Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

The elderly appraiser's eyes lit up when he saw the pill. He picked it up, smelled it, and gently rubbed it between his fingers, examining it carefully for a moment. Then he nodded, his tone becoming more serious: "Hmm, a top-grade pill from the lower realm. Although its grade isn't high, only ninth rank, the refining technique is excellent. The purity and potency of the pill are both very good. It can be exchanged for one hundred immortal coins."

One hundred immortal coins! He Damin was overjoyed; that was more like it. He then took out several different kinds of top-grade ninth-rank pills from his storage bracelet—some for healing, some for improving cultivation, and some for detoxification.

The old man examined each pill one by one and finally said, "These five top-grade pills can be exchanged for a total of five hundred immortal coins."

"Thank you, sir." He Damin breathed a sigh of relief and quickly handed over the pills.

The old man took out a storage bag, counted out five hundred immortal coins, and handed them to He Damin. Immortal coins are round coins that are pure white, with the character "仙" (immortal) engraved on them. You can feel a faint immortal aura when you touch them.

He Damin took the storage bag, took out ten immortal coins and handed them to the officials of the Immortal Register Office. Then, he took their identity tokens and led Chen Xueru out of the Immortal Register Office.

"Brother Da Min, is gold really that worthless here?" As soon as they stepped out of the Immortal Register Office, Chen Xueru couldn't help but ask in a low voice, her face showing a hint of disbelief. In the Xuan Tian Continent, gold was a symbol of wealth.

He Damin sighed and said with a wry smile, "Yes, they're worthless. The currency circulating here is immortal coins, which contain pure immortal spiritual energy. For cultivators, they can not only be used for transactions but also directly absorbed and refined. Gold and silver, on the other hand, are practically useless except for having some metallic properties. They're about the same as roadside stones here." He shook the storage bag in his hand. "We only have four hundred and ninety immortal coins left. We need to find a way to earn more immortal coins as soon as possible, otherwise we'll be unable to move an inch in this Earthly Immortal Realm."

Chen Xueru nodded, a hint of worry on her face: "Yeah, things here must be very expensive, right?"

"Go and see for yourself."

The two decided to first wander around the city to familiarize themselves with the surroundings and, incidentally, find out about the local prices.

They strolled slowly along the street, entering each shop to inquire about prices. What they found there shocked them.

A single, most common low-grade immortal pill costs one hundred immortal coins. A basic low-grade immortal artifact costs at least five hundred immortal coins. A common immortal-level cultivation technique is priced at one thousand immortal coins. Even a night's stay at an inn costs five immortal coins.

He Damin touched his storage bag. Four hundred and ninety immortal coins sounded like a lot, but here, they really didn't last long. Buying a low-grade immortal pill took away one-fifth of it, and buying a low-grade immortal artifact emptied his pockets completely.

"Brother Damin, what... what should we do?" Chen Xueru frowned as she looked at the exorbitant prices.

He Damin was also quickly calculating in his mind. He knew quite a few things: alchemy, weapon crafting, formations, talismans, beast taming, spiritual plants... In the Xuan Tian Continent, these skills made him very successful. He wondered if these skills would still be useful in this Earthly Immortal Realm.

He thought for a moment and said, "I'll go to the Treasure Pavilion first. The Treasure Pavilion usually buys everything. I know how to refine weapons, so I can try to refine some immortal swords to sell and see if I can get some immortal coins." Of all the skills, he felt that weapon refining should be the most direct and fastest way to monetize.

Chen Xueru nodded: "Okay, I'll go with you."

After inquiring around, the two learned that Duobao Pavilion was located in the city center and was one of the largest comprehensive shops in Qingmu City. So they headed towards the city center.

The Treasure Pavilion truly lived up to its reputation; it was an imposing five-story building constructed entirely of red wood, with flying eaves, bracket sets, carved beams, and painted rafters. Huge red lanterns hung at the entrance, exuding wealth and grandeur. Several uniformed staff members stood at the entrance, their faces beaming with warm smiles, welcoming the coming and going guests.

He Damin led Chen Xueru inside. Upon entering, they were greeted by a dazzling array of items, a veritable feast for the eyes. The first floor primarily displayed low-grade immortal artifacts, elixirs, and talismans. Swords hung on the walls, and cabinets held bottles and jars of elixirs and neatly stacked talismans. The upper floors were connected by stairs, and a more powerful aura emanated from them, suggesting the presence of higher-grade items.

