Chapter Forty-Two: The Hall of Curious Artifacts

Jiang Yan bowed to the young monk before him, expressing his gratitude for their hospitality the previous night, then turned and walked out of the temple.

The night before, Jiang Yan had already obtained the sect promotion certificate. In an effort to flaunt his authority, Xu Shi from the Golden Flame Sect had upgraded Jiang Yan’s sect registration directly to a second-grade sect. This result was somewhat unexpected for Jiang Yan, but such an upgrade—from an affiliated sect to a second-grade sect—would typically require hundreds of spirit stones just for the registration fee. Since the promotion was accomplished in one stroke, Jiang Yan was only too pleased to save himself several hundred spirit stones.

After completing the sect advancement, Jiang Yan had intended to return immediately to Mount Hua. Yet, recalling Xu Shi’s mention of an auction and considering the damaged first-grade wooden crane spiritual artifact in need of repair, Jiang Yan decided to stay one more day.

Last night, Jiang Yan had searched half the night for a place to stay in Linqing Prefecture, but in the end, couldn’t even afford a bunk in a common carriage inn. The cheapest inn in Linqing Prefecture cost half a tael of silver per night, and even the dormitory-style beds at the carriage station required fifteen copper coins. Not having anticipated the need to bring silver, Jiang Yan was forced to abandon the idea of lodging within the city. Roaming aimlessly, he wandered to the southern gate and stumbled upon the temple.

Recalling the customs of temples in his previous world, Jiang Yan entered without hesitation, sought out a monk, and borrowed a room for the night. Though he had no idea of the temple’s origins, nor why a place teeming with cultivators like Linqing Prefecture would have a temple, or even whether the temple venerated Shakyamuni, none of this prevented Jiang Yan from enjoying a deep and peaceful sleep.

Just as he was about to leave, Jiang Yan thought he could use his Sect Leader’s System to investigate the temple’s background, but then reconsidered. Why go to such lengths to uncover the backgrounds of those who have shown him kindness?

Unbeknownst to Jiang Yan, as he left, the abbot in a crimson kasaya within the temple was respectfully bowing to the young monk who had just seen Jiang Yan out: “Little Uncle-Master, why did you see that young man off yourself? He is but a cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining after all.”

The young monk pressed his palms together, reciting a Buddhist invocation with a kindly expression as he instructed the abbot, who was in fact his junior by many years, “Nephew, though this youth is only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, he holds within him boundless brilliance—a piece of unpolished jade of great wisdom, with limitless future potential. By forging this good connection today, many benefits will follow.”

The abbot clearly remained unconvinced. But the young Uncle-Master’s background was far superior to his own—he, after all, only oversaw a minor temple with a few hundred square kilometers of followers. Though he doubted the young monk’s words, he still recited a Buddhist blessing: “Amitabha.”

The young monk, knowing that his nephew would not believe him, could only think that if he did, he would not be merely the abbot of a small temple overseeing just a few million square kilometers of land.

Jiang Yan, however, was unaware that a great master had resided in the temple where he’d stayed. He simply strolled through the sunlit streets of Linqing Prefecture, searching for a shop to repair his wooden crane spiritual artifact, secretly hoping the shop charged in spirit stones.

By day, Linqing Prefecture was stripped of its nightly neon lights and dazzling talismanic illuminations. Under the sun, Jiang Yan felt as if he were in a quaint, ancient southern town, walking along green-shaded riverside flagstone paths. The crisscrossing canals were occasionally traversed by empty cargo boats, drifting by—a picturesque scene of a southern water town.

"Driverless cargo boats..."

Suddenly, Jiang Yan snapped to attention. How could there be cargo boats with no one aboard?

Standing on an arched bridge above the street, he stared down. Below, fully loaded driverless cargo boats glided by, shaped like uncovered black-awning boats, trailing white foam as they passed beneath the stone arch.

Most of the boats on the river were still manned, propelled by boatmen with bamboo poles, but occasionally Jiang Yan saw a line of unmanned boats, moving in neat formation and much faster than the manned ones.

He leaned on the stone bridge for a long while, watching three such driverless boats pass by. Though unmanned, they moved in perfect order. After a while, recalling his purpose for staying an extra day, Jiang Yan reluctantly tore himself away and continued his search for a shop to repair the wooden crane.

