Chapter 452 427: Great Gains

Seven Treasures Tower, Fifth Floor, Garden Pavilion.

Song Ciwan suppressed the urge to use her Divine Eye Opening, relying solely on her Spiritual Sense to carefully perceive the direction of the hidden Refining Spirit master.

Martial Artists do not have a Divine Eye, but once their Cultivation reaches the Innate Second Transformation, a wondrous perception naturally forms within their Spirit Platform. This perception is called the Primordial Soul, and it serves a similar function to a Cultivator's Spiritual Sense.

Song Ciwan's current persona was that of Lu Bell, an Innate Third Transformation Martial Artist, a Cultivation Realm equivalent to a Cultivator's Divinity Transformation Stage.

Logically, the perception she should possess ought to be a step above the Primordial Soul, reaching the Primordial Spirit Level.

However, as a Cultivator at her core, Song Ciwan did not possess a Primordial Spirit. What she possessed was her Divine Eye.

So, what was the difference between the Divine Eye and a Primordial Spirit?

After practicing the Xuanwu Mountain Observation Seal, Song Ciwan had come to a conclusion on this matter. The Primordial Spirit was a convergence of a Martial Artist's Qi Blood and spirit, a manifestation of their own soul and will.

When empowered by a Primordial Spirit, a Martial Artist's True Martial Arts could manifest in the physical world, and the power of their Martial Techniques would increase by leaps and bounds.

This was precisely why it was often said that among those of the same level, a Martial Artist's combat prowess was generally superior to a Cultivator's.

But nothing was ever absolute. It was also indisputable that Cultivators had a wider array of methods than Martial Artists. More importantly, Cultivators usually lived much longer than Martial Artists!

Therefore, any Cultivator who could succeed at Cultivating Immortality would generally be unwilling to practice martial arts instead.

However, Cultivating Immortality depended on immortal fate. Without an Immortal Bone, one could not grasp the true meaning of Refining Essence and Transforming Qi, and it would be impossible to become a Cultivator.

After all, Martial Arts were far more accessible than the Immortal Dao, so in the end, there were more Martial Artists in the world than Cultivators.

Song Ciwan practiced Cultivating Immortality. The greatest attributes of her Divine Eye were, first, the Divination of Celestial Secrets; second, perceiving the unseen; and third, Gathering Spirit for longevity—

—though this last point was of little use to Song Ciwan, whose very essence of life had already undergone a transformation.

Ultimately, a Martial Artist's Primordial Spirit was focused on combat, while a Cultivator's Divine Eye was focused on support!

In an instant, Song Ciwan's thoughts raced in the pavilion. She mulled over her current problem—'I don't have a Primordial Spirit. If I only use my Divine Eye, how can I condense my True Martial Arts and use it to increase my combat power?'

'Or rather, could her Divine Eye simulate a Primordial Spirit?'

As she pondered this, Song Ciwan simultaneously pinpointed the location of the hidden "Refining Spirit" master.

It turned out the Refining Spirit master wasn't actually on the fifth floor. They were likely on a higher floor of the Seven Treasures Tower, looking down from above, secretly observing everything on the fifth floor!

Song Ciwan guessed that this Refining Spirit master was either a blue-robed steward of the Seven Treasures Tower, the master of the Jiangling City branch, or perhaps a vice-master.

The value of the Soul Cleansing Pills was simply too high. Not only had they caused the Green-robed Steward to lose his composure, but they had also drawn the attention of the Seven Treasures Tower's upper echelons.

In the pavilion, Steward Luo pressed his hand firmly on the Jade Bottle containing the Soul Cleansing Pills. He took a shallow breath to calm himself, then squeezed an enthusiastic smile onto his face and said, "Top Grade Soul Cleansing Pills! Sir, these Soul Cleansing Pills... may I ask how you wish to sell them?"

Song Ciwan was as direct as ever. She asked, "What are my options for selling them?"

Steward Luo quickly explained, "Sir, you can sell the Soul Cleansing Pills directly to us at the Seven Treasures Tower, or you can enter them into the auction at the beginning of next month. We hold an auction at the start of every month. A Top Grade Soul Cleansing Pill is more than enough to be the star of the show!"