A quick-witted-looking shop assistant immediately approached, his face beaming with smiles: "Hello, sir! What would you like to buy? Our Treasure Pavilion has everything you could want, whether it's elixirs, magical artifacts, talismans, cultivation techniques, or rare and precious herbs, we can meet your needs."

He Damin waved his hand and said directly, "I'm not buying. I'm here to sell things."

"Selling things?" The shopkeeper paused for a moment, sizing up He Damin. Seeing that he was only at the early stage of the Celestial Immortal realm, a hint of barely perceptible disdain flashed in his eyes, but he maintained his smile. "What would you like to sell, sir?"

"Celestial artifacts," He Damin said succinctly. "Do you collect celestial artifacts?"

"Yes, of course we accept them." The shopkeeper nodded, but added, "However, we don't accept items of very poor quality. Our Treasure Pavilion only accepts immortal artifacts of superior quality or higher." He clearly didn't think a cultivator at the early stage of the Celestial Immortal realm could produce anything of value.

He Damin didn't care about his attitude and simply nodded: "Okay."

He looked around, found a relatively quiet corner, and said to the waiter, "Could I borrow this place for a moment?"

Although the waiter was somewhat puzzled, he nodded nonetheless, "Please proceed, sir." He wanted to see what kind of goods this celestial being could produce. He Damin didn't waste any words and directly took out a pile of materials from his Yin-Yang space. These were all treasures he had brought from the Xuan Tian Continent, including fist-sized top-grade spirit stones, star iron emitting a faint glow, and some unknown beast bones and hides. Although there were no celestial-grade materials, these were already top-tier items in the lower realms.

He sat cross-legged, took a deep breath, and formed a hand seal. His inner energy erupted without reservation, transforming into a pale purple flame that hovered above his palm. This flame was extremely hot, causing the surrounding air to distort.

"This is..." The waiter's nonchalant expression froze instantly; he could feel the terrifying energy contained within the flames.

Ignoring his surprise, He Damin threw the materials one by one into the flames. The materials melted rapidly in the flames, turning into clumps of liquid metal and energy. His divine sense, like the most precise instrument, accurately controlled every wisp of flame, peeling away impurities from the materials bit by bit.

Soon, the prototype of a celestial sword slowly emerged from the flames. He Damin's hands quickly formed hand seals, and profound runes flew from his fingertips, merging into the celestial sword. Sharp Array, Solid Array, Gale Array, Armor-Piercing Array, Blood-Sucking Array, Spirit Gathering Array, Concealment Array, Thunderfire Array, Spatial Array—a total of nine arrays, each a culmination of his three hundred years of array mastery.

These interconnected formations amplified each other, allowing this originally low-grade immortal sword to exude an aura no less powerful than that of a mid-grade immortal weapon.

Three days later, as the final array was integrated into the immortal sword, He Damin suddenly opened his eyes and shouted, "Success!"

The pale purple flames dissipated, revealing a pure azure immortal sword floating before him. The sword was three feet long, its blade smooth as a mirror, with nine runes slowly flowing across it, emitting a faint golden light. He Damin reached out and grasped the hilt; a cool sensation washed over him. He channeled his true essence into the sword, and it emitted a clear, resonant hum, as if it had come to life.

"What...what a sword!" The waiter was already dumbfounded and stammered.

His voice startled the others in the shop, including the owner of Duobao Pavilion. A middle-aged man in a brocade robe, who looked quite wealthy, strode over; it was the owner of Duobao Pavilion. His eyes lit up instantly when he saw the immortal sword floating in front of He Damin.

"Sir, did you forge this sword?" the shopkeeper asked cautiously, his tone filled with disbelief.

He Damin nodded: "Yes."

"Are you a celestial being?" the shopkeeper asked again to confirm.

"Yes."

The shopkeeper gasped. A celestial being could forge such a high-quality immortal sword—this was unheard of! He picked up the sword and examined it closely, growing increasingly astonished: "A fine sword! Although it's only a low-grade immortal weapon, its quality has reached the pinnacle of low-grade immortal weapons, almost reaching the level of a mid-grade immortal weapon! Especially these nine arrays—they are exquisitely arranged, interlocking perfectly, greatly enhancing the sword's power!"

He looked up at He Damin, his eyes filled with admiration: "Esteemed guest, our Treasure Pavilion will take this sword! We'll give you three thousand immortal coins, how does that sound?"

He Damin was secretly pleased; the price was higher than he had expected. He nodded: "Okay."

