Chapter 243 - 143: Tier 3 Star Core
Besides the Spirit Stones, there was also a Jade Box sealed with a Restriction and quite a few assorted Spiritual Materials.
Yang Jing remained cautious. He carefully channeled his Sun True Fire, incinerating the Jade Box along with the Restriction sealing it.
A Star Core rolled out from the Jade Box. It was a full nine feet in diameter, scorched black, and covered in cracks from which pure white flames occasionally surged. Yang Jing immediately caught it with his Magical Power, suspending it in mid-air.
"Not bad. It’s indeed a Tier Three Star Core."
Yang Jing nodded in satisfaction.
This Star Core actually still had residual Star True Fire within it; it was definitely a Tier Three Star Core.
Wei Ying discreetly put away Yang Jing’s Storage Bag. Seeing that Yang Jing had no intention of stopping him, he slowly let out a sigh of relief.
"Fellow Daoist Yang is as generous as expected. I look forward to our next transaction."
Yang Jing gave a casual nod.
A moment later, Iron Head saw Wei Ying off and returned to the Quiet Chamber.
"Master, Wei Ying has left."
Yang Jing nodded, then took a Jade Scroll from his robes and handed it to Iron Head.
"This is a message from the Xuanzhe Chen Family. A group of Demon Cultivators has been active in the Kangyang Mountains, east of the Shen Kingdom. Take a battalion of the Demon Suppression Army on a Flying Boat and annihilate them."
After incorporating the Immortally Cultivation Clans of the Seven Kingdoms into the Seven Nations Ticket Shop’s system, Yang Jing’s intelligence network had become immeasurably more effective. It was a far cry from before, when he was completely in the dark.
The Golden Core Clans and Royal Families of the Seven Kingdoms would all pass on any intelligence they gathered on Demon Cultivator activity to him.
This gave Yang Jing countless eyes and ears when it came to the matter of Demon Cultivators.
According to the Xuanzhe Chen Family’s investigation, the highest cultivation among this group of Demon Cultivators was only Middle Stage Foundation Establishment. There were also three at Early Stage Foundation Establishment, and nearly thirty Demon Cultivators at the Qi Cultivation Stage.
Iron Head was more than capable of handling Demon Cultivators of this strength, not to mention he would have the help of a Flying Boat and a Yu Hou who was also at the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Even if the Xuanzhe Chen Family’s intelligence was wrong and there was a Demon Cultivator of the Golden Core Realm hidden among them, they could at least retreat safely with the Martial Might-level Flying Boat.
Previously, because he had been busy consolidating his Qi Cultivation Foundation Establishment, Iron Head’s progress on the path of Body Refinement had slowed somewhat. However, a month ago, he had also opened his fortieth Acupoint and awakened a new Magic.
This Magic was not Yang Jing’s Power Control Qi, but one named Bone Stretching. By casting this magic, Iron Head could directly transform into a ten-foot-tall giant. His body’s Qi Power and Defense Power would soar, but it came at the cost of a massive increase in his consumption of Celestial True Gang.
With his current Cultivation, he could only maintain it for less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
"Be extra careful."
Iron Head bowed to Yang Jing and turned to leave.
’One must always be on guard against others. Wei Ying is, after all, a member of a Demon Sect. If the transaction between us were to be exposed, I could use the matter of Iron Head annihilating the Kangyang Mountain Demon Cultivators to prove that Wei Ying was merely an informant I’d bought, used to uncover the tracks of other Demon Cultivators.’
After setting this precaution in place, Yang Jing left the Quiet Chamber.
He saw Yang Jingxu still waiting outside the Quiet Chamber, shook his head, and told her to go cultivate on her own and not to waste time on such pointless matters.
"Oh, right. Go to the Celestial Treasure Tower and buy me an Artifact Refining Furnace."
Yang Jing took out 50,000 Spirit Stones and gave them to Yang Jingxu.
’It’s best for a Sword Cultivator to refine their own Flying Sword. Only then can you wield it without any sense of disconnect. A Flying Sword refined by another will always feel slightly uncoordinated when you control it.’
Yang Jing had shared Ji Feng’s Five Elements Refining Technique, so his own attainments in artifact refining techniques were already quite profound.
Meanwhile, Ji Feng’s current Cultivation was only at the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation and still a long way from Foundation Establishment, as he had siphoned off a good deal of it. With her current Cultivation, she was not yet capable of refining a Spiritual Artifact.
So, Yang Jing simply decided to refine the Celestial Waterfall Sword himself.
Before long, Yang Jingxu returned to the outside of the Quiet Chamber. Four panting Warriors followed behind her, carrying a heavy Artifact Refining Furnace shaped like a tripod.
