Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

A few days later, at another auction.

"The second-hand ’Evil-Slaying Sword,’ a third-order lower-grade Magic Artifact, is ninety percent new and barely worn. This sword not only possesses unmatched sharpness but also has the power to eradicate evil spirits, demons, and the like with incredible efficacy. It does not have an Artifact Spirit. However, if properly refined, it is not impossible to give birth to an Artifact Spirit over time."

The auctioneer on stage held a dark red long sword in his hands, showing it off to the crowd while loudly hyping it up.

Even at a distance of tens of meters, the invisible sharpness of the sword was overwhelming.

"As it’s second-hand, the price is not high. The starting bid is fifty top-grade Spirit Stones, with each increment of at least one top-grade Spirit Stone."

"Sixty!"

"Seventy!"

...

"One hundred!"

"Ding Private Box bids one hundred and one, any higher offers?"

"One hundred and two!"

The price climbed to one hundred, and only two or three people were still calling out bids, increasing the price one stone at a time, until it finally settled at one hundred and eighteen.

"Congratulations to the Geng Private Box for winning the Evil-Slaying Sword!" the auctioneer shouted loudly. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Chen Li leaned back in his chair, let out a sigh, and felt a sense of relief flooding his heart.

Soon a man and a woman came in, bringing the auctioned items to him.

Chen Li began to check the item. He took the long sword out of the Sword Box and unsheathed it.

The long sword was dark red, its surface smooth as a mirror without any visible symbols or formations. It looked exceedingly sharp, emanating cold light from all sides. Even without infusing it with Spiritual Power, the invisible air of sharpness swirled around the blade, making the air around it blur.

"One can tell it’s no ordinary object at first glance—it’s an excellent sword!" Chen Li thought to himself with excitement.

Not daring to test it there, he gave it a brief inspection, settled the payment with the auction house staff, and then packed the sword along with the Sword Box into his storage bag and quickly left the auction hall.

Upon leaving, he wandered around the city, covering various areas to make sure no one was following him before stepping out of Red Pillar City. He quickly used the Rainbow Transformation Skill and flew up into the sky.

After flying hundreds of miles and ensuring no one else was in sight, he finally allowed his tensed spirit to relax slightly.

Near such a large city,

it wasn’t to say that Golden Core cultivators were seen at every turn, but they were quite common, and the pressure was genuinely immense.

"Now I’m down to 40 top-grade Spirit Stones. I’ve gone through more than half of my savings..."

In the past few days, he had bought more than just the third-order Magic Artifact sword. The prices in Red Pillar City were generally more affordable than in Luoluo City, and many items were not available in Luoluo City. Even with restraint, he had unknowingly bought quite a bit.

Harmonizing Qi Elixir: Used to assist in the initial stage of Foundation Establishment, its medicinal effect is significantly stronger than the Gathering Qi Elixir from the Returning True Sect.

The price was five mid-grade Spirit Stones per bottle.

He bought one hundred and twenty bottles.

Just this alone cost him six top-grade Spirit Stones.

Step Cloud Boots: Second Order lower-grade, made from third-order beast skin. They come with an embedded Formation that allows one to walk on air as if on level ground.

The price was five top-grade Spirit Stones.

Of course, Chen Li was most concerned about the boots’ durability.

On a typical day, if asked what wears out the quickest,

it would undoubtedly be shoes.

His strength was too great, his explosive power too strong.

Even during regular practice, he would go barefoot, but shoes would typically last only a month, hardly ever two.

This time, buying a pair of good shoes, he expected they would last a while.

Besides, there were gifts he purchased for Zhou Hong and Zhang Shuniang—magic robes and jewelry, but those were only first-order items and not very expensive altogether; they only amounted to the cost of one or two top-grade Spirit Stones.

"My wallet is getting thinner, but thankfully I still have a pile of second-order Magic Artifact robes in my storage bag. Even if I sell them at half price, I should be able to get fifty or sixty top-grade Spirit Stones!" he calculated quietly to himself.

