A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

"I see. Fellow Daoist, you are truly blessed with good fortune to encounter such a wonderful thing."

Upon hearing Zhou Ping's explanation, the man surnamed Fang looked astonished and kept praising him.

"The most valuable part of this level-two fox crow's remains, apart from its pair of sharp claws which can be used to craft some decent offensive magic weapons, is its beak."

Seeing that Zhou Ping remained unmoved by his praise, the man surnamed Fang had no choice but to steer the conversation back to the remains of the fox-crow. He walked over to the bird's head, examined it carefully, and then spoke with absolute certainty.

"I wonder what's so special about this bird's beak. I would appreciate it if you could enlighten me."

The man surnamed Fang's words piqued everyone's interest, so they all focused their attention on the bird's beak.

"It's not really about giving pointers. You fellow Daoists are all well-informed. Why don't you attack this bird's beak? You'll understand the true meaning then."

At this point, the man surnamed Fang became mysterious, which piqued Gu Caiwei's curiosity. She watched as he made a slight hand seal, and a water ball the size of an egg appeared on his slender fingertip.

"Then I'll give him a try!"

Sizzle...

As Gu Caiwei launched the water ball, a red light suddenly appeared on its surface when it hit the bird's beak. The water ball, the size of an egg, was instantly evaporated, turning into wisps of water vapor that dissipated into the air.

"this......"

Gu Caiwei's face stiffened. Even if she was slow-witted, she could sense a strong fire attribute aura on the bird's beak in that instant. The others also clearly noticed this anomaly, and their expressions changed in shock.

"It's actually a rare fire-attribute spiritual material! Fellow Daoist, you're very lucky!"

Manager Wan stroked his goatee and congratulated Zhou Ping.

His polite words were not entirely flattery. It should be noted that among the common five elements magical artifacts, fire-attribute artifacts are recognized as having the greatest destructive power. Only metal-attribute artifacts can be compared with it. The other three attributes, wood, earth, and water, are all somewhat inferior.

Therefore, fire-attribute spiritual materials in the cultivation world have always been highly sought after by cultivators, and their value has naturally risen accordingly.

Zhou Ping merely returned Manager Wan's congratulations with a polite bow, his face showing no excitement, remaining unusually calm.

This bird's beak belongs to Qin Changqing, and he is merely selling it on his behalf. If it can fetch a good price, that would be ideal, and he would be happy to see it succeed.

However, the value and benefits of this object had absolutely nothing to do with him. Therefore, no matter how precious the bird's beak was, it could not affect Zhou Ping's state of mind.

After witnessing the strangeness of the bird's beak, Zhou Ping was able to remain calm and unperturbed, but the other two beside him were not so fortunate.

As a weapon refiner, the man surnamed Fang was naturally eager for such a rare spiritual material. From the very beginning, his gaze never left the bird's beak, and his eyes were always filled with excitement.

If this item could be added to the Wanbao Pavilion, and he could then personally refine it, it would greatly benefit his weapon-refining skills.

Meanwhile, Wu Yingxue, on the other side, had a hint of surprise in her eyes. She stared intently at the bird's beak, her expression shifting, as if she were plotting something.

"Look at how happy you all are, what's so great about this bird's beak? Can anyone explain it to me?"

Gu Caiwei's bright eyes darted around, and after noticing everyone's reactions, she asked.

"Fellow Daoists, you probably don't know much about the art of weapon crafting. So, you might not have a very intuitive understanding of the value of this spiritual material. Let me put it another way, and this fairy will understand."

The man surnamed Fang glanced at Zhou Ping and the others, then continued speaking.

"As the core part of a level-two fox crow, this object contains rich fire-attribute spiritual power. If it is used as the main material to forge a magic weapon, according to my estimation, at the very least it will be a mid-grade magic weapon, and there is a very high probability that it will be a high-grade fire-attribute attack magic weapon."

"Even... if I were to personally forge it, combined with the mature forging conditions of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, there's about a 20% chance of creating... a top-grade magic weapon!"

As the man surnamed Fang finished speaking, his tone gradually became lower and lower. The moment he uttered the words "top-grade magic weapon," they seemed to be imbued with some kind of magic, echoing in the room and making the temperature inside seem to rise a notch.

Aside from rare talismanic treasures and natal magic weapons that can only be refined upon reaching the Core Formation stage, top-grade magic weapons can be considered the strongest magic weapons that cultivators can obtain before entering the Core Formation stage. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators would covet top-grade magic weapons upon seeing them, let alone the Qi Refining cultivators present.

In the world of cultivation, how many cultivators can successfully advance to the Core Formation stage? For the vast majority, reaching the Foundation Establishment stage in their lifetime is already considered a great blessing. Therefore, top-grade magic artifacts are practically the lifelong goal that ordinary cultivators strive for.

"Is the master's statement true?"

Wu Yingxue, who had remained silent since entering the house, changed her expression upon hearing the man surnamed Fang's words. She took a step forward with light, graceful steps and asked softly.

"Of course! As a specially appointed weapon refiner of Wanbaoge, how could I dare to speak nonsense? Damaging my own reputation is a small matter, but ruining Wanbaoge's brand would be a much bigger problem!"

The man surnamed Fang glanced at the beautiful woman in the blue dress, unsure of her meaning, and replied with a tense expression.

"Now that Master Fang has made his promise, I feel at ease."

Wu Yingxue glanced at the fox-crow's beak on the ground, nodded slightly, then turned to the bewildered crowd, smiled sweetly, and then made a request to Zhou Ping, who was standing next to Gu Caiwei.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, would you be willing to part with this spiritual material and sell it to me personally? I will certainly not let you suffer a loss. Whatever Wanbaoge asks for, I am willing to pay 10% more to purchase this item."

"you!"

"How can you act in this way, fellow Daoist!?"

Seeing Wu Yingxue intervene, Manager Wan and the man surnamed Fang both changed their expressions and questioned her urgently.

"Senior Sister Wu, why did you buy this?"

Even Gu Caiwei, who came with her, couldn't help but ask after hearing this, her big eyes full of confusion. Their Bihua Xuanzong sect was known for its water-based techniques, but not for its fire-based magic.

Only Zhou Ping, standing to the side, noticed the beautiful woman's gaze upon him and a hint of curiosity in his eyes, waiting quietly for her to continue.

Upon seeing this, Wu Yingxue first bowed gracefully to everyone, and then spoke slowly and deliberately.

"A close friend of mine recently discovered a water-attribute demon beast. Its water-attribute supernatural powers are comparable to those of a peak Qi Refining stage cultivator, making it extremely difficult to deal with. Therefore, it has been searching for a fire-attribute magic weapon that can counter its supernatural powers. Today, I saw this item, which naturally led to my previous impetuous actions."

"Manager Wan and Master Fang, please be patient. I was worried that if this item were to be acquired by Wanbaoge, it might cause unforeseen complications and become difficult to control. That's why I decided to buy it in advance to avoid some unnecessary trouble. But please rest assured, even if Fellow Daoist Zhou agrees to sell this item to me, I will still entrust the refining process to Wanbaoge and Master Fang personally. All expenses will remain the same."

Seeing that Manager Wan and the man surnamed Fang's expressions softened considerably after hearing her explanation, Wu Yingxue then turned her gaze tenderly to the silent Zhou Ping.

"What do you think of my suggestion, Fellow Daoist Zhou?"