Chapter 123 - 119: Magical Artifact Upgrade
"The next item up for auction is a Tier Three Lower Grade Spiritual Material: Sea Purple Agarwood. This wood comes from the Chaotic Star Sea Region. It was originally Second-Order Top-grade Fragrant Sandalwood, but after being struck by lightning, some pieces were washed into the sea by floods, where they were enveloped in silt at the bottom of the ocean. After a thousand years of sedimentation, they have a chance of becoming this Sea Purple Agarwood.
This Spirit Material can serve as the core component for a Third-rank Magical Artifact. The finished artifact will most likely possess Exorcism and Malevolence-Neutralizing properties, with a small chance of exhibiting the special effects of Qingxin and Soul-Soothing. Since this piece of wood is only a single block, our appraisal puts the starting price at twenty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones. Each bid must be an increment of five hundred Spirit Stones. Fellow Daoists, who would like to make the first bid?"
On the stage, the auction house’s Auctioneer was vigorously promoting the piece of purple Spirit Wood, but the buyers below couldn’t muster much enthusiasm.
To be honest, this Tier Three Lower Grade Spiritual Material was more trouble than it was worth. Its properties simply didn’t meet the crowd’s needs.
Just like the Moral Demon-Suppressing Ruyi Tower from before, a Magical Artifact forged from this Spirit Material would likely be another moral artifact for exorcism.
This kind of Magical Artifact had rather poor offensive capabilities. Moreover, the current Cultivation Realm was under the control of the Great Zhou Academy, and fiends like demons and ghosts had long since been hunted to near extinction. The chances of encountering one were slim, rendering the Exorcism and Malevolence-Neutralizing properties largely useless.
Furthermore, a Spirit Material that could serve as the core of an artifact typically cost about one-third of the finished Magical Artifact’s price.
Sometimes, the Spirit Material was easy to find, but the fee for commissioning an Artifact Refiner could be nearly half the value of the final Magical Artifact.
Then there were the other supplementary materials required for the refining process, not to mention backup materials in case of failure. Crafting a truly satisfactory Magical Artifact could often wipe out a Cultivator’s entire savings, accumulated over decades.
This piece of Tier Three Lower Grade Sea Purple Agarwood was only a single block, likely yielding nothing more than a Second-Order Top-grade Magical Artifact—and a moral-type one, at that. The appraisal of twenty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones was already quite generous.
Sure enough, despite the Auctioneer’s repeated inquiries, no one present showed any intention of bidding. Finally, with a sharp rap of his gavel, the Auctioneer declared the item unsold.
For a moment, Fang Qingyuan considered bidding, but after some thought, he decided against it.
’First, I don’t want to reveal how wealthy I am in front of Jiang Kui by casually dropping twenty thousand five hundred Spirit Stones. If I catch her attention and she decides to ask me for a loan, it would be difficult to refuse.’
’Second, it isn’t as if I absolutely need this Spirit Material. My main reason for wanting it is to bury it in the Immortal Mansion and see if it could elevate my Wood Spirit Root to the Top-grade in one fell swoop.’
’I’ll just wait until after the auction and inquire about it. If the owner is still willing to sell, I’ll see if I can negotiate a price of eighteen thousand Spirit Stones.’
After the Tier Three Lower Grade Spirit Material, a few more items came up for auction, but none of them were what Fang Qingyuan was looking for.
It wasn’t until the Auctioneer presented a Magic Sword that seemed to ripple like water that Fang Qingyuan finally took interest. Beside him, Jiang Kui’s eyes widened.
"A Second-Order Middle Grade Magical Artifact, the Spiritual Mist Water Sword! This sword was forged from Star Iron, Bottom Frost Crystal, and Silent Marsh Water. It comes with two major special effects, Self-Healing and Water-Gathering, and also includes a Dense Fog skill. The starting price is fifteen thousand Spirit Stones, with minimum bid increments of three hundred! Fellow Daoists, do I have any bids?"
Jiang Kui’s eyes lit up the moment she saw the Magic Sword. From her expression, Fang Qingyuan knew her heart was set on it.
Although this Magic Sword couldn’t compare to the Moon Shadow Profound Ice Sword they had seen a few days prior, it was a perfect fit for Jiang Kui right now.
The price was right, its skills were a good match, and its grade was perfect for her current stage.
The Moon Shadow Profound Ice Sword, a Second-Order Top-grade Magical Artifact, required an immense amount of Spiritual Power to wield. Such artifacts were meant for Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. Jiang Kui had only reached the First-Layer of Early Stage Foundation Establishment less than five years ago; her next breakthrough was still another four or five years away.
The aptitude of a Top-grade Spirit Root might allow a Qi Cultivation Cultivator to advance a level every three to four years, but in the Foundation Establishment Stage, a single step forward could easily take a decade or more.
Without a high enough cultivation level, Jiang Kui couldn’t unleash the full power of the Moon Shadow Profound Ice Sword. If she were to actually buy it, she probably wouldn’t be able to wield it proficiently until she reached the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment.
The Spiritual Mist Water Sword, however, was different. Jiang Kui would only need to attune it for a hundred days to unleash seventy to eighty percent of its power.
The Spiritual Mist Water Sword’s innate Self-Healing ability allowed it to absorb ambient Spiritual Power and slowly repair itself when damaged. Although the process was lengthy, it saved the expense of hiring an Artifact Master, making it quite cost-effective.
The Water-Gathering effect could boost Jiang Kui’s reserves of Water Element Spiritual Power during battle. Though only by ten or twenty percent, at a critical moment, that little bit of extra Spiritual Power could be enough to turn the tide.
As for the Dense Fog skill, when activated, it was similar to the high-grade Mist Flowing Shadow-dwelling Talisman that Fang Qingyuan had used before, only less potent.
It could also conjure a large area of dense fog to conceal her form and confuse an opponent’s perception. What’s more, Jiang Kui would even gain a small boost to her combat prowess while inside the fog.
Seeing Jiang Kui’s heart was set on it, Fang Qingyuan was the first to call out a price:
"Sixteen thousand Spirit Stones!"
"Excellent! A bid of sixteen thousand Spirit Stones from this Daoist! Do I hear a higher bid?"
The Auctioneer on stage saw the bid and quickly called out. However, after his question, the hall fell silent, and he had no choice but to continue shouting: