Xiao Yufei woke up early and had breakfast at the company, so even though they were under the same roof, she and Xiao Chen barely spent any time together.
However, Xiao Chen was happy to enjoy the quiet alone, continuing to cultivate the Imperial Polar Transforming Immortal Technique, while also using the Divine Soul Nurturing Technique.
But the spiritual energy on Earth was too sparse; solely relying on the Divine Soul Nurturing Technique for cultivation initially had good effects, but as his cultivation level increased, the efficacy gradually weakened.
"I must plan ahead and prepare for the future!"
...
After finishing his cultivation that day, Xiao Chen stood up, left the apartment, and planned to stroll around.
First, he visited several nearby medicinal herb shops, intending to collect some rare medicinal herbs.
With his current abilities, although refining high-level elixirs could be troublesome, preparing some basic spiritual medicines was not a problem.
However, to his disappointment, rare medicinal herbs on the market were either not old enough or outright fakes mixed with the real ones, with very few worthy of his consideration.
"It really is just as expected, the market is full of dishonest traders!"
Xiao Chen was resigned and temporarily abandoned the idea of collecting medicinal herbs, instead heading to the more famous antique market in Lanling City.
Renbao Pavilion!
The things in the antique market were even more fraudulent than the medicinal herb business, probably with only one part genuine to nine parts fake.
Most people who come here end up getting cheated, with only a few connoisseurs managing to find some treasures.
However, as a cultivator, Xiao Chen could not merely be described as a "connoisseur"; he could tell the approximate age and quality of the items with just a glance.
Around the perimeter of Renbao Pavilion, there were scattered stalls, displaying a dazzling array of quirky and unique items that seemed quite authentic at first glance.
Most tourists, after browsing, would always find a stall or two that interested them and then haggle happily with the stall owners over prices.
Xiao Chen was the exception; he breezed past all the stalls as if admiring flowers on horseback, and stepped straight into Renbao Pavilion.
What Xiao Chen did not notice was that, among the crowd, two flamboyantly dressed men exchanged glances, showing a look of fright.
"Xiaotao, wasn't that person just now..."
"You saw right, it's the expert we ran into at the Phoenix Grand Hotel that day, and Brother Wolf's injury still hasn't healed!"
"He's entered Renbao Pavilion, what do we do?"
"Quick, go report to Boss Zhao, he's not someone we can afford to mess with."
"Right, right, let's go!"
...
Compared to the bustling scene outside, there were far fewer people inside Renbao Pavilion.
Those looking for treasures outside were hoping to stumble upon good luck and acquire treasures at the lowest price.
Renbao Pavilion was different; it was the only legitimate antique shop in Renbao Gardens, with a background that made others wary.
If you were taken advantage of here, you could only blame your own bad luck. If you raised any doubts, the consequences would be dire.
Of course, the advantage of Renbao Pavilion was that it had many more genuine items than the street stalls outside, so while tourists liked to hunt for treasures outside, those of status preferred to come here.
When Xiao Chen walked in, the shop owner immediately greeted him with a wide smile, asking, "Young man, what do you need?"
"Just browsing!"
Xiao Chen's gaze swept over the numerous antiques on display, and he noticed indeed there were quite a few genuine items, but none were what he was looking for.
Those famous paintings, bronzes, ancient swords, and porcelains might be valuable, but in his eyes, they were just a pile of junk.
The shop owner, constantly attentive to the changes in Xiao Chen's expression, saw that he remained indifferent and then said, "If you're not satisfied with these, young man, you might want to check out the second floor."
"Hmm!"
Xiao Chen went upstairs and arrived at the second floor.
Compared to the first floor, the items on the second floor were clearly of a higher class, and at that moment, there were more than a dozen customers picking out items.
Xiao Chen headed straight for the jade artifacts because high-quality jade could store spiritual sources and could be useful to him.
But soon, his gaze was captured by a string of prayer beads placed on the counter, and a look of puzzlement crossed his face.
