Yang Yan couldn’t help showing a look of disappointment, her lips pursing as she shouted with dissatisfaction, “Neither you nor anyone else believes what I’m capable of! If you’re not willing to try, how could you possibly know how fierce I am?”
Her tone was quite forlorn and the look she was giving Yang Kai was both pitiful and expectant, seemingly hoping this display would change his mind.
“Do you have nowhere to go?” Yang Kai suddenly asked.
“En,” Yang Yan gawked, seemingly confused by the sudden shift in topic.
“If you don’t have any place to go, just stay here. In any case, it’s just me here right now.”
“I can also live here?” Yang Yan was pleasantly surprised.
“Sure, but let me say this first, as long as it’s not something important, don’t bother me,” Yang Kai waved his hand.
Yang Yan immediately ran out and a short moment later, Yang Kai felt a familiar strength aura coming from a different section of the cave.
It was actually Yang Attribute strength!
Did this woman cultivate a Yang Attribute Secret Art? Yang Kai was shocked, but remembering that she was an Artifact Refiner, he soon realized that her cultivation a Yang Attribute Secret Art wasn’t too surprising. This only made him more confused though. Whether it was Artifact Refiners or Alchemists, as long as they had some skill, they wouldn’t have any trouble hiring themselves to a decent force where they would receive great care and status, allowing them to concentrate on the development of their skills and career, but this woman was clearly impoverished to an absurd degree.
She had even readily agreed to refine a Spirit Grade artefact for Yu Feng for a pitiful fifty Low-Rank Saint Crystal reward.
Yang Kai reminded himself to one day ask her if she had committed some kind of taboo that caused her expulsion from her previous force. If that was really the case, having her around would become a liability and his best choice would be to quickly kick her out.
Releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai soon discovered that Yang Yan was in a different section of the cave, using her strength to melt the walls and open up a stone room of her own.
Taking back his Divine Sense, Yang Kai ignored Yang Yan and began inspect his current supplies.
After entering the Body Tempering Divine Pond, and being encased in that blood-red crystal, Yang Kai had not had any time to carefully investigate his gains from that strange world. Now that he was idle, he decided to check them out.
Yang Kai took out three Space Rings from his sleeve pocket, the ones belonging to the dead Gui Che, Luo Yao, and Gan Ji.
Inside Gui Che’s Space Ring was the Thunder Wood Bird Wood which was formed after the fall of the Tenth-Order Monster Beast Thunder Luan. Its flesh and blood had crystallized into this tree and streaks of lightly now flashed across its surface. If it was used to refine an artefact, it would definitely result in a powerful Thunder Attribute weapon.
As for the dozens of crystal clear leaves, they were also filled with Thunder Attribute power and could be considered treasures all on their own.
Yang Kai was delighted to see this Bird Wood and quickly stored it inside the Demon Mystic Tome.
Next, he took out the purple carapace from Gui Che’s Space Ring. This hardshell was from the Ninth-Order Scarlet Tailed Purple Armoured Scorpion Monster Beast and was the perfect material to refine a defensive type artefact. Tossing this also into the Demon Mystic Tome, Yang Kai moved on to the next item.
Taking out and packing away various treasures, Yang Kai was filled with joy.
The harvest from that adventure had basically all been obtained by him.
With the exception of one of the Scarlet Tailed Purple Armoured Scorpion’s giant pincers, which had been assigned to Ji Peng, its tail, core, and all kinds of other Monster Beast materials had landed in Yang Kai’s pocket.
On top of that, Yang Kai obtained the countless herbs collected by those three people along the way.
The three cultivators had not been very wealthy though, and the artefacts which had originally been placed in their Space Rings weren’t very high-grade. Yang Kai didn’t even spare these things a second glance and simply tossed them into a corner of the Demon Mystic Tome.
His gains were indeed great, but most of them were temporarily useless.
Suddenly, Yang Kai realized that if Yang Yan was truly an Origin Grade Artifact Refiners, he could ask her to handle these materials.
At the very least, the carapace of the Scarlet Tailed Purple Armoured Scorpion could be turned into a defensive artefact that Yang Kai currently wanted.
But what the extent of her abilities was remained to be determined.
A day later, Yu Feng came again and received the Spirit Grade artefact he had requested from Yang Yan, leaving quite happy.
Over the following days, Wu Yi’s subordinates would come in groups of three or five, bringing with them various raw materials they had collected or their own artefacts to ask Yang Yan for Artifact Refining services.
All of them came here with high expectations and all of them left with their requirements fully met. Yang Kai didn’t know when Yang Yan had straightened out her attitude, but since moving to Dragon Cave Mountain, she had not once acted arbitrarily to alter any of the artefacts she was handed or request to refine.
Her reputation immediately soared!
Almost everyone in the Hai Ke Family now knew that there was an Artifact Refiners living in Dragon Cave Mountain, and although her fee was quite expensive, her technique was good. Every artefact she refined was of excellent quality while the ones she was given to enhance saw a twenty to thirty percent increase in power.
Yang Kai didn’t pay this any mind, and because he lived deeper inside the cave, those who came to ask Yang Yan for Artifact Refining services never bothered him.
The only thing that annoyed Yang Kai was that this woman would find a chance every day to come and stare at his Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags, constantly nagging him to let her work with them. Although she was always refused, she did not become discouraged or upset, seemingly thinking that her sincerity would one day convince Yang Kai.
I increased the server and all that but it is still hitting a tons in terms of CPU usage during the peak periods so I’ll be segregating the double posting of Martial Peak. 1 in the usual time and the other in the opposite time and see how it goes from there. (Yes. 12 hours difference)
Yang Yan was a strange woman. In addition to being interested in High-Grade’s artefacts, her other passion in life seemed to be Saint Crystals. Every time Yang Kai passed by her stone room, he would see her meticulously counting and polishing her Saint Crystals, piece by piece.
The stains and dust on her Low-Rank Saint Crystals were wiped clean and were now glittering brightly, making Yang Yan seem very satisfied with herself. Every time Yang Kai saw Yang Yan taking care of her Saint Crystals, he would see a sloppy grin on her face, but when she noticed Yang Kai staring at her strangely, she would immediately sweep away and hide her Saint Crystals, lest they be taken away by him.
[This woman is just a money-grubber!] Yang Kai concluded.
As time passed, fewer and fewer people came to seek Artifact Refining from Yang Yan. Having satisfied all prospective customers already, Yang Yan’s business gradually came to a halt.
One day, while Yang Kai was sitting in meditation, he suddenly heard Wu Yi calling out to him from outside.
Yang Kai didn’t know what Wu Yi was up to recently, but presumable she had been busy as she had not shown up for quite some time. After hearing her voice, Yang Kai immediately opened his eyes and walked out to find her slim and graceful figure standing outside his cave.
“How are things here?” Wu Yi asked with a light smile.
“Very good,” Yang Kai nodded, and thoughtfully looked at her face, discovering that she seemed a bit unhappy.
“I heard Yu Feng say that you and that female Artifact Refiner set up an Aura Gathering Spirit Array here, is that true?” Wu Yi turned swept her eyes over the surrounding terrain, sensing the World Energy aura and taking a deep breath, “The effect seems to be pretty good. If I knew this place was so compatible, I would have found someone to arrange such a Spirit Array a long time ago. Yu Feng and the others all need to pay a certain amount of contribution points or Saint Crystal to use the family’s cultivation rooms but they’re only slightly better than this place right now.”
“Having regrets?” Yang Kai asked her with a calm and composed look.
Wu Yi rolled her eyes and snorted, “Do I look like such a narrow-minded person? Since I said I would deliver you this mountain, it is yours now. No matter how much better the environment here becomes, it has nothing to do with me, so you can live here without worries, no one will dare try to seize it from you.”
Yang Kai was about to say something when he suddenly frowned, turning his eyes towards a certain direction where he saw a streak of blue light. It was clearly someone using a Star Shuttle to examine Dragon Cave Mountain.
“Someone from your family?” Yang Kai asked as he continued staring at this figure.
“En, one of my family’s stewards, you don’t need to mind him,” Wu Yi was also a little displeased, “He came this time to find that Artifact Refiner named Yang Yan.”
“What does he want to see her for?” Yang Kai was surprised.
“She is an Artifact Refiners, what do you think he wants to see her for?” Wu Yi smiled, “It’s not easy to cultivate an Artifact Refiner in a small family like ours, yet right now, there is a wandering Artifact Refiner so close by. Although she isn’t old, she is still worth recruiting. Right, according to members of the family, she can at least refine Saint Grade artefacts.”