This kind of Artifact Refining Furnace had a Spatial Restriction set up inside its chamber, so it couldn’t be put into a Storage Bag.
Yang Jing had a keen eye and could tell with a single glance that this Artifact Refining Furnace was no ordinary item. It was a top-grade Spiritual Artifact, something that absolutely could not be bought for a mere 50,000 Spirit Stones.
However, the Celestial Treasure Tower had earned an unknown amount of Spirit Stones through the Seven Nations Ticket Shop. As such, Yang Jing accepted a mere Spiritual Artifact-grade Artifact Refining Furnace with a clear conscience.
He didn’t spend much effort refining the Spiritual Artifact.
This Artifact Refining Furnace was named the Profound Celestial Furnace. Perhaps because Yang Jing was the first person to refine it, the Profound Celestial Furnace’s spirit was very docile and cooperative, just a bit dull and nowhere near as clever as the Demon-Catching Tripod’s.
Naturally, Yang Jing wouldn’t start by trying to refine the Celestial Waterfall Sword right away; that would be a surefire way to fail.
He decided to first refine some ordinary magical artifacts to familiarize himself with the Five Elements Refining Technique. Then, he would use Spirit Stones to brute-force Ji Feng’s Five Elements Refining Technique to the level of Refined Skill, share it, and only then begin refining the Celestial Waterfall Sword.
This month, he had already consumed a layer of Ji Feng’s Cultivation to share her Cave Wisdom Five Qi Talent. Sharing her Five Elements Refining Technique would have to wait until next month.
After having the Warriors place the Profound Celestial Furnace in the Quiet Chamber, Yang Jing returned to his study to handle his affairs.
Although the Seven Nations Ticket Shop was gradually getting on the right track, there were still numerous minor issues that were submitted to Yang Jing to handle.
For example, eleven days ago, an employee of the Seven Nations Ticket Shop had accepted a bribe, falsely reported the value of a mortgaged asset, and loaned out 200,000 Spirit Stones.
The Seven Nations Ticket Shop was, after all, a new enterprise, so such incidents happened from time to time.
Yang Jing issued a ruling according to the regulations, sentencing the employee to sixty years of hard labor in the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion’s mines and reprimanding the Shopkeeper of that particular branch.
After handling all his affairs, he took a sip of Spirit Tea, leaned his head back against his chair, and prepared to take a breather.
The next moment, Yang Jing suddenly jerked his head to the side to dodge. Zuoqiu Feng had appeared behind him at some unknown point and was about to massage his head.
Seeing Yang Jing’s subconscious dodge, a trace of melancholy appeared on Zuoqiu Feng’s face.
Yang Jing felt a headache coming on and could only lean his head back against the chair again.
A few breaths later, a rich, subtle fragrance wafted over as fingers like White Jade rested on his head and began to gently massage it.
"I used to massage my mother’s head like this often. After my father died, she became deeply melancholic and contracted a wind-illness. Her head would hurt all the time, so I would massage it for her just like this."
Zuoqiu Feng said softly.
Yang Jing didn’t speak, simply closing his eyes.
As Zuoqiu Feng massaged his head, she rambled on, telling him many stories from her childhood. Because of her father, she was often bullied in the Zuoqiu Family’s clan school, so her mother brought her back home and personally taught her how to cultivate.
Back then, there was a large peach tree beside the Cave Mansion her father had left behind. Her mother would guide her in cultivating the Five Talisman Scripture under that peach tree. She also taught her many kinds of Magic, telling her that if she were ever bullied in the future, she must hit back hard.
That way, she would be able to protect herself after her mother also passed away.
Yang Jing could feel Zuoqiu Feng’s fingers growing gentler and gentler.
He was just about to say something, but Zuoqiu Feng suddenly pulled her hands back and hopped a few steps away like a sprite.
"I only massaged your head this time to thank you for earning me so many Spirit Stones. Don’t get the wrong idea."
As she spoke, she turned and hurried away, as if she had never been in the study at all.
A moment later, Yang Jingxu suddenly knocked on the door of the study.
Yang Jing raised an eyebrow.
"Come in."
Yang Jingxu took out a formal invitation card and placed it on the desk in front of Yang Jing.
"Senior Brother Yang, this invitation was sent by someone from Yunchang Tower. They wish to have a meeting with you."
Yunchang Tower was a local merchant guild on the Western Continent. Its influence spanned the entire continent, and its power could not be underestimated.
Recently, quite a few merchant guilds had come looking for Yang Jing, all of them wanting to connect to the Seven Nations Ticket Shop’s payment system. This was a good opportunity to expand the influence of the Seven Nations Ticket Shop, so Yang Jing only excluded some of the weaker guilds.
"Let him in."
