The Journey of Projection Upgrading
Chapter 196: Golden Spirit Stone

The market in front of him was still bustling, with people walking everywhere, giving the appearance of a normal market for mortals.

To be honest, Chen An was somewhat surprised by the scene here when he first arrived.

He hadn't expected to see such a lively place in a place crowded with cultivators.

Of course, considering the size of the cultivators within Haoshan Sect, the liveliness of this place was not surprising.

There were over ten thousand cultivators in the entire Haoshan Sect alone, and that was just the ones with aptitude. The number of servants responsible for taking care of the cultivators' daily lives was even larger, totaling at least hundreds of thousands.

Cultivators also had offspring.

For the cultivators born in Haoshan Sect, their descendants either left or stayed near Haoshan Sect, similarly protected by Haoshan Sect and living here.

With a population of hundreds of thousands, it was enough to generate a certain amount of commercial exchange activities.

It was not surprising that a market like this would appear.

It was all normal.

The people in this place were naturally not all cultivators.

Real cultivators were not likely to have so much free time, either busy cultivating or working as laborers. They didn't have the time to just stand around here.

So most of the people staying here were agents, or servants of the cultivators, or other people closely related to the cultivators.

But regardless, the things they had were good.

Chen An walked forward with a steady pace.

Soon, he arrived at a small shop.

The shop had a nice sign that read "Cloud Clear Pavilion," and its location was quite good, not the best, but considered the core of this place.

This small shop looked small, but its background was strong. It was set up by an elder named Yunqing within Haoshan Sect, and they sold some good things.

Compared to other places, the reputation of this place was still good, at least based on the information Chen An gathered, there were very few fake products here.

And because of the Elder’s connections and channels, the things in this shop were relatively complete.

That was also the reason why Chen An chose to come here.

Walking in skillfully, there were already people waiting inside.

"Elder, you're here."

The steward of Cloud Clear Pavilion saw Chen An and immediately bowed respectfully, showing a friendly demeanor.

Of course, they treated most people this way.

Chen An didn't mind at all, just smiled and said, "Mr. Liu, have the things I asked you to prepare ready?"

"Since Young Master Chen gave orders, how could I dare to delay," Steward Liu politely smiled, "The goods are already inside, if Young Master wants to inspect, he can do so anytime."

"Thank you then."

With that, Chen An felt relieved.

By the way, the reason why Chen An came to Cloud Clear Pavilion was also an important reason for the current steward.

Although the current steward was just a mortal with no cultivation, his surname was Liu.

Yes, he was related to the Liu family, one of the connections of the Liu family within Haoshan Sect, whom Chen An directly took advantage of after coming to Haoshan Sect.

Both sides hit it off right away.

Chen An needed someone familiar with Haoshan Sect to help, and Steward Liu was also willing to make friends with a talented cultivator who was likely to become an Elder in the future.

Both sides were willing, so the time spent together was naturally pleasant.

Entering the room, Steward Liu didn't waste any time and directly brought out the prepared items.

On the clean stone table, several black wooden boxes were quietly placed there, looking exquisite.

A servant came forward and opened the boxes, revealing several jade-like items inside.

Each piece of jade was different, looking special and resembling ordinary spirit stones, but also different.

A familiar feeling emerged, making Chen An excited.

Because he hadn't felt this kind of feeling for a long time.

It was the taste of source energy.

Without much hesitation, he quickly locked onto his target.

It was a piece of golden spirit stone, shining like a gem, very bright and unique.

If it wasn't for its crystal-clear appearance, people might even believe it was a piece of gold.

"What is this?"

Chen An subconsciously reached out, played with the golden spirit stone in his hand, and felt a bit reluctant.

There was indeed a hint of source energy on the golden spirit stone, but unfortunately it was too shallow to provide much source energy.

"This is a type of rare material called a golden spirit stone, one of the exotic spirit stones," Steward Liu looked at Chen An's actions and explained patiently, "It's considered a good material for refining tools and formations, with a high value."

The world of cultivators basically didn't use gold and silver.

For cultivators, gold and silver were not rare and couldn't be used as trading currencies.