During this time, the cultivators who had come to seek Artifact Refining services from Yang Yan weren’t very strong, with Yu Feng having the highest cultivation. As a result, the level of artefacts they had asked to be refined were naturally not very high grade, so the people of Hai Ke Family assumed Yang Yan was a Saint Grade Artifact Refiner.
With an unattached Artifact Refiner so nearby, regardless of her true level of skill, the Hai Ke Family felt they should show their sincerity in the hopes they could recruit her and ultimately bring huge benefits to the family. Thinking so, they had sent someone over to negotiate with Yang Yan.
“What’s your relationship with that woman? I remember you saying you didn’t know anyone here, so how were you able to bring back a beauty to your place after such a short time?” Wu Yi stared at Yang Kai, thinking there was some kind of prior or hidden, unspeakable relationship between him and Yang Yan.
“I have no idea about her actually, I just asked her to come back here to help me set up that Spirit Array, then she asked if she could stay here, and I agreed. En, if your family can recruit her, that would be the best, she’s a bit annoying to have around,” Yang Kai said bitterly.
“It’s up to her if she wants to come with us. In any case, I don’t have an opinion, either way, I just came here today to see how you were doing,” Wu Yi pursed her lips and laughed, not dwelling on the subject.
After a while, the steward from Hai Ke Family flew over and nodded to Wu Yi, “The aura around this mountain is not bad. After a year or so, it will probably be quite astonishing. I heard that the Young Lady gave this mountain away. Was it to him?”
Saying so, he intentionally or unintentionally glanced over at Yang Kai, his eyes full of contempt.
Wu Yi frowned and said, “Uncle Zhou isn’t here for this mountain, don’t you have another task to take care of?”
The cultivator surnamed Zhou snickered, “I was just inquiring casually, Young Lady need not pay it any mind.”
Saying so, he shot another look at Yang Kai before disregarding him completely, crossing his arms behind his back in an aloof manner and taking big strides towards the nearby cave.
“How annoying, them coming over sticking their noses into everything. I’ve never seen them take any interest in this place before. Out of all the surrounding ten thousand kilometres of territory my family owns, because I am just a woman, they assigned me this barren hill, but now that they see some possible benefits, they want to snatch it up,” Wu Yi said indignantly.
Yang Kai remained silent. It was truly inconvenient for him to express his views on the internal affairs of another’s family.
Wu Yi also no longer complained, wearing a smile on her pretty face again and talking to Yang Kai about her recent life while asking him if he needed anything.
The two chatted happily with each other and Wu Yi was quite looking forward to having him help her with her future ambitions, her eyes constantly filled with hope and expectation.
After a half cup of tea’s time, the steward surnamed Zhou suddenly stormed out of the cave and muttered in annoyance, “That little girl can’t appreciate kindness, hmph, really thinking she is something great. How could my Hai Ke Family not be capable of cultivating a trivial Saint Grade Artifact Refiner? Such shameless boasting, actually daring to claim she’s an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner!”
The steward was so angry he didn’t even bother saying hello to Wu Yi before summoning out his Star Shuttle and flying off.
Wu Yi’s jaw dropped slightly, seemingly not having through that the Artifact Refiner named Yang Yan would so bluntly refuse her family’s invitation. Before coming here, Wu Yi had also read the contract of employment and felt that the conditions from her family weren’t bad. Although it couldn’t compare to a large force like Shadow Moon Hall, they still had some status among the smaller attached forces.”
“That woman you brought back seems to be very demanding,” Wu Yi looked at Yang Kai, “Steward Zhou said she claimed to be an Origin Grade Artifact Refiners? Wasn’t she only in her twenties?”
“She claims to be Origin Grade Artifact Refiner, but whether that’s true or not I have no idea,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“Interesting,” Wu Yi pursed her lips and laughed, “Forget it, Artifact Refiners have the right to choose their own employers, boasting irresponsibly like that is a bit annoying but it’s her decision. Good, I have some other things to do now, so I’ll see you later.”
After saying goodbye to Wu Yi, Yang Kai sank into contemplation for a moment before walking back into the cave and proceeding to Yang Yan’s stone room.
Yang Yan wore a pitiful look on her face as she turned to Yang Kai and asked, “Why does no one believe I am an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner?”
“What method do you have to make people believe you?” Yang Kai rubbed his forehead.
“They just need to give me a chance to prove myself, as long as they give me some Origin Grade materials, I guarantee I’ll refine an Origin Grade artefact,” Yang Yan shouted, her plump peaks bouncing vigorously, a wronged look appearing on her face.
“Do you think Origin Grade materials are cheap? Those kinds of materials can only be obtained by big forces. Hai Ke Family is just a small force with scarce finances, how do you expect them to suddenly bring out such expensive materials just to verify your skills? What if you destroy those materials? If I told you that I’m a Saint King Grade High-Rank Alchemist, would you believe it?” Yang Kai stared at her earnestly.
Yang Yan batted her eyelashes as she looked him up and down, saying with a sneer, “You? Really?”
Immediately, Yang Yan doubled over and began laughing, as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
Yang Kai’s face went pitch black.
He suddenly understood why no one believed Yang Yan’s words. Just like Yang Yan refused to believe his, both of them seemed far too young to be matched with such distinguished status. Which Saint King Grade Alchemist or Origin Grade Artifact Refiner wasn’t hundreds, if not thousands of years old?
After thinking about this, Yang Kai came to realize that Yang Yan may not be lying or intentionally using false titles to inflate her identity. She may really have such ability!
“I’ll ask you seriously one more time, are you really an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner?” Yang Kai stared at her with a solemn look.
“What point is there asking such a question again? Can’t you just discern the truth after giving me some appropriate materials? You could also let me work on your Star Shuttle or those small seven coloured flags. If I fail, you can do whatever you want with me!”
“You think too highly of your short figure,” Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively, “There’s no way you could make up for the loss of my materials or artefacts even if I were to sell you.”
Yang Yan immediately began grinding her teeth audibly.
“What can you make from these things?” Yang Kai waved his hand again and dumped out a pile of materials in front of Yang Yan.
He felt it was time he tested this woman’s true ability.
Yang Yan, who was just grinding her teeth and staring at Yang Kai with pure hatred, suddenly saw these materials and leapt over to them, tossing away her anger and image as she sifted through them with surprise, calling out in rapid succession, “Eighth-Order Monster Beast Thunder Cloud Leopard’s teeth, Blazing Blue Flame Rhinoceros’s horn, Illusionary Cloud Butterfly’s wings, Heavens! A Diamond Dragon Beetle’s antenna…”
Every time she picked up an item, Yang Yan was able to accurately name it and its origins. Instantly entering into a deluded state, Yang Yan became ignorant of everything around her except this pile of materials, hugging them tightly as if they were her babies, pressing them up against her proud peaks, her arms soon overflowing as she continued picking items up from the ground in a seemingly endless cycle.
As Yang Yan picked up and named these treasures, Yang Kai suddenly noticed that her eyes were red and that tears were actually dripping down her cheeks to her chin.
“What are you crying for?” Yang Kai was speechless for a while, only now realizing just now abnormal this woman’s brain really was.
“I haven’t seen so many precious materials for so long…” Yang Yan’s tiny shoulders trembled as she spoke through her sobs, “They all treated me as a fraud, refusing to bring out any materials or artefact above Saint Grade, I’m not a liar!”
“Don’t cry, I’ll give you a chance now to prove yourself. These things are now yours, I don’t care what you make with them just show me your skills.”
“Really?” Yang Yan lifted her head and stared at Yang Kai with puffy eyes.
Yang Kai nodded and said lightly, “I also want to know if you’re just spouting nonsense or not.”
Hearing that Yang Kai was going to give her so many high-grade materials and that she was free to refine them into anything she wanted, Yang Yan’s spirits immediately soared to the Heavens as a terrifying light flashed across her eyes. Wiping away her tears with great difficulty, she took a deep breath and shouted, “I won’t let you down, and no material that enters my hands will ever be wasted!”
“I’ll wait and see.”
“Where did you get all these materials from? Your strength isn’t very high, so it’s impossible for you to have killed many Eighth-Order Monster Beasts,” Yang Yan asked curiously.
“I picked them up,” Yang Kai said casually.
It really could be said that he simply picked these things up. All these materials came from the Monster Beasts Gui Che and his team hunted and originally belonged to them, but after they died, Yang Kai had simply picked up their Space Rings to acquire them.
“Where did you pick these up from? I also want to pick up such things…” Yang Yan looked at Yang Kai with an eager expression.
Holding a list Yang Yan had written up, Yang Kai took another trip to Heavenly Fate City and purchased a number of ores and materials.
After all, Artifact Refining required not just Monster Beast parts but also a variety of metals and crystals.
