So this item has always been extremely scarce.

Even we don’t keep any in stock. Every time we make one, we sell it through a small-scale auction.

So if you want to custom-order one, I’m afraid I have to apologize."

Zhang Deming smiled. "What if I provide the main material?"

Ling Anfu was stunned for a moment, then said with pleasant surprise, "If you have the main material, that’s no problem at all. Forget a Ruyi Bag; I’ve refined several storage bags over the years." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

At his words, a crystalline, jade-like Vine sprouted from Zhang Deming’s palm. It opened the bundle beside him and retrieved a carefully prepared stomach pouch.

Ling Anfu stared at the jade-like Vine in Zhang Deming’s hand and paused. Even with this display, he still couldn’t perceive Zhang Deming’s Cultivation. A jolt of alarm went through him.

Zhang Deming placed the stomach pouch in front of Ling Anfu. "I wonder," he said, "can this be used as the main material for refining a Ruyi Bag?"

Ling Anfu reached out and touched the stomach pouch. After a long moment, a flash of surprise lit up his eyes, and an ethereal flame ignited in his palm.

He then closed his eyes and, with his flaming palm, carefully examined the stomach pouch by touch once more.

After a good while, he opened his eyes. Seeing this, Zhang Deming asked, "Well? Can it be refined into a Ruyi Bag?"

Ling Anfu paused. "Why would you want to refine it into a Ruyi Bag?"

Zhang Deming’s brow furrowed slightly. He didn’t understand what Ling Anfu meant.

Ling Anfu asked again, "Do you know the difference between a Ruyi Bag and a storage bag?"

Zhang Deming nodded. "Of course. A Ruyi Bag possesses the Wishing Size ability, while a storage bag contains a pocket of space."

The most direct difference, then, is that a Ruyi Bag can only change size. Its weight isn’t reduced in the slightest. A storage bag, on the other hand, is completely weightless.

That’s why, although Ruyi Bags are valuable, they’re nowhere near as convenient as storage bags.

One is just a valuable Two-Star Artifact, costing a few hundred Spirit Stones at most.

The other is a Two-Star Artifact with a price comparable to a Three-Star Artifact, starting in the thousands of Spirit Stones.

Ling Anfu nodded. "Correct. The difference in refining a Ruyi Bag versus a storage bag lies in whether the main material contains the Spatial Attribute and if the strength of that attribute meets the required standard.

Your material, although taken from a Demon Beast with a Ruyi Bloodline, probably didn’t have a high Cultivation—I’d guess it was only an Advanced Apprentice.

But you’ve forgotten one thing: this is a stomach."

Zhang Deming knew nothing about Artifact Refining. "Is there something special about that?" he asked, confused.

Ling Anfu smiled and explained, "Any stomach with the Ruyi property generally contains a fairly strong Spatial Attribute.

Because without a Spatial Attribute, even if it could shrink to swallow its prey,

the immense weight would rupture the stomach. A creature like that simply couldn’t survive.

And the Spatial Attribute of this stomach you have has already met the standard.

It can absolutely be refined into a storage bag. To refine it into a Ruyi Bag would be a complete waste of material."

Hearing this, Zhang Deming said, pleasantly surprised, "Really?"

Ling Anfu chuckled. "I would never joke about the Hundred Refinement Tower’s reputation. By the way, what about the other materials?"

Zhang Deming paused. "I only brought the main material. Your shop can provide the supplementary ones. I’ll cover the difference in cost."

Ling Anfu shook his head. "I’m not asking about the refining materials. I’m asking about the *other* materials."

Zhang Deming asked, confused, "What other materials?"

Ling Anfu’s expression froze. "With a stomach with these properties... you didn’t *only* take the stomach, did you?

The stomach has such excellent spatial properties, so the rest of the intestines...

...specifically, the section from the esophagus to the stomach, should have yielded a good amount of scrap material. You might have been able to make a Ruyi Bag from it."

Zhang Deming was at a loss for words.

’My knowledge base is rather limited. At the time, I thought I had just found the main material for a Ruyi Bag...’

Seeing Zhang Deming’s expression, Ling Anfu’s face went completely rigid.

Zhang Deming replied, "I haven’t delved into Artifact Refining. At the time, I just thought it was the stomach of a Ruyi Bloodline creature, so I only took the stomach pouch.

