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Chapter 654: A Tiny, Shocking Treasure
Chapter 654: A Tiny, Shocking Treasure
As Lu Chen's thoughts faded, an ancient painting materialized before him, its edges frayed and its surface marked with mottled patterns that spoke of untold years.
On the canvas was a female ghost, her black hair veiling her face, dressed in white. The brushstrokes seemed to pulse with an intense, tangible aura of resentment, as if the spirit within was about to burst forth from the confines of the painting.
Though her features were obscured, one could sense the depths of her sorrow, and even after looking away, her figure lingered in the mind, evoking a profound sense of compassion.
Shaking off these intrusive thoughts, Lu Chen focused his attention on the painting, instantly comprehending its nature.
Ghostly Sorrowful Portrait, a sixth-grade treasure. A sinister cultivator collected the sorrowful emotions of hundreds, even thousands, of female cultivators to create this unusual painting. Within dwells a sorrowful ghost that can control Foundation Establishment cultivators and below. When possessing a Foundation Establishment master, there is a chance it will influence their will and actions. Within a certain range, the sorrowful ghost can selectively reduce the fighting spirit of cultivators.
"A truly sinister sixth-grade treasure; I've never seen anything like it," Lu Chen marveled, a strange expression crossing his face. "But according to the description, it's a control-type treasure. It can forcibly control cultivators below the Foundation Establishment stage, and even if a Foundation Establishment cultivator loses control, it can still greatly affect their fighting spirit."
"If used at the right time during a conflict, it might prove to be quite useful," he mused.
Filled with mixed emotions, Lu Chen carefully stored away the ancient painting, its melancholy aura lingering.
"It's time to fulfill some of my obligations as a guest advisor for the Sea Pavilion Commerce Guild," he said to himself.
Considering the time, he decided to pay a visit to the Star-Plucking Tower. Aside from handling matters related to spiritual herbs, he also needed to replenish his supply of spiritual herbs and beasts for his pill concoction endeavors.
After all, the orbs of light in his spirit fields now yielded treasures of relatively high grades, and their numbers were limited. He still needed to procure resources from the outside world to sustain his pill concoction and cultivation endeavors.
Leaving instructions for the grass puppet to safeguard the spirit fields, Lu Chen deactivated the two fifth-grade formations and flew out of the vortex of thunderclouds.
Sea Pavilion Commerce Guild, Fifth Floor.
Lu Chen set aside the spiritual herbs he had identified and stretched lazily before stepping out of the room.
"Senior Lu, are you done identifying the spiritual herbs?" Mu Daoren glanced at the divided spiritual herbs and inquired.
"Yes, I've managed to identify about sixty percent of them. The rest are quite puzzling, and I'll need the assistance of the other guest herbologists of the guild," Lu Chen replied casually. To avoid drawing too much attention to himself, he had intentionally held back during the identification process, refraining from revealing all the detailed information about each herb. For some, he provided only partial information about their species, origins, or uses, and for others, he feigned complete ignorance.
After all, these spiritual herbs were exotic specimens from distant lands, not native to this world. Identifying even one or two of them was already quite remarkable, and identifying them all would be nothing short of astonishing.
"Senior Lu, you've already surpassed the other guest herbologists by a wide margin. These spiritual herbs are extremely rare, and they've undergone rigorous screening before reaching this branch. The fact that you can identify so many of them is truly admirable," Mu Daoren praised, his words filled with reverence for Lu Chen's expertise in spiritual herbs.
Lu Chen offered a smile and walked towards the door, turning to Mu Daoren and asking, "By the way, is Wen around? I have something I'd like to ask her."
"She should be here. I'll go get her," the tall, elderly man said, lowering his head respectfully.
Soon, a graceful, mature female cultivator with a lingering charm arrived and bowed politely before Lu Chen. "Senior Lu, how may I be of assistance?"
"The spirit herb is called Clear Tranquil Tea. It is a fifth-grade herb and relatively rare among its peers. I wish to know if the guild currently has any in stock?"
Clear Tranquil Lapis Tea leaves could significantly enhance one's comprehension for a period, which was extremely important to him. Moreover, since a single tea tree could produce several orbs of light, he was very keen on planting this spirit tea again.
"Clear Tranquil Lapis Tea... I believe we do have some," the female cultivator named Wen replied with a hint of recollection. "However, this branch of Star-Plucking Tower does not have it in stock. I will need to inquire with our headquarters or other branches in Zhongzhou. Rest assured, I will inform you as soon as I have any news."
"As a guest advisor to the guild, you are entitled to priority selection, and you will also receive a discount when purchasing, so there's no need to pay a high price," she added gently.
"Then I would appreciate your help, Friend Wen," Lu Xuan nodded slightly.
"May I ask, Senior Lu, if the new miscellaneous store that recently opened in the Star-Plucking Tower belongs to you?" The female cultivator named Wen asked tentatively after a moment's hesitation.
"Yes, I opened that store out of boredom," Lu Xuan replied casually. He hadn't intentionally hidden his identity and often entered the store himself, so it wasn't surprising that the guild branch had discovered his connection to it.
"No wonder there are several popular treasures and some rare spirit herbs available there," she said, her expression clearing as the puzzle pieces fell into place.
Due to the allure of the Foundation Establishment Pill, Dust Cleansing Pill, Sword Talismans, and other treasures, the miscellaneous store had become widely renowned within the Star-Plucking Tower in a short time. Even many Foundation Establishment cultivators timed their visits to queue up and purchase those rare treasures.
"Senior, would you consider selling those treasures through the guild? We can offer you very satisfying prices, and you won't have to worry about shop rent, maintenance, and other hassles," the female cultivator suggested. As merchants, they naturally pursued profits, and after witnessing the astonishing speed at which the store was earning spirit stones, the guild had begun to entertain certain ideas.
"Never mind, the treasures in that store were contributed by me, my clan, and some fellow Daoist friends. It's a complicated situation, and it would only become more troublesome if we involve the guild," Lu Xuan improvised.
"It's entirely up to you, Senior," the female cultivator said, no longer pressing the issue. After all, Lu Xuan was a Core Formation cultivator, a guest advisor to the guild, and favored by the high-grade treasure tower. The guild was merely testing the waters, and they wouldn't take it too far if he refused.
Moreover, a tiny store with an area less than a tenth of this guild branch's had only managed to attract so many cultivators because it offered several unique third and fourth-grade treasures. It had already reached its limit and posed no threat to the guild's position.
"Unless the store can offer a wide variety of third and fourth-grade treasures in large quantities, as well as sufficient fifth and sixth-grade treasures, it won't truly enter the guild's radar," the female cultivator mused to herself.
Lu Xuan left the guild branch and headed toward his miscellaneous store.
"It's been several years since I entered the Core Formation stage, and with the additional orb of light rewards, my strength has improved further. It's about time I sell some fifth-grade treasures," he thought.
"I've taken out so many treasures, and many of them have never even been used. It's a bit of a waste to keep them idle. Might as well exchange them for spirit stones," he added.
"It's time to give the customers of the miscellaneous store a little shock with some small treasures," Lu Xuan decided.
(End of Chapter)
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