After receiving these ores, Yang Yan immediately dove into her Artifact Refining, sealing up her stone room to ensure she was not disturbed while she worked.
Yang Kai could clearly feel a strong Yang Attribute energy fluctuation coming from her stone room every day, but he didn’t go to inquire about her specific progress.
As long as she produced some results, he would be able to judge Yang Yan’s ability.
The materials Yang Kai had taken out and given Yang Yan were only some lower grade things he thought he couldn’t use and would just end up selling. If Yang Yan could really refine them into artefacts, their value would definitely increase and he would have some big gains when he took them to be sold. If they ended up being destroyed though, Yang Kai wouldn’t mind too much.
A month passed by peacefully. Without the daily interruption of Yang Yan, Yang Kai’s everyday life was filled with free time, and with the Aura Gathering Spirit Array on Dragon Cave Mountain playing its role, a thin layer of fog had now gathered, symbolizing the buildup of World Energy. Although this fog was by no means dense, it made Dragon Cave Mountain look a bit more like a spirit mountain.
Over time, the aura here would become richer and more abundant.
Wu Yi came to visit him twice, but each time she seemed to wear an unhappy look, as if things in her family weren’t going well. Both times she simply chatted with Yang Kai and relaxed for a while before leaving.
One month later, and as Yang Kai was meditating in his stone room, he suddenly heard the door to Yang Yan’s stone room, where she had been engaging in Artifact Refining, creak open and immediately afterwards, a rapid sound of footsteps entered his ears.
Looking up, Yang Kai saw Yang Yan standing at his door with a flushed look on her face, holding up her long black robes while breathing somewhat raggedly and staring at him with excited eyes. There was a pleased and confident look upon her face.
“Can I come in?” Yang Yan looking around curiously, asking somewhat nervously. One day, Yang Yan had barged in uninvited and Yang Kai had pinched her neck and thrown her out. Ever since that day, Yang Yan had become somewhat afraid to step into this stone room at will.
Yang Kai nodded, asking with some anticipation, “Finished the refinement?”
Yang Yan laughed without saying a word, trying to be mysterious, “Close your eyes first; I’ll give you a surprise!”
[What kind of surprise could there be?] Yang Kai thought with a weird expression on his face, but he still closed her eyes.
The next moment, the look on his face changed, because inside his stone room, a number of energy fluctuations that belonged to Saint King Grade artefacts appeared. Opening his eyes, Yang Kai saw Yang Yan pointing to a row of neatly arranged artefacts in front of him.
“I didn’t waste a single piece of material you provided or ore you bought. These are the results, four Saint King Grade artefacts,” Yang Yan sat down cross-legged and picked up a mace-like artifact and began explaining, “This one was made from the teeth of that Eighth-Order Thunder Cloud Leopard along with some matching ore. I smelted the ore and the Thunder Cloud Leopard’s skull together then used its sturdy teeth for the spikes. A rough artifact like this is suitable for men with brawny builds. En, it’s a powerful weapon, a Saint King Grade Low-Rank artifact!”
After describing her work, Yang Yan handed the mace to Yang Kai.
Accepting it, Yang Kai began carefully examine this mace and soon nodded in approval. He could tell that Yang Yan had efficiently and effectively used these materials to the limit of their ability and that this artefact was well refined, as long as it could find the right owner, it would definitely display great power.
“This dagger was forged with the Blazing Blue Flame Rhinoceros’ horn as its primary material. Although it’s not very sharp, the horn of a Blazing Blue Flame Rhinoceros itself has some special attributes which make it excellent for destroying barriers, so this artifact’s role isn’t designed for fighting but rather for adventuring. I think there should be many people who are willing to buy such an item. En, it’s also a Saint King Grade Low-Rank artefact,” Yang Yan said, handing the light blue dagger over to Yang Kai.
Picking up the next one, Yang Yan continued, “This soft whip was made from the Diamond Dragon Beetle’s antenna, it was the hardest one to refine as the primary materials are quite fragile in an unprocessed form. Fortunately, I was the one who worked on it, if it was handled by another Artifact Refiner, you’d only be able to cry about the loss of materials now. This weapon is suitable for young women. Since you were the one who obtained this antenna, you should understand the true horror of the Diamond Dragon Beetle. Once you get struck with this soft whip, it’s not your flesh that will hurt, but your bones. If you get hit by this whip a few times, your bones might even break. This is a Saint King Grade Mid-Rank artefact!”
Yang Kai took the soft whip from her again and poured his Saint Qi into it before slashing it around the stone room suddenly, causing Yang Yan’s face to go pale for fear she would be struck by accident.
After waiting for Yang Kai to put away the soft whip, Yang Yan excitedly picked up the last artifact, her movements quite slow and cautious, as if she was holding a delicate piece of artwork, her eyes flashing an infatuated light.
“This is the work I’m most proud of this time!”
Yang Kai looked down at her hands and discovered that what Yang Yan was holding was simply a pair of palm-sized wings. These wings sparkled brilliantly and were constantly shifting colours, giving them a truly beautiful appearance.
Needless to say, this artefact was refined from the wings of the Illusionary Cloud Butterfly. It was also the highest grade artifact, Saint King Grade High-Rank!
“Saint King Grade Mid-Rank should have been the limit of the materials you gave me, but with this item I poured in all of my skill and managed to raise its grade by a level. For a long time now, I have wanted to refine an artefact in the shape of a pair of wings; unfortunately, I had never found suitable materials” Yang Yan held the pair of wings carefully as she stared at them, growing more satisfied with every moment, glancing up at Yang Kai every now and then with a look of longing even a blind man would be able to see.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand to her, and Yang Yan unwillingly handed over the pair of wings, emphasizing nervously, “Be careful, don’t break it.”
“Isn’t this thing mine?” Yang Kai looked at her with a smile.
“It’s indeed yours, but it was made by me, so naturally I have a responsibility to keep it safe and make sure you don’t spoil it…”
“Can a Saint King Grade High-Rank artifact be so easily broken?” Yang Kai chuckled.
Yang Yan opened her mouth to object but didn’t know what to say, quickly shaking her head and beginning her description, “Although Star Shuttles are convenient for travelling, in a fight, these wings can increase a cultivators speed and mobility and in a critical moment even provide a boost with some protection. This artefact is worth at least thirty thousand pieces of High-Rank Saint Crystal, but if it were to be put up for auction, it would definitely be sold for much more, perhaps as much as forty thousand. There are too many rich people in the world after all, simply hateful!”
As she said so, Yang Yan waved her fists angrily, as if annoyed that she was so poor.
“Thirty thousand?” Yang Kai frowned, remembering that when he bought his Star Shuttle, which was the same grade, it had only cost him twelve thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals back on Water Moon Star.
Although they were the same grade of artifact, the value of this pair of wings was undoubtedly much greater than a Star Shuttle, so it wasn’t surprising for it to be worth such a price. On top of that, its appearance was incredibly beautiful, so presumably, there would be many men willing to pay a huge fortune for it so they could gift it to their favourite woman.
“Are you willing to buy this for thirty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals? ” Yang Kai looked at Yang Yan and asked.
Yang Yan nodded her head like a chicken pecking rice.
“Then I’ll sell it to you,” Yang Kai threw the pair of wings to her.
Yang Yan caught it in something of a stupor, only a while later saying awkwardly, “I don’t have that many Saint Crystals …”
Saying so, she blushed furiously.
“I know, I didn’t want you to pay up immediately, just consider it a loan. En, I’ll be asking you for Artifact Refining services for a while and will deduct your reward from these thirty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystal, when you finish repaying me, you’ll be debt-free, until then, you’ll be my exclusive Artifact Refiner.”
“Thirty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals worth of commission?” Yang Yan was immediately frightened, “Do you know how much remuneration I should collect from you for the artefacts I refined for you this time?”
“How many?”
“I was going to charge you a thousand pieces of High-Rank Saint Crystal… That’s my reward for a whole month of hard work. Thirty thousand pieces, that would take me at least thirty months, or two and a half years without any rest to pay off, wouldn’t it?” Yang Yan’s face drained of all coloured, suddenly feeling like she had suddenly been abducted to join a gang of evildoers.
“Two and a half years isn’t very long, there’ll always be a time when you finish paying off your debt.”
“If I can’t pay it off?” Yang Yan said while nearly crying, she had never had so many Saint Crystals and couldn’t even imagine what thirty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals looked like.
“You can pay off the balance with your body,” Yang Kai grinned, sweeping his eyes over her luscious curves and nodding, “En, I’m actually quite interested in your type.”