As for the rest of the intestines and such, I didn’t take any of it."

Ling Anfu forced a stiff smile. "You really are... quite the specialist, aren’t you?"

’Judging by his earlier display, he’s at least a Tai Chi Stage Cultivator. Shouldn’t he have dabbled a little in these miscellaneous fields?’

Zhang Deming was also a bit speechless. He really didn’t have enough general knowledge.

He couldn’t really be blamed. In a place like Little Qing Mountain, every day was filled with labor. They taught very little about cultivation, let alone gave out books.

On top of that, for various reasons, Zhang Deming had needed to hide his abilities and blend in with everyone else.

If it weren’t for his golden finger awakening and a few lucky encounters, he’d probably still be lazing about on Little Qing Mountain.

Forget about these miscellaneous fields; if it weren’t for his time at Qingyou Pool cramming knowledge, he’d be even more ignorant right now.

’Yes, this is definitely something I need to pay more attention to.’

"I’ve taken a look," Ling Anfu said. "This stomach pouch should be able to make a storage bag of about three cubic meters.

I wonder, do you need it in the form of a coin purse or a bundle?" Ling Anfu asked.

Zhang Deming didn’t know much about this, so he asked honestly, "Is there a difference?"

Ling Anfu replied, "Given that the stomach pouch itself isn’t large, making it into a bundle is obviously no problem.

If you want it made into a coin purse, it will require some special processing.

Of course, because it’s small, the processing won’t affect the internal space. It’s just that the cost of supplementary materials might be a bit higher.

It won’t be much, though—twenty or thirty Spirit Stones at most."

Hearing this, Zhang Deming said, "Then let’s go with the smaller one. It’s more convenient, after all."

Ling Anfu nodded, as if he had expected that answer. "Alright. Since you’re providing the main material and the space doesn’t exceed ten cubic meters,

our crafting fee is a flat rate of one hundred Spirit Stones. The supplementary materials, of course, are extra.

You would normally need to pay a fifty-Spirit-Stone deposit, but I have a different proposal, if you’d be willing to consider it."

Zhang Deming looked at Ling Anfu. "I’m listening."

"This stump here is basically Ruyi scrap material; it would normally be discarded.

If you’re willing to give this scrap to us, then for this refining job, you won’t have to pay the deposit. When you pick it up, you’ll only need to pay fifty Spirit Stones, and we’ll cover the cost of the supplementary materials as well.

I’m confident that even if you were to sell this piece of scrap on its own, you wouldn’t get a better price than this offer."

Ling Anfu said, pointing to the single intestinal connection on one end of the stomach pouch.

Zhang Deming only pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement.

’After all, other than selling it, there was nothing else he could do with it.’

’A tiny piece like this could, at best, make a Ruyi Bag of a few cubic decimeters. What’s the point of making a Ruyi Bag that small?’

’This way is much better. It’s a win-win.’

After agreeing that he would return in three days to pick it up, Zhang Deming left the shop.

Now that everything was taken care of and his advancement materials were ready, it was time to think about the advancement itself.

’Oh, right. If I’m going to advance, there’s still the matter of a Spirit Vein!’

’Advancing to the Tai Chi Stage requires not only the right materials but also the right external conditions—specifically, proximity to a Spirit Vein, or an environment with dense Spiritual Power.’

’Otherwise, if my Spiritual Power is depleted during the advancement, the Rune Core will collapse immediately after forming.’

’To advance in secret, I can’t apply to use one of the Sect’s Spirit Veins.’

’Within the Celestial Spirit Sect’s territory, besides the ones inside the Sect itself, the only other decent Spirit Veins are here in Celestial Spirit City.’

’Excluding the ones occupied by various families, there are only a few where Cave Mansions have been built for public rental.’

Celestial Spirit City, East City.

Because all of Celestial Spirit City’s Spirit Veins were located in this district.

As a result, East City was Celestial Spirit City’s high-end district.

You had to be a Cultivator to afford a home here; an Ordinary person likely couldn’t even afford to rent, let alone buy property.

Among the city’s many Spirit Veins, the East City Spirit Vein was a Two-Star Spirit Vein, one of only three in all of Celestial Spirit City.

The other two belonged to other families.

Only this one had been jointly developed by the Celestial Spirit Sect and several other factions, who had built Cave Mansions on it for public rental.