Chapter 198
Xiao Minghuang had never encountered such unreasonable rules before!
It had always been her setting rules for others, but today, she was the one being subjected to rules!
After obtaining the medium-grade spirit stones, the trio went on a shopping spree in the market.
The main spender was Ye Ruoshui, who was curious about many things. Although she didn’t actively express her desires, Xiao Minghuang preferred to indulge her, buying her novel trinkets at every stop.
This made Ye Ruoshui’s personality much more lively.
On the fourth day of their exploration, Xiao Minghuang and her companions finally arrived at the Treasure Pavilion.
“Fellow Daoist Chen, is this the Treasure Pavilion you mentioned?”
Standing in front of the Treasure Pavilion, Xiao Minghuang surveyed the building before her.
It was an extremely vast and towering structure, nominally a pavilion, but in terms of scale, it was countless times larger than the imperial palace of the Great Xia!
The exterior of the pavilion was constructed with red glazed tiles, carved with ancient totems and intricate patterns.
“That’s right, the Treasure Pavilion is the largest shop in the outer market. Almost any item you need can be purchased here.”
Previously, through Chen Ming’s introduction, Xiao Minghuang learned that although the market owner managed many businesses, most were not open to individual cultivators.
The Dan Ding Pavilion mainly refined elixirs, the Cloud Script Pavilion specialized in talismans and formations, while the Hundred News Pavilion handled auction matters and the collection, organization, and dissemination of information, all of which had little to do with ordinary cultivators.
Only the Treasure Pavilion was open to anyone for shopping.
However, the prerequisite was that you needed to prove you had sufficient spending power.
Whether it was spirit stones, elixirs, magical artifacts, or any other rare items, possessing any one of these would grant you VIP treatment upon entering the Treasure Pavilion, even if you didn’t make any purchases.
But this treatment wasn’t perpetual; if you entered three times in a row without making a purchase, you would be banned from entering again.
This was to prevent some stingy cultivators from flaunting their one or two treasures in the Treasure Pavilion to deceive others.
Xiao Minghuang didn’t harbor any vulgar thoughts. As soon as she entered, a receptionist from the Treasure Pavilion greeted her.
It was a young woman dressed in a red skirt, appearing to be around twenty years old, with a beautiful face and a smile at the corners of her eyes.
“Welcome to the Treasure Pavilion!”
Xiao Minghuang nodded, “I plan to get a few new outfits for my partner, and I’ll also take a look around.”
The woman in the red skirt smiled and asked, “May I ask what style you are looking for, fellow cultivator?”
Xiao Minghuang turned to Ye Ruoshui and asked, “Ruoshui, what style do you like?”
Ye Ruoshui had already bought many things over the past two days, and her desire to shop had significantly diminished. She waved her hand and said, “No, no, I’ve had enough. Let’s get Big Sister Lin a new outfit!”
Over the past two days, it had mostly been Ye Ruoshui doing the shopping, while Lin Wanqiu had been watching from the sidelines. Although she didn’t show it on her face, she was deeply envious in her heart.
She wasn’t envious of the many things Ye Ruoshui had bought.
She was envious of the princess’s indulgence toward Ye Ruoshui.
She knew that if she expressed her desires, the princess would surely buy her things as well, but she didn’t say anything.
That was just her nature—even if she wanted something, even if she liked it, she wouldn’t openly say so.
But Xiao Minghuang had long noticed this, and now that they had come to the Treasure Pavilion, her main intention was to buy something that would please Lin Wanqiu.
The woman in the red skirt said, “In that case, I’ll recommend some items for our esteemed guests.”
Xiao Minghuang and the other two nodded and followed the woman deeper into the Treasure Pavilion.
Along the way, they saw countless rare treasures.
Mystic-grade magical artifacts and pills were as common as cabbages in a vegetable stall, seen everywhere.
Earth-grade magical artifacts and pills were slightly more precious, each hanging on the walls, but they were clearly priced like ordinary goods, not particularly high-end.
As for divine abilities and cultivation techniques, they were stacked in piles on bookshelves, sold by weight like popular novels in a secular bookstore.
Xiao Minghuang noticed many cultivators standing in front of certain magical artifacts or pills, gazing at them for a long time before finally gritting their teeth and pulling out large amounts of spirit stones.
Even Xiao Minghuang was slightly surprised by this scene.
In the Southern Region, Earth-grade magical artifacts were few and far between, and Earth-grade pills were rarely heard of, but here in the Treasure Pavilion, they were so commonplace.
However, if that were all, the Treasure Pavilion probably wouldn’t live up to its reputation of having everything one could desire.
Because the truly rare treasures—such as Earth-grade, Heaven-grade pills, magical artifacts, cultivation techniques, divine abilities, and even innate divine objects—were nowhere to be seen.
“The treasures here don’t seem to match the reputation of your esteemed pavilion…”
After walking around, Xiao Minghuang spoke indifferently.
“Esteemed guests, the goods in our Treasure Pavilion are divided into three levels. The items on the first level can basically meet the needs of cultivators at the Spirit Seed Realm and below. The second level is frequented by cultivators at the Nascent Soul Realm and the Soul Transformation Realm. As for the third level, unless one’s cultivation has reached the King Realm, few people venture up there.”
According to the woman in the red skirt, the goods on the first level of the Treasure Pavilion were indeed not to Xiao Minghuang’s taste.
Earth-grade pills and magical artifacts—as long as there were enough materials, Ye Ruoshui could also craft them.
“Take us directly to the second level,” Xiao Minghuang said straightforwardly.
The woman in the red skirt was slightly taken aback and hesitated, “Esteemed guests, you may not know this, but to enter the second level, one must demonstrate sufficient financial resources…”
Although she was merely a receptionist, she possessed cultivation at the Spirit Seed Realm and could tell that Xiao Minghuang and her two companions were extraordinary, undoubtedly prodigies from other regions who had come to participate in the Holy Academy’s recruitment.
Such geniuses were bound to have exceptional fortunes. Even if they couldn’t produce much spirit stone, they might still possess a few rare treasures.
However, this was only a possibility. Without seeing it for herself, she couldn’t take the initiative to lead them to the second floor. If her superiors investigated and found out, her job would be on the line.
“Financial capability? How much is required?”
The woman in the red dress led Xiao Minghuang and her companions to a quiet room.
Upon entering, Xiao Minghuang noticed that the room seemed to have some kind of formation that could isolate the flow of aura between the inside and outside.
“Esteemed guests, if you have any precious treasures, elixirs, or a large amount of high-grade spirit stones, feel free to take them out. This room is equipped with a formation, so no matter what treasures you have, they won’t be detected by the outside world.”
Hearing this, Xiao Minghuang didn’t say much. She casually took out a crystal-clear, jade-like bone spear from her storage bag and held it in her hand.
The bone spear emitted a faint, pure white light, and the aura it exuded was no weaker than some Earth-grade treasures!
It could even rival Heaven-grade treasures!
“This… this is…”
“A Heaven-grade treasure. Is it sufficient?”
Xiao Minghuang smiled slightly.
This bone spear was a spoil of war she had obtained from slaying a True Demon.
“It truly is a Heaven-grade treasure!”
The woman in the red dress was momentarily stunned, but then her smile deepened.
Treasures of this level were only within the reach of disciples from top-tier forces. The fact that Xiao Minghuang and her companions could produce such a treasure meant their identities were undoubtedly extraordinary!
The woman in the red dress quickly bowed and said, “I was rude earlier. Esteemed friends, please follow me!”
Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu
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