Yang Yan’s face only went paler, staring down at the wing artefact on her palm, wishing she could smash Yang Kai’s evil face with it, but unable to bring herself to do so.
After thinking about it for a while, she said solemnly, “I have to ask you first, do you have enough materials for me to continue refining? Since it’s to pay off your debts to me, you need to continue providing me with a steady stream of materials. If I can’t even refine artefacts, how am I supposed to obtain my freedom?”
[This little girl isn’t stupid!] Yang Kai originally wanted to simply set up his identity as a creditor who could never be paid back, but this foolish Yang Yan had suddenly become sharp.
“You don’t have to worry about the materials. En, take these things for now,” Yang Kai said, dumping out another big pile of materials in front of Yang Yan.
While travelling with Gui Che, they had killed a lot of Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Monster Beasts, so naturally they had obtained a lot of materials. Last time, Yang Kai had only brought out the materials he had no use for, this time he literally dumped out everything that wasn’t extremely valuable.
If Yang Yan’s performance satisfied him again, Yang Kai decided he would allow her to refine an Origin Grade artefact for him.
Looking at this pile of Monster Beast materials, Yang Yan hesitated for a long time before finally compromising.
Wasn’t it just thirty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals? She felt that she would one day make enough money to pay off such a debt!
Sweeping all these materials into her Space Ring, Yang Yan once again wrote up a list and handed it to Yang Kai, “Buy me these ores. I have to rest for a few days before I can start refining again.”
Yang Kai took the list and didn’t even check it before nodding and walking out.
Yang Yan called out nervously to him as he left, “Can I cultivate in your stone room? It has a denser aura than mine.”
“Yeah!”
Leaving Dragon Cave Mountain, Yang Kai flew off towards Heavenly Fate City.
It took half a day for Yang Kai to finish purchasing everything on the list Yang Yan had given him. Yang Yan seemed to know what kind of ores and materials were available in Heavenly Fate City, so Yang Kai didn’t have much trouble finding the things she wanted.
While a clerk at a shop called Trade Company was checking over the quantity and quality of ores before selling them to Yang Kai, a somewhat rotund old man with a short stature walked over with a look of interest on his face and asked, “Young man, are you purchasing all these ores for Artefact Refining?”
Yang Kai raised his head and frowned at this fat man, but the clerk quickly cut in an introduced him, “Honoured customer, this is our Trade Company’s shopkeeper, Qian Tong!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, not saying anything. This fat old man looked harmless to humans and animals, but his strength was definitely not low, probably an Origin Returning Realm master, but due to him concealing his aura, Yang Kai was unable to determine his exact Order.
Qian Tong didn’t mind this display and continued smiling while saying, “You can rest assured that our Trade Company only conducts honest business and offers fair prices, we will never engage in unscrupulous matters. En, we also purchase artefacts, if you have any artefacts to sell, we can sit down and discuss an appropriate price.”
“Why do you think I have artefacts for sale?” Yang Kai glanced over at him with a slightly puzzled look.
Qian Tong laughed, “You are a guest, and this old man says this to every guest.”
“I do happen to have artefacts for sale,” Yang Kai laughed.
This time Yang Kai had come to Heavenly Fate City for two purposes; one, to purchase the ores on Yang Yan’s list, and two, to sell the artefacts she had refined. In any case, he had no use for them. Whether it was the mace, dagger, or whip, none were suitable for him to use, so keeping them in his Space Ring would just be wasting Heaven’s precious gifts.
On top of that, these ores cost him a lot of Saint Crystals to buy.
Originally Yang Kai had wanted to ask Wu Yi for her help regarding this matter; after all, he wasn’t familiar with the market here or what fair prices would be. But Wu Yi’s position was somewhat delicate and she herself wasn’t that strong, so asking her for help would probably lead to some unnecessary trouble.
Now that this smiling fat old man had come up to ask on his own initiative, Yang Kai had no reason to refuse.
Although his opponent wasn’t weak, Yang Kai didn’t have any fear. At worst, he could just tear space and flee. Since he had confidence in preserving his life, he naturally had confidence in negotiating as well.
“Oh? It seems this old man’s vision hasn’t gone bad yet, hahaha, young man, this way, please!” Qian Tong motioned to Yang Kai.
After a short while, the pair came to a private room that was clearly set up for the exclusive purpose of conducting transactions. Many people didn’t like having unnecessary people seeing what items they were buying or selling, which resulted in many people often wearing masks or disguises when they came to do business.
The existence of this private room avoided all those problems though as once the door was closed, leaving only Yang Kai and Qian Tong behind, all outside Divine Senses would be blocked.
Yang Kai glanced around the room for a moment, his expression remaining calm and composed.
Qian Tong maintained his smile while a light flashed across the depths of his eyes, secretly wondering whether this young man either had solid nerves or simply wasn’t afraid at all.
As a businessman though, even if he felt surprised, Qian Tong didn’t ask any unnecessary questions and got straight to the point, “Young man, what kind of artefact do you want to sell? What grade is it?”
Yang Kai quickly took out three artefacts refined by Yang Yan.
Qian Tong swept his eyes over these artefacts then picked them up one by one, examining them carefully, nodding silently after a while, “This old man isn’t proficient in Artifact Refining, but I can see that these items are top quality amongst their grade and were refined by the same Artifact Refiner, what price are you looking for?”
Qian Tong only spoke about business matters and didn’t inquire into any other information, an act that made Yang Kai very satisfied.
“I don’t understand the local prices, how do you normally purchase such items?” Yang Kai asked back.
Qian Tong was stunned, not having expected Yang Kai to completely surrender the initiative in this negotiation. Which person who came to sell treasures didn’t want to hold the initiative? Fearing they would lose money, most people would try to heap praises onto their goods while raising the price as high as possible.
Even after a transaction was completed, people would secretly worry about whether they had been ripped off or not.
On the other hand, this young man seemed completely free and easy, as if he didn’t care about suffering a loss.
With the same friendly smile, Qian Tong said, “The price of Saint King Grade artefacts generally starts at five thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals, but that is just our bottom line. Two of these items are Saint King Grade Low-Rank while one is Saint King Grade Mid-Rank, each of which is of superb quality. For the two Low-Ranks, this old man is willing to pay six thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals a piece. As for the Saint King Grade Mid-Rank artefact, how about eight thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals?”
“A total of twenty thousand?” Yang Kai frowned, feeling like the price was a bit lower than he had imagined.
But remembering that Saint Crystals on Shadowed Star were more valuable than other places, he felt relieved. In Yang Kai’s opinion, Qian Tong’s price was fair; after all, he was a businessman, so naturally, he had to purchase these artefacts at a price that would allow him to sell them at a profit.
“If you feel the price is too low, we can discuss it again. Business is not just a matter of just naming a price and paying money,” Qian Tong smiled slightly.
“Throw in the ores I just purchased and this deal is done,” Yang Kai said calmly.
Qian Tong let out a hearty laugh and commented, “Young man, you’re quite astute. The total price of those ores you just bought isn’t low, at least three thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals… But in order to make friends, it’s not a bad deal. Good, if you have other artefacts to sell in the future, please choose our Trade Company first.”
“Deal!” Yang Kai nodded.
Trade Company’s efficiency was very high and it wasn’t long before Yang Kai stuffed twenty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals and all the ores he requested into his Space Ring and left Heavenly Fate City.
After he left, Qian Tong sat and stared in the direction Yang Kai disappeared for a while before muttering, “Interesting.”
“Elder Qian… we suffer a loss in this transaction. Giving him more than three thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals worth of ore means we won’t be able to make much money on these artefacts,” The clerk who received Yang Kai just now came over and complained.
Qian Tong just grinned and said, “Really? I think we actually gained a great deal.”
The clerk wore a bewildered expression as he ran the calculations again, still feeling they hadn’t come out on top after he finished.
“What do you know? There should be a terrifying Artifact Refiner behind that kid. He also bought some ore the last time he visited Heavenly Fate City, just not from this shop. It was only a coincidence that I was at that shop at the time so I have some impression of him. He is actually quite savvy, understanding he has to change shops each time he buys such large amounts of ore, but he probably doesn’t realize that most of the shops in Heavenly Fate City are owned by our Shadow Moon Hall. It was only one month ago… Yet now he’s come here to buy ore again while bringing along three Saint King Grade artefacts. What do you think this means?” Qian Tong was in a good mood so he decided to speak a few words to enlighten this confused clerk while laughing happily.
“He’ll be back. The next time he shows up, inform me right away. If you can’t reach me, process whatever business he has with the highest level of care. It doesn’t matter if we lose some money in the transaction as long as we can satisfy him,” Qian Tong admonished.
