Destiny in Cinders

"Our requirements are met. In fact, we have more than exceeded them!" Yvelbane said with a hint of surprise. "I can't believe the level of technomancy here. To think that a common storefront could produce work once exclusive to the major artifact-crafting sects."

An Jing scanned the price tags. "If things are as they seem... You can think of Skysource as one massive artifact-crafting sect."

Black iron was going for 270 merits per thousand jin, or a bulk rate of 2500 for ten thousand. It was a bit steeper than the quote from Metalhand, but nothing he couldn't handle. In comparison, pure silver was priced at five merits per liang, while gold, at twenty merits per liang, was significantly more expensive. Both pure silver and pure gold were pricier than black iron.

An Jing wasn't sure what black iron went for in Void Embrace, but he was certain of one thing: Back home, refined black iron was never traded by the thousands or ten thousands of jin. Furthermore, while black iron might not equal gold in value, it was certainly worth its weight in silver. It wasn't the sort of resource an ordinary shop could trade so casually.

An Jing didn't rush to make a purchase. Instead, he planned to browse the other ores and jades to broaden his horizons.

"Brightstart stone..." His gaze fell upon a piece of dull, gray-copper-colored ore. At first glance, it appeared unremarkable, yet its surface was dusted with tiny, shimmering specks. These crimson glints were the true brightstart stones, crystals imbued with the essence of the sun. When used as a secondary component in artifact forging, this stone could amplify solar vitality to suppress yin-aligned entities. A single liang was priced at 150 merits.

"And there's Greenshade lead." An Jing shifted his attention to a dark-green ingot which exuded a bone-deep chill. This material was found exclusively in wastelands or the rubble of fallen cities ravaged by bloody battles. Because it was naturally infused with yin metal qi, forging it with fire was useless. Only water could be used to dissolve and shape it, though blood forging techniques were ideal. It served as a raw material for hexes and cursed armaments, as well as soul nourishment pills. It was priced at 750 merits per liang.

There were more such as sweepcloud dust, jadegarden clay, blueflame jade, wood onyx, and tidesurge stone. An Jing looked over the ores one by one as Yvelbane described their properties, its voice nostalgic, as if rediscovering something from a distant past.

Still, the sword soul had its doubts. "Common metals here cost next to nothing and are sold by the thousand-jin. But rare ones, nourished by the essence of the sun and moon, are so precious they're weighed by the liang. The price difference between the two is so immense that it seems unusual."

However, its doubts vanished the moment An Jing stopped before a silver-colored ingot. The ingot was a mass of pure, unblemished silver, encased in a pale white halo. The halo's edge was strikingly sharp, lending the stone a miraculous, otherworldly quality.

"Jadeslice steel?" Breaking its usual icy composure, Yvelbane raised its voice slightly. "How could such a rare material be found here?"

An Jing's eyes locked onto the ingot as the Evenstar seal seed within him began to stir, reacting to the item with a surge of raw excitement. Jadeslice steel, often referred to as stainfree steel, didn't occur naturally. Only by using a geomantic array to congregate metal veins within spirit-vein nodes could a cultivator initiate this process, which would take at least another hundred years of precipitation to yield this rare material.

The lungs, representing the metal element, served as the primary vessel for the circulation of qi. Similarly, spirit-vein nodes were specific regions where the terrestrial-vein qi flowed. Utilizing subterranean flame-lethal qi as a furnace refined various metals into a pure, stainfree metal.[1]

Even a faint trace of the energy it contained could slice through jade and metal effortlessly. For this reason, it was known as "jadeslice steel" or "stainfree steel," and remained one of the finest materials available for forging flying swords. It was essentially the manifestation of Evenstar metal qi condensed within pure metal, and using it to cultivate Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal resulted in ten times the efficacy.

Yet Yvelbane's question remained. How could it appear in an unremarkable shop like this? Perhaps the shop had a formidable background, or the standards for rarity were different between worlds.

An Jing took a deep breath. Perhaps this was the nature of the black market. It was the place where one could find items that, theoretically, would never be sold anywhere else. Suppressing his longing, An Jing glanced at the price tag and instantly froze in shock. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

One thousand merits for one liang. The price wasn't too high; it was far too low.

