Chapter 506 - 361: Eight Sceneries Red Dust Lamp
The illustrated catalog Han Ping provided showed many Magical Artifacts with high Sacrificial Refining Levels. These artifacts were basically a collection of spoils from years of battle, or the prized works of some Artifact Refiners from the Pill Alliance.
One could say every Magical Artifact was top-grade; otherwise, they wouldn't have been brought out at such a critical moment to attract buyers like Fang Qingyuan.
Fang Qingyuan wasn't completely uninterested in the other items the Pill Alliance offered, but few of the Magical Artifacts were truly suitable for him. What he needed most right now was a Magical Treasure Embryo for his own Lifebound Magical Treasure.
Over the past few years, Fang Qingyuan had given some thought to his Lifebound Magical Treasure. A treasure meant to accompany him for a lifetime had to be highly compatible with a Cultivator's Talent, Cultivation Method, and even their personality.
Everyone's upbringing is different. Even among disciples taught by the same master, vast differences can exist.
The item Fang Qingyuan used most often was still the Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner gifted to him by Lechuan, but he had always used this Second-Order Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact as an intermediate tool to conceal his Immortal Mansion.
As a Second-Order Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact, the Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner did have some potential to develop into a Magical Treasure Embryo. However, this would require Fang Qingyuan to invest a great deal of resources, and the result after its growth wouldn't be what he needed.
Fang Qingyuan wanted a Lifebound Magical Treasure that could grow continuously. In other words, he wanted a Magical Treasure Embryo with immense potential.
Even if the Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner became a Magical Treasure Embryo, its future potential would be limited. Due to its materials and original refining method, it would probably hit a ceiling and be unable to advance further after being sacrificially refined to the Celestial Spirits level.
Not every Magical Artifact could be sacrificially refined to Celestial Spirit Perfection. For many artifacts, whether due to the refining method or the grade of spiritual materials used, their power would hit a plateau after being refined by a Cultivator to a certain point. No amount of further refining could break this limit.
Of course, since it could become a Golden Core Cultivator's Lifebound Magical Treasure, its upper limit could at least reach the peak of what a Golden Core Cultivator could refine: the Twelfth Heaven, the state of Earth Demon 72-Layer Perfection.
As for the subsequent Celestial Spirit Six Heavens, that would require a Nascent Soul Level Cultivator with enough Magical Power to refine. It was generally not something an Early Stage Golden Core Cultivator would consider.
Take the Taihao City-Breaking Bow, which was currently lying in his Immortal Mansion. Its Sacrificial Refining Level had already reached the Celestial Spirits stage, but Fang Qingyuan couldn't even properly nurture it. He could only perform simple refining, striving to wield it smoothly when he used it.
Fang Qingyuan had planned to wait until he finished his current business and settled everything with Moyun Valley and Bear Wind before slowly considering his Lifebound Magical Treasure. But now, the Pill Alliance, pushed into a corner by the Spirit Wood Alliance and the Li Huo Alliance, had been forced to reveal its entire inventory. For Fang Qingyuan, this was indeed a golden opportunity.
The Pill Alliance had made its name by refining Elixir Pills and crafting Magical Artifacts. They had no shortage of high-quality materials and artifacts. An opportunity to have their entire collection laid out before him, free for him to choose from, was truly rare.
Flipping past the pages of alluring Elixir Pills, Fang Qingyuan's gaze came to rest on an eight-sided Palace Lantern.
The catalog Han Ping had given him had perfectly captured a snapshot of the Magical Artifact's state at a certain moment. So, when Fang Qingyuan's gaze fell upon it, the lantern abruptly burst forth with a dazzling purple light within his divine sense.
Bathed in the purple light, the Palace Lantern was octagonal with eight faces. Five faces were blank, while the other three depicted different scenes: the mortal world of red dust, high mountains and flowing water, and a great expanse of darkness that looked like smeared black ink.