Having spent an entire half-month away from home, Chen Li couldn’t help but long to return. After leaving the Fire Cloud Sect and passing sixteen other sects, he flew for two days and finally caught sight of Luanluo Mountain.

"I’m finally back!" he exhaled deeply.

Bai Wei, with her sharp eyes, quickly spotted Chen Li entering the Formation and excitedly shouted, "Master is back, Master is back!"

Two familiar figures rushed out from the main hall swiftly.

"Husband!"

"Why were you delayed for so long this time?" Zhou Hong asked with concern.

"Hehe, the things I needed to buy weren’t exactly common goods, where could I go and just find them? I had to wait, right!" Chen Li chuckled as he walked through the door, saying, "How has everything been at home lately? Nothing happened, has it?"

"Since you left, my sister and I haven’t been going out much, but it doesn’t seem like there’s been any major incident," said Zhang Shuniang, supporting Chen Li’s arm.

"That’s good! That’s very good!"

The two women helped the travel-weary Chen Li sit down, with Bai Wei silently retreating out of the room.

Chen Li began to recount anecdotes and interesting experiences from his journey, eliciting gasps of astonishment from the women.

"Are there really trees that tall?" When it came to the giant tree, Zhang Shuniang widened her eyes and said, almost as though she didn’t believe him.

"I’ll definitely take you there to see it when I get the chance!" Chen Li laughed.

After exchanging stories of their time apart, Chen Li brought out the gifts he had bought.

The two women were immediately overjoyed, then made insincere complaints about Chen Li spending money recklessly.

That night, through a mix of coaxing and trickery, Chen Li pulled the two women into his room, reaping the joys of marital bliss.

...

Dawn.

The room was still filled with the scent of the previous day’s pleasure.

Chen Li moved his arms and legs off his body, quietly got up, put on his robe, and walked to the quiet room, feeling refreshed.

He took the Evil-Slaying Sword out of his storage bag.

Previously on the road, he had feared that the Third Order Magic Artifact sword would cause too much commotion, so as a precaution, he kept it in his storage bag without refining it. Now, finally having some free time, he drew the sword, tossed aside the scabbard, and cautiously channeled Spiritual Power into it.

He noticed something difficult and strange.

Spiritual Power flowing into the sword felt as if it were mired in a quagmire, hardly advancing at all.

"Refining this Third Order Magic Artifact sword is so difficult!" Chen Li frowned slightly.

But then he remembered that it was a second-hand sword, and suddenly understood.

Refining was the process of leaving one’s own spiritual imprint on the sword.

Although the original owner’s spiritual imprint had been erased from an auctioned second-hand sword, there were evidently still some remnants.

For Golden Core cultivators, these remnants might just be a matter of a flick of the wrist, but for Chen Li, at the Third Layer of Foundation Establishment, it required some grinding, although it was just a bit troublesome.

Spiritual power was draining fast.

It was quickly depleted by a large amount.

Chen Li had no choice but to take out a porcelain bottle and swallow two Gathering Qi Elixirs to replenish his Spiritual Power.

Only when his Spiritual Power was nearly exhausted did the Evil-Slaying Sword finally complete the refining process.

Spiritual Power flowed unimpeded through the blade, without feeling the slightest resistance, and the sword’s colorless sharpness breathed in and out like a substance, twisting and blurring the air.

"This Sword Qi is a bit shorter than that of the Green Jade Sword, but it’s much more solid," Chen Li thought to himself as he moved in front of a rock wall.

With a casual swing.

The tip of the sword passed one inch from the wall, in a flash.

As if slicing through the air.

Smooth.

Effortless.

Silent!

Accompanied by an almost imperceptible "ssss" sound!

A crack as thin as a hairline suddenly appeared on the rock wall.

"What terrifying power!"

"The Thick Earth Shield, commonly used by those at Foundation Establishment, probably couldn’t withstand even a casual strike from this sword," thought Chen Li, pondering.

ps: Ah, I apologize, something came up at home these past few days!