“Disciple understands,” The clerk responded quickly, though he still didn’t understand what Elder Qian Tong meant, he had no right to object to these words.
Qian Tong immediately left Trade Company afterwards and rushed to a large palace situated in Heavenly Fate City. Finding another old man in the palace, Qian Ton handed over the three artefacts.
The old man touched the artefacts gently with his eyes tightly closed, as if he perceived something. After a while, this old man’s expression changed, revealing a surprised expression.
After half an hour, the old man put down the last of the three artefacts and opened his eyes.
“Grandmaster Ge Lin, what were you able to see?” Qian Tong asked immediately.
“These three artefacts were refined by an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner!” The old man named Ge Lin took a deep breath and declared.
“Origin Grade…” Qian Tong’s eyes bulged. Although he had inferred through various signs that a powerful Artifact Refiner was behind Yang Kai, he hadn’t expected it to actually be one at the Origin Grade.
“En, and their skill is not worse than this old master. The materials used for these artefacts were all from Eighth-Order Monster Beasts. Who refined them? Is there anyone with such skill near our Heavenly Fate City?” Ge Lin asked curiously.
“I don’t know who refined them, they were simply brought in to sell by a young man today,” Qian Tong shook his head.
“Did you trace his whereabouts?” Ge Lin asked again.
“I didn’t dare act rashly, so as not to cause any misunderstandings with the master behind him.”
Ge Lin nodded, “Good, prudence here is key! Such a master can only be won over, not offended! The ability to kill Eighth-Order Monster Beasts shows that this person’s strength is also not low. Not only in a fight, but with skills in Artifact Refining on par or better than this old master. You should pay more attention to that young man. As long as our sincerity is sufficient, I don’t believe it will be difficult to understand the identity of the master behind him.”
“I also thought so, what’s more, he should return again soon. Today, he bought a lot of Saint King Grade ores, most likely to refine more artefacts.”
“Good job. I am getting old, and probably won’t live for many more years, if you can recruit that master to take over my position, then you won’t have to worry about having someone to repairs your artefacts when they break,” Ge Lin smiled wryly. Artefact Refiners dedicate themselves to their craft and avoid fighting, so their vitalities are often not exuberant and their life expectancy are generally much shorter than other cultivators of the same level.
Looking at Yang Yan, who was sprawled out on the bed in his stone room in a completely sloppy and defenseless manner, Yang Kai shook his head helplessly.
One month of continuous Artifact Refining seemed to thoroughly exhaust her. Lying there, breathing deeply, her incredible figure on full display, regardless of whether Yang Kai wanted to be seduced or not, he couldn’t stop his eyes from fixing on her towering twin peaks.
Yang Kai’s return didn’t wake Yang Yan in the slightest.
Turning around, Yang Kai walked straight out of the cave again and proceeded to hunt down a few animals in the mountain forest before building up a fire near the cave entrance and grilling their meat. Yang Yan’s physical and mental exhaustion was clearly quite serious, so eating something would be good for her restoration.
Yang Kai had only half-finished his cooking when Yang Yan ran out of the cave sniffing the air, folding her arms in front of her as she squatted down next to him with a smile and stared at the golden roasted rabbit, eagerly waiting to eat.
“How was your rest?” Yang Kai glanced over at her.
“Somewhat, It’ll take a few more days for me to completely recover,” Yang Yan replied casually before crying out innocently, “Flip it over quickly, it’s already well roasted. Ah, no, not like that! Here, let me do it!”
Fussing like this, Yang Yan couldn’t stop herself from snatching the meat away from Yang Kai.
Yang Kai didn’t try to stop her and simply sat back and relaxed, directing a somewhat suspicious look towards her. “If you’re really an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner, why are you so miserable?”
This was the point that had confused Yang Kai the most about Yang Yan. He had witnessed her ability already, so Yang Kai knew that as long as she was willing to reveal it, she would be able to live a lavish life. Any force on Shadowed Star would be willing to accept her and provide her with the most generous treatment. Many of them would even be willing to fight over her.
Yang Yan pursed her lips, “What do you know. You’re probably thinking I should just hire myself to one of those big forces, right?”
Yang Kai nodded.
“I don’t trust them,” Yang Yan snorted, “None of them are anything good, I won’t refine artefacts for them.”
When she said this, Yang Kai understood.
Without the support of a big force, a woman like Yang Yan couldn’t show her true ability. Because she couldn’t acquire enough high-grade materials to display her abilities, when she entered a place like Artifact Refining Pavilion, everyone would question her skills and only dare allow her to refine some low-grade artefacts.
Even if she continued to declare that she was an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner, no one would risk giving her Origin Grade materials to verify her ability.
Under this vicious circle, her not being miserable would be strange.
Even Yang Kai had not believed her and had only given her some materials he was planning to discard as a test.
“Do you have some kind of grudge against them?” Yang Kai asked.
“No, I don’t resent them, I just don’t like them. I heard that no matter which force it is, they’ll have many internal power struggles and external conflicts. I have no interest in being caught up in such troublesome things, I just want to quietly focus on Artifact Refining.”
This was also true. The higher level an Artifact Refiner was, the more forces would try to recruit them, but the inner workings of these forces would not all share the same opinion. Small families like Hai Ke Family were constantly squabbling amongst themselves, and it was only worse for behemoths like Shadow Moon Hall.
Once Yang Yan entered one of these forces, she would likely be caught up in these annoying matters.
As the scent of roasted meat wafted through the air, Yang Yan looked at the barbecue pit with satisfaction, tore off a rabbit leg, and handed it to Yang Kai. Yang Kai slowly shook his head to refuse, leading to Yang Yan unceremoniously stuffing her face with great satisfaction.
“I sold the artefacts you refined,” Yang Kai said casually.
“En, they’re yours in any case, do what you want with them.”
“They sold for twenty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals in total!”
“The price is fair, you didn’t suffer a loss,” Yang Yan nodded casually.
“How many Saint Crystals do you have on you right now?” Yang Kai asked again.
“Why?” Yang Yan immediately became alert and covered her Space Ring, seemingly afraid that Yang Kai was having ideas about her precious Saint Crystals, but after thinking about it for a moment, she felt it was unlikely and haltingly said, “Around two thousand… Low-Rank Saint Crystals.”
“So poor!” Yang Kai was speechless, shaking his head and sighing before taking out some High-Rank Saint Crystals from his Space Ring as well as a few bottles of pills used for restoring Saint Qi and Spiritual Energy and passing them over to her, “Artifact Refining consumed a lot of strength, you can have these.”
Yang Yan wiped the grease from her hands and then snatched the Saint Crystals Yang Kai offered without the slightest hesitation, stuffing them into her Space Ring before opening one of the bottles of pills and sniffing it, a look of surprise soon appearing on her face, “Saint King Grade pills?”
She hadn’t anticipated that Yang Kai would be so generous. A single bottle of Saint King Grade pills was quite a lot. The bottles he had just handed over to her were worth almost half as much as the artefacts she had refined.
“Looks like you’re quite rich,” Yang Yan looked at Yang Kai strangely. Massive amounts of Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Monster Beast materials, several bottles of Saint King Grade pills, a Saint King Grade High-Rank Star Shuttle, an Origin Grade artefact…
Yang Yan found it hard to imagine how a mere Third Order Saint came to possess so many good things.
Comparing him with herself, it was almost like Heaven and Earth. Where had he found all these things? It didn’t look like he had some kind of strong background.
“Don’t bother trying to conserve those pills, if you run out just ask me for more, I have lots,” Yang Kai said casually. He understood Yang Yan’s personality and knew she was the frugal type who would keep track of every last piece of Saint Crystal, so he was worried she would try to not use these pills in order to save up more money.
“You’re a really good person.” Yang Yan declared, feeling quite touched.
After saying so, she picked up another piece of barbecue and continued chomping on it, fragrant oil dripping down from her lips.
A few days later, after Yang Yan completely recovered, she began Artifact Refining again. This time, Yang Kai allowed her to work in his stone room directly. The Seven Coloured Spirit Gathering Flags were set up in his stone room so it would be much easier for her to restore herself here, improving the efficiency of her Artifact Refining.
Blazing hot Yang Attribute strength burst out constantly, but this kind of heat actually made Yang Kai feel quite comfortable.
While Yang Yan was engaged in Artifact Refining, Yang Kai wasn’t idling, moving to the Yang Yan’s stone room and entering secluded retreat to accumulate more Saint Qi.
At least four or five years had passed since he broke through to the Third Order Saint Realm, and although Yang Kai had been sealed in the blood-red crystal for most of those years, unable to feel the passing of time, but with the hundred drops of pure Demon God Golden Blood flowing through his veins, Yang Kai could clearly feel that his strength had improved again.