As it was reflected in Fang Qingyuan's spiritual soul, the eight faces began to spin. A grand scene of the mortal world unfolded amidst the rotation. From within the red dust, the silhouette of a human city grew larger and larger, descending upon him.
In the blink of an eye, Fang Qingyuan seemed to find himself in a bustling, densely populated city. There were houses and markets, boats and bridges over flowing water. The city's residents jostled past one another in a constant stream, some even bumping right into him.
But just as quickly, the vision collapsed into chaos after only manifesting for a few breaths, lacking any subsequent Magical Power to sustain it. When Fang Qingyuan looked again, the image of the eight-sided Palace Lantern in the catalog had already grown dim.
'So it can only manifest once,' Fang Qingyuan realized. Even so, after this brief experience, his interest in the lantern grew even stronger. 'This lantern probably has the ability to capture a person's soul. It seems like a good match for my Divine Techniques of mind and emotion.'
Among Magical Artifacts, the more unique the design, the more expensive it was. This was because it required more steps in the crafting process. More complexity meant more intricacy, more intricacy meant more effort, and more effort naturally meant a higher price. This was a basic principle.
Using the same materials, the effort required to forge a sword was much less than that required to create a Palace Lantern.
Since this eight-sided Palace Lantern was included in the catalog, it meant the artifact was a Magical Treasure Embryo suitable for a Golden Core Cultivator to sacrificially refine and nurture. Otherwise, even as a Second-Order Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact, it wouldn't have made it into a catalog of this level.
Seeing Fang Qingyuan's gaze linger on the eight-sided Palace Lantern, the perceptive Han Ping naturally discerned his interest. After Fang Qingyuan had finished looking through the entire catalog, Han Ping asked directly:
"Sect Leader Fang, has this lantern caught your eye?"
Fang Qingyuan gave a slight nod. There was no need to hide his preference now. Han Ping was the one asking for a favor, so he didn't need to play hard to get.
Seeing Fang Qingyuan's interest, Han Ping's spirits lifted. He was shouldering a heavy responsibility for the Pill Alliance and was desperate to close this deal, so he began his sales pitch enthusiastically:
"This lantern is called the Eight Sceneries Red Dust Lamp. According to the master who refined this magical treasure, it was originally designed with eight layers of scenery, each with its own transformation. However, an accident occurred during the refining process, so it can currently only display three transformations. The remaining five faces will have to be completed by you, Sect Leader Fang."
"This lamp can seize a person's mind and soul. When you wield it, anyone whose spiritual soul cultivation is weaker than yours will have their soul enveloped by the lamp, trapping them in an illusion from which they cannot escape. At that point, their life and death will be in your hands."
"Additionally, the lamp contains a small, self-contained pocket of empty space, about twenty cubic meters in size, which can be used like a storage pouch. This is better than simple storage, because this Magical Artifact can be stored in your Dantian, so it won't attract attention like a storage pouch would."
Han Ping began to speak at length about the Magical Artifact's history and functions while Fang Qingyuan listened quietly. He had already made up his mind. Even if he didn't use the Eight Sceneries Red Dust Lamp as his Lifebound Magical Treasure, acquiring it to study would be a good choice.
Because of his Immortal Mansion, Fang Qingyuan was quite interested in any Magical Artifact that could create its own pocket of empty space. He had a faint idea that if he could achieve some mastery in the Dao of space, he might be able to understand the changes a little better the next time his Immortal Mansion expanded.
Fang Qingyuan had never stopped thinking about how to study the Immortal Mansion, but its level was simply too high. As a result, his gains over the years had been few and far between.
But having a direction meant having hope. As long as he had enough time, Fang Qingyuan was certain that one day, he would be able to uncover all the secrets of the Immortal Mansion.
After Han Ping finished recounting the entire history of the Eight Sceneries Red Dust Lamp, Fang Qingyuan slowly opened his mouth and asked:
"What's the price?"
This was a question Han Ping had to treat with caution. From the quoted price, Fang Qingyuan would be able to gauge the Pill Alliance's sincerity. After all, no matter how pitiful Han Ping made their situation sound, if the price was too high, it would indicate that the Pill Alliance was not yet in dire straits.