The recognized currency among them was spirit stones, which had great practical value.

Most spirit stones contained pure elemental energy, which could be used by any cultivator, whether for cultivation or other uses.

But in spirit stone mines, there were often some spirit stones with unique properties.

These spirit stones could be collectively referred to as exotic spirit stones.

The golden spirit stone was one of them.

Compared to ordinary spirit stones, the elemental energy contained in a golden spirit stone was more violent and sharp, making it a good material for refining tools and formations, but not suitable for direct cultivation.

Because of its excellent refining effect and rare production, its value was relatively high.

"If you want it, I can give you a discount here. Fifteen regular spirit stones for one golden spirit stone," Steward Liu saw Chen An's interest in the golden spirit stone and added.

Fifteen regular spirit stones for one golden spirit stone, this price was indeed quite high, almost comparable to the exchange rate of a superior spirit stone.

The exchange rate between regular spirit stones and superior spirit stones was usually twenty to one, which meant twenty regular spirit stones for one superior spirit stone.

Now the price of one golden spirit stone was almost as high as a superior spirit stone.

It was somewhat outrageous, but the price was relatively reasonable.

During this period, Chen An had been spending his time wisely and was well aware of the prices of nearby goods.

The price quoted by Steward Liu was not only fair, but he also gave Chen An a certain discount.

If it were somewhere else, Chen An would have to pay the price of a superior spirit stone to get a proper golden spirit stone.

Thinking about this, Chen An couldn't help but feel a bit reluctant.

But that was only for a moment.

In the next moment, he immediately spoke, "Give me two pieces first."

Either way, let's try two pieces first.

The piece he had in his hand was just a sample, it only possessed the aura and properties of a golden spirit stone, not an actual one.

To find out how much source energy a golden spirit stone could provide him, he needed to test it practically.

Steward Liu looked at Chen An with some suspicion, but didn't say much, he just turned around and had someone bring two boxes over.

Soon, two wooden boxes were placed in front of Chen An. Inside were two unused golden spirit stones.

Under the somewhat surprised gaze of Steward Liu, Chen An cleanly and decisively took out the money to buy these two golden spirit stones, spending thirty regular spirit stones.

The whole process was even without a hint of hesitation, showing his wealth and boldness.

Steward Liu couldn't help but feel astonished.

Even though he had offered Chen An a discount earlier, he didn't really believe that Chen An could afford to buy this item.

For the cultivators of Haoshan Sect, spirit stones were a rare commodity.

Not to mention the menial disciples, who probably only earned a spirit stone's worth for their hard work until death.

Even the ordinary disciples were all poor, with limited purchasing power. Even elite disciples would probably hesitate to buy a golden spirit stone.

But the reality was a big surprise.

Two golden spirit stones, thirty regular spirit stones, and he just paid without any hesitation?

Did he not even need to hesitate?

In that instant, Steward Liu felt that Chen An was not simple.

This person probably had some mysterious background, possibly even coming from a prestigious family. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so generous?

Even the daughter of the Nine Lin City Lord didn't seem so generous.

Steward Liu kept guessing about Chen An's identity and background.

But the truth was actually very simple.

Chen An didn't have any connections in this world, as he had come here all alone and didn't bring any of his followers.

But don't forget, he had been studying archaeology in the world of Da Liang.

At that time, he, along with Bai Qing and Empress Luo Shan, had explored and plundered numerous immortal artifacts, collecting a large amount of items.

While he couldn't use these items in the Da Liang world, he could use them here, right?

That was the reason behind Chen An's lavish spending.

After buying the two golden spirit stones, Chen An returned to his courtyard.

On the opposite side of his courtyard, the figure of Liu Roujun was still there, with several servants busy and handling various trivial matters.

After some consideration, Chen An decided not to visit and instead returned to his own courtyard.

The matters at hand were more important.

Chasing the two servants out, he locked himself in his bedroom alone, and then opened the boxes.

Inside the boxes, the two golden spirit stones emitted a faint light, looking beautiful like some kind of gem.

(End of Chapter)