He took out some more materials from the cathode space and said, "I can continue to refine. If I have enough materials, I can refine one a day."

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up even more, and he quickly said, "Sir, whatever materials you need, our Treasure Pavilion can provide them! As for the immortal sword we forge, we'll split the profits 30/70—you get 70%, we get 30%, how about that?"

He Damin thought for a moment. This way, he wouldn't have to worry about the materials and it would save him time. So he nodded and said, "Deal."

And so, He Damin settled down at Duobaoge and began his sword-forging career. The materials provided by Duobaoge were far superior to those he brought himself, and the quality of the immortal swords he forged increased steadily, with several even reaching the level of mid-grade immortal artifacts. The shopkeeper was all smiles every day and became increasingly polite to He Damin.

A month later, He Damin had forged a total of thirty immortal swords. Based on a 30/70 split, he received a full 100,000 immortal coins from the Treasure Pavilion!

Looking at the heavy stack of immortal coins in the storage bag, He Damin nodded in satisfaction: "That's enough."

He stopped forging his sword; now he had more important things to do—buy cultivation techniques. In this Immortal Realm, without a good cultivation technique, one simply couldn't survive.

He Damin arrived at the Martial Arts Pavilion in Qingmu City, a place that specializes in selling various martial arts techniques. He browsed around inside and finally stopped in front of a technique called "Five Elements Creation Technique".

The Five Elements Creation Technique is a celestial-level cultivation method with nine levels. It cultivates the power of the five elements, which interact in a continuous cycle of mutual generation and restraint. The advantage of this technique is its solid foundation and immense potential in the later stages; the disadvantage is its relatively slow cultivation speed.

Price: 80,000 Celestial Coins.

He Damin hesitated for a moment. Eighty thousand immortal coins was no small sum; it was almost four-fifths of his current wealth. But after careful consideration, he realized that although this cultivation method was slow, it was perfect for him. With the system at his disposal, he didn't need to worry about the cultivation speed at all.

"This is the one." He Damin gritted his teeth and decided to buy the cultivation technique.

Having paid the money and received the jade slip containing the "Five Elements Creation Technique," He Damin was quite excited. He only had 20,000 immortal coins left, but he wasn't worried. With this technique, his strength would improve rapidly.

"Brother Damin, this cultivation method is so slow, why did you choose it?" Chen Xueru asked, somewhat puzzled.

He Damin smiled and said mysteriously, "Silly girl, just because others cultivate slowly doesn't mean I'm slow. I have a system with me; I can gain a year's worth of cultivation power just by lying down for a day. Do you think I'd worry about my cultivation speed being slow?"

Chen Xueru suddenly realized and laughed along, "You always have a way."

He Damin rented a small courtyard in Qingmu City and began to focus on cultivating the "Five Elements Creation Technique". He sat cross-legged in the courtyard, placed the jade slip between his eyebrows, and began to carefully study the technique.

The "Five Elements Creation Technique" is based on the power of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Cultivators must first sense the five elements, then cultivate them one by one, and finally reach the state of unity of the five elements. Although the cultivation speed is slow, its power is extremely strong.

He Damin closed his eyes and began to sense the power of the five elements.

The first element he sensed was fire. Having refined pills for three hundred years, his control over fire had reached a level of unparalleled mastery. Soon, a small flame formed in his dantian, leaping and radiating a warm aura.

Next came the metal element. Having refined artifacts for three hundred years, his understanding of the metal element was also very profound. A golden light rose from his dantian, intertwining with the flames.

Then came the elements of wood, water, and earth. He cultivated spiritual plants, commanded countless beasts, set up formations, and drew talismans; every skill he mastered was closely related to the five elements. Soon, the three elements of wood, water, and earth also formed in his dantian.

In less than a month, He Damin successfully collected all five elemental seeds. In his dantian, the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth slowly rotated according to certain rules, forming a perfect cycle.

"The Five Elements Creation Technique, First Level, Completed!"

He Damin opened his eyes, a slight smile appearing on his lips. Although his cultivation level remained at the early stage of the Celestial Immortal realm, he could feel that his foundation was more than ten times stronger than before. With the five elements generating each other in an endless cycle, his true essence recovered three times faster than that of other cultivators at the same level.

"Brother Da Min, you've mastered it?" Chen Xueru walked over with a cup of fragrant tea, a joyful smile on her face.

"Hmm, you've mastered the first level." He Damin took the teacup, took a sip, and said, "There are still eight levels to go. Take your time, no rush."