While he was unconscious, his realm seemed to have solidified and risen substantially.
Yang Kai even faintly felt that the Saint King Realm was within his reach and he had no shortage of insights into the Heavenly Way and Martial Dao. The only thing he was missing now was some accumulation, which conversely meant that as long as he accumulated enough Saint Qi, he would soon reach a critical point and break through.
While accumulating Saint Qi, Yang Kai was also studying the uses of his Golden Blood.
Some time ago, Yang Kai had used a drop of Golden Blood to form a golden spear which he then used to resolve Wu Yi and her crew’s crisis. This incident allowed Yang Kai to realize the power of his Golden Blood.
Now he wanted to know what his Golden Blood could do other than fight.
Thinking carefully about the scene from that time, Yang Kai’s expression changed as a novel idea popped into his head. After thinking of this, he quickly condensed a drop of Golden Blood at his fingertip.
The Golden Blood plunged into The Void and reappeared over a thousand kilometres away in an instant.
At that moment, Yang Kai felt a marvellous sensation. He was clearly still sitting in Yang Yan’s stone room in Dragon Cave Mountain, but he could clearly see the scene around his drop of Golden Blood a thousand kilometres away. It seemed that the Golden Blood had an inseparable connection to him and his consciousness could freely switch between it and his physical body. With this drop of Golden Blood, Yang Kai could easily see a scene a thousand kilometres away.
Yang Kai immediately entered an ethereal state, his mind observing the surroundings of his drop of Golden Blood as he flew forward.
He saw cities, mountains, forests, and rivers as his drop of Golden Blood shot forward at lightning-fast speed, at least a few times faster than his Star Shuttle was capable of. This speed was also a result of Yang Kai’s comprehension of the Dao of Space. This drop of Golden Blood could break through the shackles of space, allowing it to move at speeds even greater than Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was capable of.
The shocking vitality which emanated from this drop of Golden Blood as it flew forward alarmed many masters on Shadowed Star.
Countless masters’ eyes followed the Golden Blood as it passed by them, causing horrified looks to appear on their faces.
They didn’t know who was giving off such a shocking life aura, or how strong one would have to be to move even faster than their Divine Senses could. Often, by the time these masters became aware of the drop of Golden Blood, it had already disappeared from their sight, making it impossible for them to probe it.
The Elders and higher-ups of many forces gathered together in the following days to discuss whether this golden flash was an enemy that threatened their Sect.
Some masters tried to chase after the flash of golden light but all were unsuccessfully and soon forced to give up.
Yang Kai had no idea he had disturbed all of Shadowed Star with his unintentional movements, he was simply immersing himself in the Golden Blood’s miraculous uses.
After just three days, the drop of Golden Blood had made a complete survey of Shadowed Star.
The vitality contained within the drop of Golden Blood had not actually weakened much though; apparently, this journey had not caused it any strain.
Yang Kai was thoroughly shocked. His consciousness had been following this drop of Golden Blood while it toured the entirety of Shadowed Star, so he knew just how massive this Cultivation Star was. If he were to use his Star Shuttle, it would take him at least four months to cover its surface.
But the Golden Blood was able to do this in just three days; it was clear from this alone how terrifying its speed was.
What were its limits? How far apart could it be from his main body while still maintaining contact?
Yang Kai felt the need to figure these two questions out and with a single thought, sent the drop of Golden Blood which had just come back to him straight up into the sky, soon breaking through the cloud layer and heading out into the Star Field!
Yang Kai’s consciousness remained attached to the drop of Golden Blood as he saw one Dead Star after another as well as vast Asteroid Seas and packs of roaming Black Rock Beasts.
This was a rather strange experience, roaming the Starry Sky with just ones consciousness was something even a master at the Origin King Realm couldn’t do after all.
The Golden Blood was truly amazing.
After entering this kind of ethereal state, the speed at which Yang Kai’s physical body was able to absorb the surrounding aura increased sharply, allowing him to accumulate Saint Qi far quicker than before, dramatically improving his cultivation rate.
Yang Kai didn’t relax his vigilance however, as right now it was only him and Yang Yan on Dragon Cave Mountain. Yang Yan was concentrating completely on Artefact Refining, so naturally, Yang Kai could not lower his guard or he would be unable to defend them against unexpected aggressors.
Fortunately, he was able to switch his consciousness between his physical body and the drop of Golden Blood at will, as if his soul was simultaneously inhabiting two different bodies. Yang Kai paid attention to the movements of the drop of Golden Blood from time to time but didn’t monitor it constantly.
Over time, he even lost interest in keeping track of it. Although the drop of Golden Blood had been flying through the Starry Sky for quite some time, the vitality it contained only seemed to have weakened slightly. Yang Kai estimated that it would be able to continue on like this for at least several years before finally disappearing.
This time, Yang Yan took two months to finish her Artifact Refining.
But on the day she exited the stone room, she brought out seven Saint King Grade artefacts, some from each Grade!
Perhaps it was because of the pills and Saint Crystals Yang Kai had given her, but this time, she didn’t seem too tired. After handing over the artefacts to Yang Kai, she even had the mood to calculate how many Saint Crystals she still owed Yang Kai and began counting seriously.
Skilled in Artifact Refining, neither prideful nor arrogant, easy to talk to, beautiful with an outstanding good figure, and most importantly, charged only a modest fee!
Yang Kai felt like he had picked up a treasure and became more and more determined to permanently retain Yang Yan as his dedicated Artifact Refiner.
After giving her a few more bottles of pills and a number of High-Rank Saint Crystals, Yang Yan smiled with joy and stuffed everything into the Space Ring before asking, “What are you going to make me refine next? Let me examine the materials first so I can see what kinds of ores are needed.”
Yang Kai took out the carapace, tail, and pincer of the Scarlet Tailed Purple Armoured Scorpion and tossed them over to Yang Yan.
The little girl’s eyes immediately bulged as a fascinated light flashed across their depths. Squatting down, she picked up these items one by one, stroking them with her delicate hands while muttering something under her breath, seemingly lost in her own world.
After a long time, she looked up into Yang Kai’s eyes and asked, “You’re willing to give me these materials to refine?”
Yang Kai nodded seriously, “You’ve proven your ability; I believe that you are indeed an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner, so naturally I’m willing to let you work with these things.”
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll run away with these things?” Yang Yan still couldn’t believe what was happening, “These are the materials of a Ninth-Order Monster Beast, and they can be used to refine Origin Grade artefacts!”
“You can try to run, I’ll just capture you and bring you back though,” Yang Kai grinned.
Yang Yan spat disdainfully, seemingly quite annoyed with Yang Kai’s self-confident attitude, treating it like he had everything in his grasp.
“Rest assured, I’m not someone who breaks their word, I’ll make the best use of these things for you, but the ores you need to purchase this time won’t be the same as before, you’d best be prepared for some massive haemorrhaging,” Yang Yan said solemnly.
“It doesn’t matter, write up the list,” Yang Kai nodded and added, “That’s right, I have a request this time.”
“Ask whatever you’d like.”
“Use this carapace to refine me a defensive artefact, I’ll be using it myself, feel free to do what you want with the rest.”
“Got it, do you have this Monster Beast’s Core? If you have it, give it to me as well, it will be useful for this time’s Artifact Refining.”
As soon as Yang Yan spoke these words, a fist-sized Monster Core that gave of two distinct Energy Attributes was tossed over to her. Catching this core, Yang Yan nodded with satisfaction and began writing up a list of auxiliary materials. A moment later, she handed the list to Yang Kai and anxiously urged, “Hurry up and come back, after a couple of days of rest, I’ll start refining again. Following you was really a good choice, you unexpectedly have so many good materials on you for me to use.”
She seemed a little impatient.
Heavenly Fate City. Inside Trade Company, Qian Tong was sitting in a room on the third floor, sipping a cup of tea lightly as he gazed in the direction Yang Kai had left two months ago, a faintly anxious and helpless look upon his face.
Although he had previously determined that Yang Kai would come here again, he hadn’t expected that two whole months would pass by with no words from him.
Until today, the young man had not shown up again, making Qian Tong somewhat depressed. At the time, he was worried about leaving a bad impression on the powerful master behind the young man, so he had not sent anyone to follow him and did not dare inquire about his identity at will, planning to slowly win his trust by steadily purchasing the final products this master and the young man delivered.
Now however it seemed he had acted too cautiously, and Qian Tong thought he should have at least told the young man he was interested in soliciting his master. So long as that young man was intelligent enough, he would definitely bring those words to his master.