Han Ping had considered this as well. He pondered for a few breaths before reluctantly stating his price:
"The asking price is three thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones. But we don't want Spirit Stones. We want an equivalent value in resources—Spirit Rice, spiritual materials, ores, and raw materials—as long as they can be delivered to the heart of the Pill Alliance's territory."
Fang Qingyuan chuckled. 'What a clever plan, Han Ping.' Three thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones was already not cheap for a Magical Treasure Embryo. On top of that, demanding delivery to the Pill Alliance's heartland, past the Spirit Wood Alliance's blockade? That was simply asking for the impossible.
Seeing the shift in Fang Qingyuan's attitude, Han Ping quickly explained:
"Sect Leader Fang, please hear me out. The Eight Sceneries Red Dust Lamp's potential is absolutely high enough to reach Celestial Spirit Perfection. It might even give birth to a Primordial Spirit in the future and become a true magical treasure. If the situation weren't so critical, we would be loath to sell it."
"As for the price, if you find it inappropriate, Sect Leader Fang, we can negotiate. I'm at my wit's end. Right now, in all of White Mountain, only a handful of powers can slip past the Spirit Wood Alliance's tight blockade."
"And your Qingyuan Sect originated from the Beast Taming Sect. If you could use your connections with the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect to give our Pill Alliance some breathing room, it would absolutely be a no-loss proposition for them. As long as the Pill Alliance stands, the Spirit Wood Alliance will never turn its attention to the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect."
Seeing this once-arrogant youth now so smooth and worldly, speaking of nothing but benefits and trade-offs, Fang Qingyuan saw a reflection of his former self in Han Ping.
Just as Han Ping said, the Pill Alliance was indeed worth helping. In the Southern White Mountain region, if ranked by power, the Spirit Wood Alliance was first, the Li Huo Alliance was second, and the Pill Alliance was third. Fourth was the coalition of the many Golden Core Sects of Nine Stars Square, while the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect could only rank fifth.
The other Golden Core Clans could only survive in the cracks. Take the Qingyuan Sect that Fang Qingyuan founded, for example. It either had to rely on the protection of enfeoffment rules or secretly seek refuge with a major power.
Once the Spirit Wood Alliance and the Li Huo Alliance consumed the Pill Alliance, the Nine-star Marketplace would be safe for the time being due to its enfeoffment protection. But no one knew if the Spirit Wood Alliance's next target would be the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect.
Although the two powers wouldn't fight openly, Fang Qingyuan believed the Spirit Wood Alliance would still resort to tripping them up and using dirty tricks behind the scenes.
Due to the rules set by the Beast Taming Sect's Main Mountain, an enclave like the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect, established within the territory of another Divinity Transformation Power, would receive basically no military support from the main sect if it came into conflict with local sects. Everything depended on the abilities and methods of the enclave's own Sect Leader.
If the Spirit Wood Alliance set its sights on them, it would be a huge hassle, even if Lechuan could handle it. It was better to let the Pill Alliance remain in the open to draw fire, while the Qingyuan Sect and the White Mountain Beast Taming Sect could profit from the war.
Fang Qingyuan used his spiritual soul to glance at the mountain of Spirit Rice piled up inside his Immortal Mansion. In the end, he nodded in agreement and said to Han Ping:
"Have the Eight Sceneries Red Dust Lamp ready, along with these Elixir Pills. In ten days, I will deliver the resources to the designated location. The rest is not my concern."
Han Ping watched as Fang Qingyuan circled items in the catalog. In just a few breaths, he had selected a collection of Elixir Pills and Magical Artifacts worth nearly five thousand Top-grade Spirit Stones. Han Ping was overjoyed.
Meanwhile, Fang Qingyuan looked at the vast amount of Spirit Rice in his Immortal Mansion and sighed in relief. He could finally offload the goods he had been stockpiling for so long.