"Young man, you really have a unique eye!"
A slightly portly man came over, took down the string of prayer beads, and said animatedly:
"These prayer beads might not count as an antique, but their origin is no small matter. They come from the hand of Master Sun Yide of Wuxin Hall and are said to ward off evil and avoid disasters."
"Wuxin Hall's Sun Yide? Could it have any connection with the Yu Xiao Sect?"
Xiao Chen furrowed his brow, his thoughts returning to five hundred years ago.
Of course, those five hundred years are calculated according to Ziwei Immortal Domain time, which flows differently from Earth's.
Converted to Earth time, it would be about a hundred and fifty years or so.
Back then, he hadn't achieved the status of Immortal Emperor and was ambushed by enemies. He used a Realm-Breaking Talisman and accidentally came to Earth, where, severely injured, he fell into a coma and was saved by an old nun.
The old nun was the sect leader of the ancient martial arts sect, the Yu Xiao Sect. To repay her kindness, Xiao Chen gave the sect many resources and cultivation techniques, even personally teaching them various methods of artifact refining and alchemy.
At that time, Xiao Chen's storage space contained endless resources, and as he was only injured, he hadn't lost all of his cultivation. No one on Earth was his match.
Nevertheless, he thought that Earth was not a place to stay for long and didn't want to interfere too much. He only helped the Yu Xiao Sect rise to power in secret, so very few people knew of his existence.
After recuperating at the Yu Xiao Sect for three years, Xiao Chen left Earth. By the time he departed, the Yu Xiao Sect was flourishing and could be called the respected power in Huaxia.
Xiao Chen reached out his hand, "Let me have a look at it!"
"You can look, but be careful not to damage it," the portly man said, somewhat apprehensively, as Xiao Chen did not seem like any rich young master.
Xiao Chen took the prayer beads, placed them in his palm, and quietly channeled his spiritual power, feeling the warmth emanating from the beads.
"Indeed, it's just like the technique I taught to the Yu Xiao Sect back then!"
Xiao Chen was already certain in his heart that Sun Yide of Wuxin Hall was related to the Yu Xiao Sect, and might even be considered his indirect successor.
"How much for this item?"
The slightly portly man hesitated for a moment before confirming, "You really want to buy it?"
"Name your price!"
After calculating briefly, the portly man said, "If you really want it, it's yours for thirty thousand!"
"Thirty thousand?"
As soon as the price was mentioned, Xiao Chen knew that the man didn't recognize the value, or perhaps the people at Renbao Pavilion didn't.
The prayer beads had been refined into a magic artifact, with spiritual power infused, allowing one to fend off a significant external force once.
For instance, if you wore the prayer beads and got shot, you would only be shaken by the impact, but the bullet would be stopped.
Of course, the defensive power of a magic artifact depends on the cultivator who refined it.
If it were Xiao Chen who refined the artifact, the bullet would be completely stopped, with no impact force being felt at all.
The activation of the artifact's defense has its conditions: first, it needs to be consecrated, and secondly, it only triggers when the external force is strong enough to pose a serious threat to the carrier, so you don't have to worry about it being wasted by accident.
Such a magic artifact, akin to having an extra life, is worth any amount of money to some—thirty thousand is far too cheap.
Seeing Xiao Chen silent, the portly man thought he found the price too high and said uneasily, "Young man, that's the lowest price, I can't go any lower!"
"Fine, I'll take it. Let's do a card transaction!" Xiao Chen said as he took out his bank card and handed it to the portly man.
But just at that moment, a proud voice called out, "Wait a minute, I'll take these beads!"
Xiao Chen and the portly man both turned to look, only to see a tall, lean young man and a young woman approaching.
"Sir, do you also want these prayer beads?" the portly man hesitated, "But this young man here…"
Without letting the portly man finish, the young man interrupted him with a wave of his hand, looked at Xiao Chen disdainfully, and said indifferently, "I'll offer twice the price!"