At that time, if the powerful master was willing, he would naturally pay a visit to Shadow Moon Hall, if he wasn’t, it wouldn’t be too late for Qian Tong to make a direct appeal.
The earlier such a Grandmaster Artifact Refiner could be recruited, the earlier Shadow Moon Hall would be able to reap the benefits. If they waited too long and another force discovered this master, they would definitely try to rob him from them. Once the situation developed to that extent, it wouldn’t be a matter of just one or two people dying.
Thinking about it, Qian Tong’s mood became irritable and he unconsciously crushed the teacup in his hand. It wasn’t until the hot tea dripped down his hand that he noticed what he had done.
Looking down the messy tabletop, Qian Tong couldn’t help letting out a dumb laugh.
He wasn’t young anymore, and his cultivation level wasn’t low, it had been many years since he had become so agitated. Even when he was a boy, his emotions had not been as uncontrollable as right now.
Picking up the broken teacup fragments and drying the spilt tea, Qian Tong took a breath and calmed his irritable mood.
Just then, there was a sudden knock at the door, causing Qian Tong to call out in a disgruntled tone, “What is it?”
“Elder Qian, the young man who came to sell artefacts two months ago is here again,” The clerk who had received Yang Kai last time replied respectfully. After waiting for a while, the clerk became somewhat suspicious about not receiving a response when Elder Qian Tong excitedly shouted, “Quickly invite him inside!”
As soon as those words came out though, Qian Tong corrected himself, “No no no, this old master will go welcome him personally!”
A burst of sound rang out, as if the tables, chairs, and tea sets in the room were all blow away and crushed.
The clerk’s face turned black, not understanding what was so special about this young man that Elder Qian Tong would treat him so seriously, even going so far as to smash the furnishings in his room in an effort to rush out and greet him.
The door was flung open and Qian Tong quickly walked downstairs, his face filled with smiles.
The clerk took a peek into the room curiously and sure enough, he discovered that all the furniture inside had been completely tossed about and destroyed.
On the first floor, Yang Kai was becoming impatient.
The last time he had come here, the clerk had received him diligently, showing the utmost consideration and attentiveness. This time, as a repeat customer, he had come here to sell some more artefacts in accordance with his previous agreement, but before he could even say anything, the clerk had asked him to wait and then run off somewhere.
A short time later though, the fat old man named Qian Tong walked over hurriedly, his face aglow and his belly trembling with laughter as he warmly shouted, “Young man, this old man has been waiting two months for you to return, come come, this way, please!”
Saying so, he held Yang Kai’s shoulder warmly and directed him towards the private room they had used last time.
Inside Trade Company’s lobby, the cultivators who were going about their business all froze up in shock as they stared towards Yang Kai’s back, unable to speak for a long time.
Many of them knew Qian Tong and were aware that he was a high-level Elder in Shadow Moon Hall, but this great master was now actually treating a young man like Yang Kai so kindly, causing all of them a great deal of shock. After the pair disappeared, the lobby exploded with chatter, everyone speculating about Yang Kai’s identity.
“What kind of background does that young man have that would compel Elder Qian Tong to come out and greet him personally? Heavens, even if one of the Patriarchs from the nearby families that came here, could they have received such an enthusiastic welcome from Elder Qian Tong?
“I don’t know, I’ve never seen him before, but from how he was dressed he doesn’t seem to be from some kind of big force.”
“His cultivation wasn’t high either, Third Order Saint Realm.”
“I remember that when the Patriarch of the Ke Rui Family came last time to discuss some important business, Elder Qian Tong didn’t even meet with him.”
“Who knows what is happening?”
…..
In the backroom, Qian Tong enthusiastically had Yang Kai sit down before having one of the maids serve tea along with a platter of golden spirit fruits. These spirit fruits were small but contained an astonishing amount of energy. Smiling broadly, Qian Tong explained, “These fruits are my Shadow Moon Hall’s special product that throughout all of Shadowed Star we are in sole possession of. Each fruit tree only produces one batch of matured fruit every ten years, with at most five hundred fruits per harvests. Although they have only provided minimal help increasing one’s cultivation, their taste is exquisite, and can help calm one’s mood, and also rapidly supplement one’s Saint Qi. They are best suited for someone who is about to break through, please feel free to try them.”
Qian Tong could see at a glance that Yang Kai was on the verge of breaking through from the Third Order Saint Realm to the Saint King Realm, so he had immediately offered these fruits.
Yang Kai glanced at him for a moment before reaching out and picking up one of the fruits, eating it without the slightest hesitation or worry, savouring the fragrant flavour and nodding, “The taste is indeed quite good, Elder Qian, if you don’t mind, I’d like to take these back with me.”
These fruits ability to quickly restore Saint Qi would be very useful for Yang Yan’s Artifact Refining.
Qian Tong’s eyes flashed, letting out a hearty laugh as he nodded, “Of course I don’t mind, if you like them, I’ll have someone prepare a few more, unfortunately, there aren’t many of them.”
Qian Tong truly didn’t mind that Yang Kai impolitely asked to bring these fruits back with him, because he was able to discern the meaning of this action.
Why would Yang Kai want to bring these fruits back with him?
Clearly he was going to offer them to his master as filial piety!
This only served to further confirm Qian Tong’s suspicions that there was a profound Artifact Refiner behind this young man.
“Elder Qian mentioned a moment ago that you had been eagerly waiting for my return, yes?” Yang Kai asked while taking out the seven newly refined artefacts from his Space Ring.
Qian Tong stared with wide eyes, his breathing becoming a bit heavier each time Yang Kai took out another artefact.
By the time all seven pieces had been laid on the table, Qian Tong’s look had already become a bit agitated.
He was able to tell that the ores Yang Kai purchased during his previous visit were used to refine these artefacts, yet it had only been a trivial two months and the result was seven Saint King Grade artefacts! This fully demonstrated just how powerful the Grandmaster behind this youth was!
Even if Grandmaster Ge Lin had acted personally, it would have been impossible to refine so many superior artefacts in such a short period of time.
Taking a deep breath, Qian Tong restored the smile to his face and said, “Waiting for these artefacts was just one matter, in fact, this old man was waiting for you personally, en, how should I address you?”
“Yang Kai.”
“This old man is Qian Tong, presumably you already knew that though, if you don’t mind, may this old man address you as Nephew?”
Yang Kai nodded casually, given Qian Tong’s age and status, him addressing Yang Kai as Nephew wasn’t unreasonable.
Qian Tong smiled wider and continued, “Nephew Yang is a young man of great talent, at such an age, nearly reaching the Saint King Realm, such aptitude is worthy of praise…”
Saying so, Qian Tong carefully observed Yang Kai’s reaction.
Young people always enjoy being flattered, so Qian Tong felt that receiving such praise from someone of his position and status would win him some favour with Yang Kai.
But to his surprise, Yang Kai remained indifferent, seemingly thinking such an evaluation was only natural. Not showing the slightest reaction, he just sitting in a relaxed posture in his chair.
Qian Tong coughed lightly, fixing his expression before continuing to ask, “I wonder if Nephew Yang is interested in seeking better opportunities?”
Yang Kai simply grinned. Since coming here just now, Qian Tong had treated him so enthusiastically that Yang Kai was able to faintly guess what he was thinking. Now hearing him ask such a question, Yang Kai was even more certain of his guess, directing a flat look at Qian Tong and asking, “Elder Qian, if you have something to say, you might as well just say it.”
Hearing this, Qian Tong’s collected the smile on his face and replaced it a solemn expression, “Nephew Yang, please do not take offence, this old man has no malicious intentions, it’s simply that when a young man like yourself appears, this old man can’t help wanting to recruit him. En, if you’re interested, this old man would like to invite you to join my Shadow Moon Hall. I can assure you that we will provide you with the most abundant cultivation resources and environment. With Nephew Yang’s aptitude, the Sect will surely spare no effort to cultivate you in the future!”
Qian Tong had quickly discerned that Yang Kai did not like talking in circles so he decided to take a direct approach instead, dropping all subtlety and replacing it with a straightforward appeal.
Qian Tong was a worldly man and naturally understand that if he tried to right away solicit the Grandmaster Artifact Refiner behind Yang Kai, he would fail. An Artifact Refiner of such skill would have their own pride and would not be so easily swayed, so Qian Tong had decided to first rope in Yang Kai.
In Qian Tong’s opinion, as long as Yang Kai was willing to enter Shadow Moon Hall, whether the master behind him could be recruited or not, a connection would still be forged. When everyone became familiar with one another in the future, making an attempt to recruit him would be much easier.
Qian Tong’s scheme was quite well thought out.
After making his proposal, Qian Tong silently observed Yang Kai’s reaction again, but to his disappointment, Yang Kai remained indifferent.
