Chapter 204: Purchasing Materials

Chapter 204: Chapter 204: Purchasing Materials

Some Spiritual Materials can permanently increase the power of Magic. For instance, certain special Spiritual Liquids, when absorbed by the eyes, can permanently enhance the effects of eye-related Magic.

Other Spiritual Materials are required as components for casting certain Magic.

Jiang Xu knew of a particularly wondrous technique: the Five Elements Spirit Inference Skill.

It was a Five Elements series of techniques. Without the use of special Spiritual Materials, it was just like the standard Fireball Technique, Water Shield Technique, Earth Spike Technique, Wood Healing Technique, and Geng Metal Finger.

But if special Spiritual Materials were used, the Magic would transform.

By using ice-type Spiritual Materials like the Ice Soul Crystal Stone to cast a Water Element Technique, the ordinary Water Shield Technique would transform into a Cold Ice Shield with much stronger Defense, and could even freeze attackers.

When the Fireball Technique was cast in conjunction with a Flame Sparrow Feather, it could transform into a homing Fire Meteor.

After adding a precious earth-attribute Spiritual Material like Earth Core Jade Marrow, the Earth Spike Technique could become the Earth Splitting Technique, which had a wider area of effect and greater power.

Different Spiritual Materials gave the Five Elements Spirit Inference Skill a variety of effects.

However, only the fabulously wealthy could afford this technique. These precious Spiritual Materials were all consumables, and unless you owned a Spirit Vein, no one could bear the cost.

Lost in these thoughts, Jiang Xu arrived at a shop that, by its sheer size, was clearly one of the top establishments in the Demon Communication Workshop.

This shop, named the Treasure Tower, specialized in selling all sorts of materials, including Spiritual Materials, Spirit Medicine, and Demon Beast Materials.

The interior of the shop was spacious and open. As Jiang Xu stepped inside, he felt as if he had entered a Treasure Vault. The store was divided into multiple sections, each displaying and selling various Spiritual Materials, Spirit Medicine, and Demon Beast Materials.

Each section was filled with a dazzling array of goods, all neatly organized. The materials were meticulously classified and displayed according to their type, grade, and rarity.

Materials for the Qi Cultivation Realm made up the vast majority of the stock; there weren’t many materials for the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Soon after Jiang Xu entered, an attendant came to greet him. The attendants working here were of a higher caliber in every respect than those at the Duo Bao Pavilion in the Purple Profound Celestial Marketplace.

After all, this place was one of Duo Bao Pavilion’s main branches. Most who worked here had some backing, and their Cultivation was around the Qi Cultivation Late Stage.

A qualified Duo Bao Pavilion attendant’s first duty was to assess a customer’s status.

The purpose was not only to provide varying levels of service based on the customer’s status but also to offer more tailored assistance, all while avoiding a customer’s sensitivities and thus preventing trouble for oneself.

This assessment involved multiple factors, the first being Cultivation. A Qi Cultivation Late Stage Cultivator would at least possess Magic similar to the Spiritual Eye Technique.

Beyond Cultivation, there were other criteria as well.

For instance, they had to discern a customer’s cultivation path—whether they were a Magic Cultivator or a Body Cultivator, a Demon Cultivator or a Buddhist Cultivator.

They also had to judge from the Cultivator’s clothing, expression, and posture whether they were poor or rich, shrewd and experienced or a naive newcomer.

Moreover, this judgment wasn’t one-dimensional. Someone wearing an expensive Magic Robe and precious accessories was, of course, a high-value customer.

But a travel-worn Cultivator in tattered clothes, with the faint scent of blood on them, wasn’t necessarily poor. They might have just pulled off a big score and needed to quickly offload their gains.

The moment the attendant saw Jiang Xu, she immediately sensed that she couldn’t discern his Cultivation, and her heart skipped a beat.

When this happened, it either meant the person possessed a special Concealing Ability or was already a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Either way, it was enough to make her treat him with the utmost care.

"Senior, may I ask what you are looking for? The first floor is the area for Qi Cultivation Cultivators. If you require Tier Two materials, please proceed upstairs," the attendant asked respectfully, her etiquette and posture impeccable.

Jiang Xu didn’t state what materials he wanted. Instead, he simply began walking toward the stairs.

Seeing Jiang Xu head upstairs, the attendant understood that he must be a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. The reverence in her expression deepened.

As he ascended the stairs, Jiang Xu was walking normally when he suddenly noticed a very faint film blocking the stairway.

Jiang Xu’s steps faltered for a moment, and he was momentarily startled, but he quickly composed himself.

’There’s no precedent for a shop here to actively attack a customer, so I don’t need to worry about it being harmful.’

With a flicker of his Divine Sense, Jiang Xu probed the film. He understood its purpose in an instant.

’It’s just an Array for detecting Cultivation, and it poses no danger to me.’ With that thought, Jiang Xu’s expression remained unchanged as he continued forward.

Sure enough, as Jiang Xu passed through the film, a blast of Spiritual Power shot toward him.

However, the attack’s intensity was very weak. For anyone who had formed their Divine Sense, it was like a gentle breeze, completely harmless—not to mention Jiang Xu also possessed a Sea of Consciousness Shield.

For a Qi Cultivation Cultivator, however, this Spiritual Power attack was quite potent. It was enough to make any of them who were pretending to be Foundation Establishment Cultivators scream and tumble back down the stairs, utterly humiliating them.

Seeing Jiang Xu pass the test successfully, the attendant quickly followed. As she passed through, a Jade Pendant at her waist flashed faintly with a white light.

After climbing the stairs, the second floor came into view.

On this level, all the furnishings and decorations were far more luxurious than on the floor below. There were even numerous Spirit Fruits on display, and a faint scent of sandalwood permeated the air, creating a calm and comfortable atmosphere.

At the same time, the items on the counters were far fewer, but there were many private reception rooms. It was clear that Foundation Establishment Cultivators valued their privacy.

There were still quite a few Cultivators at the counters on the second floor.

The moment Jiang Xu set foot on the second floor, he felt numerous probes of Divine Sense scanning him. Most were merely curious, but a few, belonging to those with powerful Divine Sense, were intensely probing.

This was because when someone with a strong Divine Sense scanned a weaker individual, if the power gap was large enough, the target would be completely defenseless, unable even to detect the probe.

For the non-hostile probes of Divine Sense, Jiang Xu simply concealed his aura, rendering their Investigation useless. To them, it would feel as if they were merely observing a piece of dead wood.

As for the hostile ones, Jiang Xu showed no weakness. He unhesitatingly counterattacked with his own Divine Sense, adding a touch of the Spiritual Sense Needle’s power to make them suffer a stifled blow.

Instantly, two or three pained grunts echoed from the counters and private rooms.

However, they didn’t fly into a rage, much less gather to confront Jiang Xu.

They were in the wrong, after all. Moreover, they all understood that even though Jiang Xu was a new face, he was no ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. They weren’t about to provoke such a person for no reason.