"According to Su Lie, the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion is actually a trading company, not a Sect with an established lineage. It has branches in almost every state and county in Liang Country. Its network is so vast, they claim that as long as you have enough Spirit Stones, they’ll even pluck the stars from the sky for you!"

Su Lie had been a Welcoming Guest Officer at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion for five years, and he told Bai Zichen everything he knew.

Its founder was a Core Formation Loose Cultivator. His initial idea was to facilitate the exchange of goods and befriend other Cultivators, which was why he established the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.

Unexpectedly, the business grew larger and larger, its scope expanding to include every item a Cultivator could possibly need.

Perhaps in a single category, it couldn’t compare to certain trading companies that specialized in only one thing, but in terms of sheer variety, no other trading company in all of Liang Country could match the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. They even had channels to procure rare items from the Cultivation Realm outside of Liang Country.

Today, the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion openly had three Core Formation Guest Elders providing support, and its Sect Leader was also a Core Formation Cultivator.

As for the Five Elements Sect’s trading company, its background was much simpler. It was opened by the Five Elements Sect, which had been on good terms with the Qingfeng Sect for generations.

The Qingfeng Sect had likewise opened a Qingfeng trading company near the Five Elements Sect’s Mountain Gate.

The bond between the two sects began a thousand years ago. An Elder from the Five Elements Sect was training in the Black Mountain Range when he accidentally provoked a Tier Three Demon King. He fled for his life and, on the brink of death, was saved by the Qingfeng Sect Leader of that generation.

The two became acquainted, later grew to be good friends, and supported each other through several life-or-death Secret Realms, eventually both succeeding in achieving Core Formation.

From then on, the relationship between the two Sects never faltered.

After all, the Qingfeng Sect was in the north and the Five Elements Sect was in the south, separated by hundreds of thousands of miles, so there were no conflicts of interest between the Sects. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The two Sects looked out for each other. When their disciples met while training in the outside world, they would address each other as sect brothers and offer mutual aid.

The Five Elements Sect’s lineage was famous for its Five Elements Magic. Moreover, the Sect possessed the Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light, a technique passed down by its founding ancestor, which was said to suppress all other Five Elements Magic in the world.

However, the requirements to learn it were extremely strict. Basically, only Core Formation True Men were qualified to begin preliminary Cultivation of the technique, so whether it was truly as powerful as its reputation suggested had yet to be verified.

Bai Zichen stood at the street corner and, without a moment’s hesitation, stepped into the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, a towering five-story building.

The first-floor hall of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion was spacious and open, luxuriously furnished with only a few long tables, several tea sets, and a handful of Cultivators sitting around, drinking tea and chatting.

One had to understand that in the Market, the land for every shop was worth its weight in gold.

Those smaller shops would cram their goods into every available corner, forcing customers to watch their every step.

A flock of chattering beauties stood in a row, arms linked.

"Esteemed Immortal Master, welcome to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. What might you be looking to purchase? I can be your guide."

Seeing a customer enter, a woman in a palace-style dress approached gracefully. Before she even arrived, the scent of jasmine washed over him.

"Defensive Magical Artifacts. I want High-Grade or better."

Bai Zichen glanced over. This group of pretty women must be the Mortal guest officers Su Lie had mentioned.

Guest Officers who were Cultivators, like Su Lie, were at least peers to the customers. Their knowledge of the items for sale was far beyond what a Mortal could possess, so they typically served customers on the third floor and above.

"High-Grade Magical Artifacts... Immortal Master, you may call me Xiaoqing. For items of this quality, you must follow me up to the third floor to choose."

The woman’s eyes lit up. She turned to lead the way, a pink silk ribbon cinched at her waist, accentuating her mature, pear-shaped curves.

As a guest officer, her income was primarily based on a commission from the Spirit Stones her clients spent at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.

If her sales figures were at the bottom for several consecutive months, she would be dismissed and lose her right to live in the Market.

In the Cultivation Realm, mere beauty was cheap.

In truth, as Mortals with no Spiritual Roots, they could easily leave the Market and live comfortable lives in the outer regions.

Yet they racked their brains, trying desperately to stay in the Market.

In Su Lie’s words, these people were descendants of Cultivators who lacked Spiritual Roots themselves. Their lifelong dream was to give birth to an heir who possessed them.