As he spoke, he looked at Song Ciwan with an expectant gaze.

Song Ciwan nodded but didn't reply.

This lack of response instantly created an invisible pressure, and her silence made Steward Luo grow anxious.

The atmosphere was tense for a moment, but soon, Steward Liu, who was opposite them, broke the deadlock.

She began to laugh, her voice like a spring breeze and a gentle rain—soft yet bright, with a pleasant, crisp quality.

"Sir, these are Top Grade Soul Cleansing Pills. If you sell them directly to the Seven Treasures Tower, based on their quality, you can receive a price of one hundred thousand Primordial Pearls per pill. If you choose to auction them, our rules state we would set the starting bid at eighty thousand Primordial Pearls. The final price might be higher, but the Tower takes a five percent commission."

At this point, Steward Liu's expression became especially earnest. She said, "If you find auctions to be too much trouble, Sir, you might as well sell the Soul Cleansing Pills directly to us at the Seven Treasures Tower. As for the price, the Tower has its rules, so we cannot increase it. However, within my authority, I can offer you a Profound Level Seven Treasures Order as a gift."

"With this Seven Treasures Order, you can receive three pieces of secret intelligence from our Tower for free each month. You can also purchase any item below the Five-star Level at a ten percent discount."

When she finished speaking, she looked at Song Ciwan intently.

Meanwhile, Steward Luo's hand was still pressed tightly on the Jade Bottle, his fingers gripping it so hard that his knuckles had turned white.

Song Ciwan's gaze swept over them, then she gave a slight nod and said a single word: "Acceptable."

Yes, acceptable.

She had chosen to sell the three Soul Cleansing Pills directly to the Seven Treasures Tower in exchange for three hundred thousand Primordial Pearls!

To be honest, such an astronomical price had already exceeded Song Ciwan's original expectations, not to mention receiving a Seven Treasures Order on top of it all.

But every merchant is a shark. Though the price was excellent, Song Ciwan believed that in the hands of the Seven Treasures Tower, the value of these three Soul Cleansing Pills would far exceed three hundred thousand Primordial Pearls!

She didn't press for maximum profit simply because she didn't want to waste time.

However, even though she didn't want to waste time, that didn't mean the matter would proceed without a hitch.

And sure enough, just as Song Ciwan and Steward Liu were finalizing the transaction—Steward Liu having summoned the Tower's accountant and Treasure Master to exchange the Soul Cleansing Pills, Primordial Pearls, and the Seven Treasures Order with Song Ciwan—Steward Luo suddenly asked her an extra question: "Excuse me, Sir, but do you happen to have any more of these Soul Cleansing Pills?"

As he asked this, Song Ciwan was idly toying with the Seven Treasures Order in her hand.

Steward Liu also happened to ask for Song Ciwan's name, and Song Ciwan gave the alias Lu Bell.

At Steward Luo's sudden question, Song Ciwan mulled it over for a moment before replying, "Steward Luo, I'm only selling three."

Only selling three!

Those four short words were fraught with meaning.

After delivering that seemingly casual yet deliberate line, Song Ciwan turned and asked Steward Liu about the Thousand-Year Thunderstruck Peach Wood.

Just as she expected, as a Spiritual Material that was both common and rare, the Thousand-Year Thunderstruck Peach Wood was indeed for sale in the Seven Treasures Tower!

The price was quite high, however, costing one thousand Primordial Pearls for one tael.

To carve one Peach Wood Puppet, Song Ciwan needed thirty-three taels of Thunderstruck Peach Wood, which would cost thirty-three thousand Primordial Pearls.

Even with a ten percent discount, it would still cost twenty-nine thousand, seven hundred Primordial Pearls.

In the end, however, Song Ciwan bought one hundred taels of Thunderstruck Peach Wood directly, spending ninety thousand Primordial Pearls.

A smile bloomed on Steward Liu's face. She enthusiastically gifted Song Ciwan a dozen Spirit Storage Jade Boxes, her service thoughtful to a fault.

Unfortunately, while the Seven Treasures Tower had Thousand-Year Thunderstruck Peach Wood, they did not have any Thousand-Year Thunderstruck Li Wood.