"This makes no sense," said Yvelbane. "Jadeslice steel is a grade-three material. Even Purple Mansion and Goldcore Realm cultivators would scour the earth for thousand-year or ten-thousand-year jadeslice steel... Its price should far exceed black iron. How can it be so cheap?"

An Jing replied, "I've realized that all metals linked to terrestrial veins are incredibly cheap, and any metal infused with solar or lunar essence is exorbitant. Maybe it's due to the perpetual shroud of darkness over Skysource. Could they already be mining some massive veins deep underground? That would explain why metals like black iron have become so cheap."

It was a compelling theory. For An Jing, however, the cause was irrelevant. The cheaper it was, the better. Even so, it was still too expensive relative to the amount of merits he had.

"One liang of jadeslice steel is worth more than ten thousand jins of refined black iron," Yvelbane said. "Refining it would further strengthen your physique and save you a vast amount of time. But the price..."

After accounting for the fifty-merit bribe to the inspections officer, An Jing was left with 630 merits, barely enough for half a liang of jadeslice steel. It wasn't exactly nothing, but Ocher Hill was strictly retail; they didn't deal in materials like that. Not to mention, An Jing couldn't spend everything in one place. He still needed to buy gear for the fight with the vilespawn fiend.

"Let's keep looking."

An Jing walked past the jadeslice steel without showing a hint of interest. However, the materials that followed failed to catch his eye. After all, Evenstar metals had limited uses. The vast majority of what he saw were jade-based alloys. Rare as they were, An Jing couldn't do anything with them.

Just as An Jing was settling on some refined black iron to make his exit, he spotted a familiar material.

"Void spirit stone." The sight of the translucent white jade caught An Jing slightly off guard, and Yvelbane didn't immediately elaborate either. An Jing quietly pulled out an almost identical piece of jade. "What do we have here..."

"Isn't this just a used souljade?" Yvelbane asked, puzzled. "Does this stuff qualify as ore?"

Just as the sword soul had said, the void spirit stone that was carefully displayed in a clear crystal case was essentially nothing more than used souljade. An Jing had originally obtained two souljades from the old cultist. Having consumed one to enter the Spirit Awakening Realm and begin qi cultivation, he now had only one remaining.

"What... is this? Why is there no price tag?"

At An Jing's inquiry, the shopkeeper rose and approached him immediately. Glancing at the void spirit stone, she began to explain. "Dear customer, this is an void spirit stone that expels evil as well as suppresses fiend qi and tribulation qi. It originates from spirit veins, and had initially been fully saturated with spirit qi. Once depleted, it can be recharged through machines or repurposed as a core for a spirit-qi crucible.

"But as ambient spirit qi is tainted with fiend qi, recharged stones never return to their original purity. After a few cycles, the stones degrade into waste and the spirit-qi crucible breaks down. Void spirit stones are essentially blank vessels that have yet to be recharged. Beyond serving as the cores for various artifacts, they are also used to shield the body from fiend qi and tribulation qi.

"In the event of an accidental injury and subsequent corruption while in the wilderness, you can temporarily coat the wound with a mixture of powdered void spirit stone and medicine to block fiend qi from entering the body. Once you return to the city, you can receive proper treatment. For many, it's like getting a second lease on life.

"As for the price... scarcity dictates the market. Spirit stones are a strategic resource with a fixed annual output. Even expended void spirit stones are exceptionally rare. Prices fluctuate based on size, but they usually go for about 150 merits a qian."[2]

Although the shopkeeper provided exemplary service, articulating every detail at a measured pace, An Jing was still shocked by the information itself. Fifteen hundred merits for a single liang? That's even more expensive than jadeslice steel!

Even for someone as inexperienced in cultivation as An Jing, the price seemed absurd. Yvelbane was equally stunned. "Used souljades... aren't they only good as a stabilizer for recharge formations?"

1. Di Fei (地肺) literally means "earth lungs." Here, it's translated as spirit-vein nodes which are geographic locations where invisible "energy veins" intersect. ☜

2. 10 qian equals 1 liang ☜