Hearing the red-robed woman’s words, Mo Fan’s tense heart immediately relaxed.
He turned his head, feigning composure, and looked at her with a cold smile, “What, you’re upset because I saw through you, so you want to teach me a lesson?”
The red-robed woman was momentarily taken aback, then said with a wry smile, “Fellow cultivator, you’re overthinking. Our Hundred Weapons Pavilion deals in business, not thuggery. Besides, this is Lady Rou’s territory. Who would dare cause trouble here?”
Lady Rou?
That must be the true master behind this market, Mo Fan thought to himself, though he frowned outwardly, “Then why did you stop me?”
“I found your earlier words quite reasonable, and I can see you’re actually quite taken with this artifact. So, we can negotiate the price further. What do you think?” the red-robed woman said earnestly.
“Well… since you’re open to negotiation, how about a thousand low-grade spirit stones?” Mo Fan said after a moment’s thought.
“Fellow cultivator, you’d better leave!”
The red-robed woman rolled her eyes, exasperated, “That’s not how you haggle! Even our mid-grade artifacts sell for a thousand low-grade spirit stones!”
“Ahem… well, what do you think is fair?”
Mo Fan coughed awkwardly, realising his offer was indeed a bit outrageous.
Hearing this, the red-robed woman thought for a moment and tentatively suggested, “How about we both compromise? Fifteen hundred low-grade spirit stones?”
“Deal!”
“???”
The red-robed woman was stunned by his swift agreement. So quick?
But when she saw Mo Fan spit out a pile of spirit stones like a small mountain, she knew he was serious.
“Please wait a moment, fellow cultivator. I’ll have someone fetch the ‘Man-Feller’ artifact!”
The red-robed woman smiled at Mo Fan, silently collecting the over one thousand spirit stones before her, then took out a transmission talisman to send a message.
“Can I ask you something?” Mo Fan suddenly said, looking at her.
“Of course, go ahead!”
“You kept mentioning artifact grades earlier. How do human cultivators define treasures and their tiers?”
“So that’s it. As a demon cultivator, it’s understandable you wouldn’t know. Let me explain…”
After her explanation, Mo Fan gradually understood how humans classified treasures.
In simple terms, treasures were divided into two stages: artifacts and treasures proper. Both were further subdivided into low, mid, high, and supreme grades. Artifacts were typically used by Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators, while treasures were for Core Formation and even Nascent Soul cultivators.
While demons could use human artifacts, their focus was on cultivating their own innate demon weapons. However, some unique demon cultivators studied human artifact crafting and even forged their own innate treasures.
As Mo Fan processed this, a red-robed man descended from upstairs, carrying a tray. With each step, the ground trembled slightly.
Mo Fan’s gaze fell on the tray, where an object was covered by red cloth, appearing rectangular.
“Fellow cultivator, here’s the Man-Feller. Please inspect it carefully. If anything’s amiss, we allow returns, but once you leave Hundred Weapons Pavilion, no refunds!” the red-robed woman said with a smile, gesturing invitingly.
Mo Fan chuckled, “Your Hundred Weapons Pavilion is quite accommodating.”
With that, he stepped forward and lifted the red cloth from the tray, revealing a palm-sized golden brick. Had he not known it was an artifact, he might’ve thought it was just an ordinary gold brick!
Without hesitation, he grabbed the brick, only to find it incredibly heavy. Even with his full strength, he could barely hold it.
*Creak—*
The moment Mo Fan lifted the brick from the tray, the floor groaned as if struggling under the weight.
“As the demoness said, it weighs a full twenty thousand jin!”
A glint of delight flashed in Mo Fan’s eyes. He glanced at the smiling man before him, suddenly realising something: the man had carried the brick with far less effort. Did that mean his cultivation was far above Mo Fan’s?
With this thought, Mo Fan subtly probed the man’s aura but sensed nothing, which shocked him even more.
Could he be a Foundation Establishment human cultivator or a demon general?
Though surprised, Mo Fan didn’t ask further, his attention quickly returning to the golden brick.
After a moment’s thought, he asked the red-robed woman, “If I test this treasure, can your Hundred Weapons Pavilion handle the damage?”
She opened her mouth, then gave a wry smile, “My oversight. Bing Jiu, take this fellow cultivator to the testing room!”
“Please follow me,” said the man called Bing Jiu, smiling as he headed upstairs.
Mo Fan followed, clutching the brick.
On the second floor, Mo Fan saw countless display racks in the hall, filled with all sorts of artifacts—mostly swords.
“These are our pavilion’s artifacts. Please follow me into this room,” Bing Jiu explained, opening a side door.
Mo Fan entered and found the room entirely silver, gleaming with a metallic sheen. There were no windows, and the floor and walls were etched with large red runes.
“Here?” Mo Fan asked, frowning. “This brick weighs twenty thousand jin. If I unleash it and collapse this building, don’t blame me!”
“Go ahead and test it!” Bing Jiu said with a smile.
Mo Fan took a deep breath, channeling a wisp of spiritual energy into the brick. Instantly, he felt it change, expanding to nearly a zhang in length!
*Boom!*
The next moment, the brick slipped from his hand and crashed onto the floor, unleashing a deafening roar.
Mo Fan stared at the brick in surprise. He’d roughly estimated it now weighed at least forty thousand jin—beyond what he could handle, causing it to drop and startling him.
Bing Jiu, watching, showed an odd expression and reminded him, “Fellow cultivator, don’t you plan to refine it first?”
“Huh? It needs refining?”
Mo Fan scratched his head, confused.
“I forgot you’re a demon cultivator, likely unfamiliar with artifacts. Here, I’ll teach you a simple method to refine it,” Bing Jiu said, stepping forward to pass Mo Fan a basic artifact-refining technique.
The technique was straightforward, and Mo Fan quickly grasped it. The process was similar to refining his own demon weapon: imprinting his mark on the artifact to connect with it and control it.
“Can I refine it with demon energy instead of spiritual energy?” Mo Fan asked.
“Of course. Demon energy and spiritual energy aren’t vastly different—just in attributes and refinement degree. As a demon cultivator, using demon energy to wield treasures is more fitting,” Bing Jiu nodded.
“Thank you!”
Mo Fan thanked him sincerely, delighted to have gained a human artifact-refining technique from a simple purchase, even if it was just a minor skill.
It took Mo Fan the time of one incense stick to refine the Man-Feller. He then understood the importance of refining.
Now, the brick felt no different from an ordinary one in his hand, its weight negligible. But when fully activated, he could control its attacks freely, each strike shaking the room with astonishing power.
After a few tests, Mo Fan stopped, satisfied that the treasure matched the demoness’s description. It had no special traits—just sheer weight!
He found that at full power, the brick grew to the size of a door, weighing forty thousand jin. With his own strength added, a single strike could reach sixty to seventy thousand jin—terrifyingly powerful.
Finally, Mo Fan descended the stairs, just as a loud *dong* echoed. He turned to Bing Jiu and the woman, asking, “What’s that sound?”
“That’s the bell signaling the market’s closing. If you have matters to attend to, now’s the time to leave,” they replied.