They would obsessively sacrifice everything just to be a little closer to Cultivators, unwilling to accept the reality that they were just ordinary Mortals.

For Mortal guest officers like these, once their looks faded in a few years, it would be impossible to find any work in the Market.

To be noticed by some Cultivator and taken as a concubine was already the best possible outcome for them.

Bai Zichen followed the woman up the stairs. The second floor had many more counters, with numerous Cultivators standing before them selecting items, each accompanied by a beautiful woman or a handsome young man.

When they reached the third floor, it suddenly became much quieter, with only a few people around.

This floor was clearly enchanted with a Sound Insulation Array, completely blocking out the clamor from the second floor.

The woman in the palace-style dress whispered a few words to a seated Merchant, who then stood up and walked over.

"My name is Zhi Lang, a Merchant of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. I hear this fellow Daoist is looking to purchase a High-Grade Defensive Magical Artifact?"

"Correct. If you have a suitable one, a Top-Grade Defensive Magical Artifact would be even better."

Bai Zichen knew that he wouldn’t remain at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer for long. As his Cultivation progressed, he would be able to fully utilize a Top-Grade Defensive Magical Artifact.

As for why he came to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion instead of the Qingfeng Sect’s own artifact refining shop, it was naturally because the Pavilion’s selection of Magical Artifacts was more complete, with more high-quality items.

To be honest, the Qingfeng Sect did not excel at Artifact Refining. Many of the Elders’ Spiritual Artifacts were purchased from outside or commissioned from other Artifact Refining Masters.

Bai Zichen had traveled so far; if he was just going to buy a Magical Artifact from his own Sect’s artifact refining shop, he might as well have just commissioned a custom one from the Artifact Refining Hall.

As an Inner Sect Disciple, as long as he was willing to spend the time, it wasn’t hard to gather the Contribution Points needed for the Refining of a High-Grade Magical Artifact.

Besides, he wasn’t some Loose Cultivator with no backing, worried about running into Tribulation Cultivators. Could a Qingfeng Sect disciple really get robbed in his own Sect’s Market?

"Since you have a need, fellow Daoist, the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion will certainly not disappoint. We will definitely bring out our best defensive Magical Artifacts."

When Zhi Lang heard this was a big sale, he quickly had the woman in the palace-style dress entertain the guest while he left the hall to retrieve the items.

The woman brought over an incense burner and lit some fragrant incense. Then, she rinsed the clean tea set on the table and served him a freshly brewed pot of Spirit Tea.

Her every move, clearly the result of special training, was filled with elegance and grace.

’What a shame she has no Spiritual Root. If she were a Female Cultivator, she would surely attract countless suitors among the Cultivators.’

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Zhi Lang hurried back, cradling three wooden boxes in his arms.

"Fellow Daoist, I’ve brought out all the finest pieces stored here on the third floor. Not just any customer gets to see these."

Zhi Lang lightly tapped the first wooden box. It opened, revealing a bracelet woven from scales.

"The Eight-Sided Soaring Snake Mirror. A High-Grade Defensive Magical Artifact, meticulously refined from the wing-tip scales of a Double-Winged Soaring Serpent and several other Spiritual Materials."

Bai Zichen had read about the Double-Winged Soaring Serpent in the records. It was a Tier One Peak Demon Beast that could use its pair of short wings to drag its body, several dozen feet long, into the air for a brief flight.

"May I try it out?"

"Of course. However, since you have not performed Refinement on it, fellow Daoist, you will only be able to bring out thirty percent of the Magical Artifact’s power."

Zhi Lang was full of confidence in his wares.

Bai Zichen lifted the bracelet. It was surprisingly weightless, and the eight scales were as light and soft as feathers.

He infused a trace of Magical Power into it, and the bracelet instantly transformed into an eight-sided, prismatic shield that encircled him, spinning continuously.

"This Magical Artifact’s greatest feature is its extremely fast activation. It can shield your entire body in an instant."

Seeing the effect of the Eight-Sided Soaring Snake Mirror, Zhi Lang said proudly.

"Furthermore, once activated, the eight shields automatically protect their master, so you don’t need to divert any energy to control them. Even if one shield is destroyed, the artifact will continue to function normally. It can be quickly repaired here at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion; we just need to replace the one scale."