Sighing secretly to himself, Qian Tong felt that this young man indeed worthy of being a retainer of an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner. Although he couldn’t be sure Yang Kai was this Grandmaster’s disciple, year after year of being influenced by the sights and scenes around him had clearly caused his vision to be quite high. Simple empty promises were not enough to move him.
“That’s right, my Shadow Moon Hall is also in possession of a rare treasure known as the Divine Stone. Anyone who touches the Divine stone will have their consciousness led into a strange world where their Soul can receive purification and sublimation, it is quite useful for those seeking to strengthen their foundation in the Martial Dao. When the disciples of my Shadow Moon Hall encounter bottlenecks in their cultivation, they will often request to enter retreat alongside the Divine Stone to assist them in their practice. Such an opportunity though is normally not possible to obtain without first making great contributions to the Sect, but if Nephew Yang is willing join my Shadow Moon Hall, this old man can make an exception and allow you to cultivate with the Divine Stone for a period of time. Nephew Yang will soon break through to the Saint King Realm so I believe such an opportunity would be of great interest, yes?”
As Qian Tong made this offer, he directed an eager look towards Yang Kai, feeling that such a condition would not be one he could refuse!
Because Yang Kai’s cultivation was on the verge of breaking through to the next Great Realm, if such a good opportunity were to be offered to him, he would surely try to seize it.
But soon, Qian Tong’s look dampened, because he found that Yang Kai still showed no signs of interest. Qian Tong couldn’t help feeling shocked, wondering if this kid simply didn’t understand the preciousness of the Divine Stone. As he prepared to explain further though, Yang Kai waved his hand and somewhat impatiently said, “Elder Qian, this Junior appreciates your kind intentions but must politely decline, I am used to being free and am unwilling to join any force, let us put this matter aside and discuss business.”
Qian Tong’s face twitched for a while but soon let out a hollow laugh, “Good, since Nephew Yang is here to discuss business, we shall discuss business, as for this old man being a bit wordy, please do not pay it any mind.”
Although this time’s solicitation was not successful, Qian Tong was a patient man and naturally would not become so easily frustrated, feeling that as long as he showed enough sincerity, he would one day succeed.
The two then began discussing the transaction before them.
Seven Saint King Grade artefacts for a total price of fifty-nine thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals! Qian Tong made an offer, and Yang Kai accepted it.
The matter was open and closed in short order.
“I also want to buy some ore,” Yang Kai pulled out a list from his Space Ring and handed it over.
Qian Tong’s eyes lit up upon hearing this and the slight disappointment he felt in his heart was swiftly swept away, quickly summoning the shop assistant who was on standby outside the door. The man came in a respectfully asked, “What is Elder Qian’s command?”
“Take Nephew Yang’s list here and collect the ores for him. Also, withdraw fifty-nine thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals from the storehouse.”
“Yes!” The shop assistant accepted the list and nodded.
Yang Kai turned to him and said, “The money required to purchase those ores can be deducted from the Saint Crystals directly, just report to me the final cost.”
“Use the most preferential price, understood?” Qian Tong added solemnly.
Sometimes, when showing favour, one needed to make sure the other party was aware of your intentions.
“Understood,” The man nodded and immediately went out.
After he left, Qian Tong looked at Yang Kai with a smile, “Nephew Yang is now a frequent customer here, are you satisfied with our service?”
“Very satisfied,” Yang Kai smiled and nodded. Regardless of what kind of hidden agenda Qian Tong had, he had truly not taken advantage of him during these transactions, greatly satisfying Yang Kai. “Good, I’m certain Elder Qian is busy, please don’t mind me and attend to your own affairs, I’ll just wait here for my order and payment.”
Qian Tong smiled back and did not pester him any further, kindly stating, “Very well, but I hope Nephew Yang can remember to come to my Trade Company first if you ever have any more artefacts for sale.”
“I’ll remember.”
Receiving this pledge, Qian Tong stood up and left.
Yang Kai waited for about half an hour before a shop-assistant came to led him to another back room. Inside this room was a large collection of rare ores as well as a heap of Saint Crystals.
Having already been instructed by Qian Tong repeated about this matter, the shop assistant didn’t dare treat Yang Kai carelessly, respectfully reporting, “These are the ores honoured customer requested. The total price is seventeen thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals, but because honoured customer is a VIP, we will sell them to you at a twenty percent discount for a total of thirteen thousand six hundred. Deducting the cost of these ores, honoured customer will receive forty-five thousand four hundred High-Rank Saint Crystal. Would you like to inspect the wares first?”
“No need,” Yang Kai shook his head, feeling a little surprised at the price of these ores.
Last time he had purchased ores here it had only cost him three thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals, but this time his order was several times more expensive. No wonder Yang Yan had told him to prepare for some massive haemorrhaging.
Yang Kai trusted that this shop assistant would not try to deceive him as Qian Tong was still clearly intent on forging a connection with the Artifact Refiner behind him.
Releasing his Divine Sense, Yang Kai swept almost everything into his Space Ring, leaving behind one hundred Saint Crystals.
The shop assistant smiled brightly as he gave Yang Kai a grateful look before escorting him away, neither of them mentioning the hundred Saint Crystals.
On the third floor of Trade Company, Qian Tong watched Yang Kai’s back disappear from his sight, his brow furrowing slightly, wondering what kind of method he should use to pull Yang Kai into Shadow Moon Hall. Both his attempts today had failed because he knew nothing about this young man’s preferences, if he at least had some background information on him, things would be easier to handle, but he couldn’t send someone out to spy on him, causing him to be caught in a difficult situation.
Soon, there was another knock at his door.
“Come in!” Qian Tong sat back in his chair.
The same shop assistant walked in and immediately reported, “Elder Qian, when that young man left just now, he left behind a hundred Saint Crystals for this disciple.”
“Oh?” Qian Tong glanced over at him in surprise, “Did you accept them?”
“En, this disciple did not decline. That young man did not say anything explicitly, but disciple naturally understood that he was deliberately leaving them before for me. If Elder Qian doesn’t believe this to be appropriate, I will immediately send them back to him,” The disciples said while carefully watching Qian Tong’s expression, lest this old man become angry.
Qian Tong however just waved his hand and said, “No need! Since he sent them to you, accept them. This young man prefers straight dealings, if you had tried to hypocritically refuse, he would have been displeased. En, if he comes to buy ores again, make sure you attend to him. Treat him as the highest level of guest, understood?”
“Disciple understands.”
“Right, what type of ore did he buy this time? Is it the same as last time?”
The shop assistant immediately shook his head, “He bought ore worth seventeen thousand pieces of High-Rank Saint Crystal this time, I gave him a twenty percent discount, therefore it cost…”
“Seventeen thousand?” Qian Tong’s expression changed dramatically, seemingly realizing something and asking urgently, “He bought Origin Grade ores?”
“Yes.”
A smile blossomed on Qian Tong’s face as he let out a great laugh, “Good good good, it’s really so…”
Qian Tong seemed to be very excited and began pacing back and forth across the room, causing the shop assistant who was still at the door to be quite confused, unable to understand what was happening. If this shop assistant recalled correctly, Elder Qian hadn’t even been this happy when he broke through to the Second Order Origin Returning Realm.
After a while, Qian Tong suddenly took out a piece of jade and filled it with his Spiritual Energy before tossing it over to the shop assistant, “Contact every steward and shopkeeper in our Shadow Moon Hall’s shops in Heavenly Fate City, tell them to remember the appearance of this person. If he visits their stores, they are to receive him with utmost courtesy; however, they are not to act too obviously, just give him preferential treatment and some discounts. If anyone fails to recognize him and ends up offending him, I’ll make them regret being born into this world!”
Qian Tong’s last words were spoken with a frigid seriousness that caused the shop assistant to tremble as he held the jade block. Quietly inspecting its contents, the shop assistant found a portrait of Yang Kai’s appearance which had been created by Elder Qian Tong’s Divine Sense.
Holding onto the jade block extremely carefully, the shop assistant immediately set out to notify all the necessary personnel in Heavenly Fate City, not daring to delay.
After this man left, Qian Tong swept the seven artefacts placed on the table into his Space Ring and hurried over to Grandmaster Ge Lin’s residence.
He had to inform Grandmaster Ge Lin that there truly was an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner behind Yang Kai.
Although the two of them had some speculations before and knew that the artefacts Yang Kai had brought to sell the first time had been refined by an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner, they weren’t completely certain this Grandmaster really existed. Perhaps these artefacts were accidentally obtained by Yang Kai somewhere. But now, it was apparent that their speculations were true.