Finally, in a magnificently decorated store, he found what he was looking for—the Marvelous Objects Pavilion.

The receptionist at the Marvelous Objects Pavilion, a man with a goat beard, turned Jiang Yan’s wooden crane over and over in his hands, admiring it for quite some time before finally asking, somewhat uncertain, “Young sir, are you truly willing to spend an entire spirit stone to repair this wooden crane?”

Jiang Yan reiterated his intention and handed over a spirit stone. Only then did the manager cease his persistent questioning and arrange for a craftsman to repair the item.

“Young sir, not only do we have masters capable of repairing your wooden crane, we also have craftsmen able to make them. And our goods are reasonably priced. Would you be interested in purchasing a brand new wooden crane? A new one is only five spirit stones.” The manager, seeing Jiang Yan idly waiting at the counter, began recommending the shop’s wares.

Seeing Jiang Yan uninterested, the manager glanced around furtively, then leaned in and lowered his voice: “To be honest, young sir, tonight our shop is holding an auction, with many treasures only immortals like you can use.”

“An auction of treasures usable only by cultivators,” Jiang Yan thought with delight. He hadn’t expected that, in searching for a repair shop, he’d stumbled into the very place hosting an auction.

“Manager, what sort of items will be auctioned tonight?” Jiang Yan wondered if he could participate. As his sect developed, there would surely be external trade—the spirit grains from the spiritual fields, the pills crafted in the alchemy chamber, perhaps even spell talismans once the sect acquired a runesmith...

“Oh, there are all sorts of things!” The manager’s eyes lit up as he began counting treasures on his fingers.

Elixirs that can regrow flesh and revive the dead, glowing flying swords, spirit pills to restore strength to immortals, paper slips that, when cast, become armies...

In order to attract Jiang Yan, the goat-bearded manager extolled the auction items as peerless, both on earth and in heaven. If Jiang Yan missed this auction, it would be a great loss. At the end, the manager took another furtive glance around and whispered, “Young sir, let me tell you a secret—don’t breathe a word to anyone. This auction will feature a spirit pill that can change an immortal’s physique. Even the Golden Flame Sect, the largest local sect, is sending disciples to bid for it.”

Jiang Yan was startled. The flesh-regrowing, life-restoring powder was likely the Transforming Life Powder—not very useful for cultivators, and he had several bottles of it in his Sect Leader’s Ring. As for the glowing swords, those were likely spiritual artifacts; Jiang Yan already possessed a Coldlight Sword and a first-grade spiritual item from the system’s rewards. He hesitated, wondering if he should auction off the sword.

The restorative pills were probably Qi Gathering Pills—he still had several hundred, and with only five members in the sect, they’d last a while. The paper armies were probably defective talismans made by apprentice runesmiths.

But a pill that could change a cultivator’s physique? Jiang Yan guessed it might have effects similar to a Bone-Altering Pill. He was intrigued—what kind of transformative pill could attract the attention of the Golden Flame Sect?

“Tell me, manager, if disciples of the Golden Flame Sect will be attending, who would dare bid against them? Wouldn’t your auction lose out?” Jiang Yan asked curiously. The Golden Flame Sect was the only third-grade sect in Linqing Prefecture; if they wanted something, how could any second- or first-grade sect dare to compete?

“Ah, young sir, you don’t understand. Our Marvelous Objects Pavilion has its own background. Our owner has long since informed the Golden Flame Sect—no trouble is permitted inside our halls. Moreover, all auction participants must wear our specially-made spirit masks; ordinary people stand no chance of discovering who has bought what.”

Jiang Yan nodded in agreement—the pavilion’s policies would indeed alleviate many worries for bidders, ensuring that buyers need not fear being targeted. Of course, it was only relative safety; if someone really wanted to track down a buyer, there were always ways. But such risks would not prevent the Marvelous Objects Pavilion from maximizing its profits.

Ding...

Just as Jiang Yan was discussing the auction with the goat-bearded manager, the Sect Leader’s System suddenly chimed in his ear.

Upon checking the readers’ feedback, he saw that thirty-five readers wished for him to gather beauties—dear readers, do you really have the energy to satisfy three palaces, six courts, and seventy-two concubines...