Chapter 25
Chapter 25: Crimson Edge Dagger
Zhao Chun presented her Inner Sect disciple token at the entrance, and only then was she allowed into the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
A thin, hunched man in gray took one look and bowed repeatedly. “This lowly one is Ping Sheng. I’ve been working in the Hundred Treasures Pavilion since I was a child—I know every corner. If Immortal Master has anything to ask, please just say the word.”
He looked barely thirty, yet he was still only at the first level of Qi Refining. A menial, Zhao Chun guessed. She didn’t waste time. “I want to buy a magic tool. Where do I go?”
She slipped him two Cui Stones.
Ping Sheng’s eyes lit up. He grinned so wide his face nearly split. “For magic tools, you want the Immortal Refining Hall on the southeast side. Elder Wu has his name on that shop—guaranteed quality!”
Elder Wu Yun Zhang was one of the Inner Sect’s four elders, renowned for tool refining.
As Ping Sheng led her through the bustling corridors, Zhao Chun asked, “They sell magic tools at the Martial Gear Market outside too. What’s the difference?”
Ping Sheng lowered his voice as if sharing a trade secret. “Immortal Master may not know this, but the Martial Gear Market mostly sells things that don’t even count as ranked. Mortal goods with a bit of craftsmanship—fine for ordinary cultivators, but once you hit mid to late Qi Refining, they won’t hold up.”
“But the Pill Market sells ranked pills,” Zhao Chun said. “Why aren’t they the same?”
Ping Sheng waved a hand. “Pills and magic tools aren’t comparable. Cultivators train every day—who doesn’t buy pills now and then? Even loose powder, one Cui Stone gets you two or three doses. Ranked pills are only a few Cui Stones more. Painful, sure, but people can grit their teeth and pay.”
He leaned closer, clearly enjoying himself. “Ranked magic tools are different. They start at hundreds, then jump to thousands. Who would dare stock that in the outer market? And besides—” he chuckled “—only Inner Sect disciples like you can spend that freely. Most mid to late Qi Refining cultivators don’t even have one. They’re rare.”
Zhao Chun couldn’t deny he had a point. Pills were necessities. Magic tools were luxuries.
A few months ago, she’d been scraping by. Now she was the one being described as extravagant. Life turned on a dime.
They entered a towering, glittering hall packed with people drifting from display to display, comparing wares and weighing prices.
Ping Sheng guided her toward the inner counter and made sure everyone heard the words “Inner Sect disciple.” Even though Zhao Chun was only at the third level of Qi Refining, the shop didn’t dare take her lightly. Someone was sent to ask what she needed.
“A defensive magic tool,” Zhao Chun said. “Lightweight, if possible.”
A middle-aged man stepped forward and cupped his hands. “Steward Li, of the Immortal Refining Hall. Fellow Daoist is at the third level of Qi Refining—preparing for the minor exam, I assume?”
He’d guessed correctly. The Ling Zhen Sect required an exam when a disciple advanced into mid-stage Qi Refining, known as the minor exam. When a Qi Refining cultivator attempted Foundation Establishment, there was another—the major exam. Only by passing both could one truly stand on firm ground within the Inner Sect.
Zhao Chun had entered the Inner Sect because of her spiritual roots, but the exams still awaited her. Failing wouldn’t expel her, but it would stain her record, cut her resources, and dull her standing in the elders’ eyes. She couldn’t afford that.
More than that, she wanted a result strong enough to silence certain people for good.
“Yes,” she said.
Steward Li brought out two lacquered cases. “Then I have two recommendations.”
He opened the left case first. On bright yellow silk lay a bronze mirror.
“This is the Eight-Treasure Mirror,” he said. “A replica of the Yellow-grade, top-tier Eight-Treasure Ru Yi Mirror. Even as a replica, it carries a portion of the original’s might. It protects the body—three full-strength blows from a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator, or one from late stage. A mid-grade Mortal Rank tool.”
He opened the right case. Inside lay a pair of pale green jade rings.
“These are the Green Jade Twin-Fish Arm Rings. When struck, they form qi-armor around the body. The protection depends on the user—the higher the cultivation, the stronger the defense. A top-grade Mortal Rank tool.”
Zhao Chun asked the only question that mattered. “Price?”
“600 Cui Stones for the Eight-Treasure Mirror,” Steward Li said. “The arm rings are more precious—2,000.”
The arm rings weren’t ideal at her current level. The qi-armor would only shine once her cultivation rose; right now, it would mainly guard against opponents around her own stage.
But the mirror was the kind of thing that could save her life when it mattered—strong protection, limited uses, no reliance on her current qi.
Still… her cultivation speed had improved too much for her to pretend she’d stay low for long. She didn’t dare claim she was destined for Foundation Establishment, but mid to late Qi Refining felt like years, not decades.
If she waited, the arm rings might be long gone.
Zhao Chun exhaled once and made her decision. “Wrap them both.”
Steward Li blinked, then his smile widened. Her decisiveness—and her spending—made him treat her like a young heir from a great clan. His tone grew even more respectful. “As you wish. I’ll have them packed immediately.”
Zhao Chun paid, adding a couple of spirit jades along with the Cui Stones. She didn’t carry much small change, and she still needed money to exchange techniques at the Myriad Vault Tower.
Once the cases were secured, Steward Li lowered his voice and glanced toward the back. “May I ask, Fellow Daoist—do you have an offensive magic tool? If not, the Immortal Refining Hall has something special. Would you care to see it?”
Zhao Chun paused. All she had was an ordinary iron sword. It was enough for now, but once she reached mid-stage Qi Refining, she’d need to replace it anyway. Better to settle it today.
“Show me,” she said.
Steward Li’s eyes gleamed. “The Crimson Edge Dagger. A top-grade Mortal Rank tool—though its value exceeds most tools of the same rank.”
“Why?” Zhao Chun asked, curiosity tugging at her despite herself.
“It was once half of the Yellow-grade Demon-Slaying Twin Blades,” Steward Li explained. “One blade was fire-aspected—the Crimson Edge Dagger. The other was wood-aspected—the Azure-Edge Dagger. Wood feeds fire. Together, they earned their reputation.”
He sighed. “But the Azure-Edge Dagger has been lost. Without its pair, the Crimson Edge Dagger cannot match what it once was.”
“Even so,” he added quickly, “its materials are exceptional, and its edge is sharper than ordinary tools can compare to. It may have fallen in rank, but it did not fall in quality.”
Zhao Chun was tempted. It suited her attributes, and the size was convenient—yet she had never trained in dagger techniques.
“I use swords,” she said. “I don’t know if a dagger will feel right.”
“Then try it,” Steward Li said immediately. “If it doesn’t suit you, we won’t force the sale.”
Zhao Chun accepted.
The dagger was brought out: long and narrow, only a little shorter than her iron sword. When she first took it, it sank into her palm with surprising weight—yet when she moved, the blade cut through the air with effortless speed.
She stepped forward and ran the first two forms of the Swift-Stride Sword Method, the dagger moving like a short sword in her hand, smooth and flowing. When she finished, she drew back with a faint smile.
“Excellent,” she said. “I can use it as a short sword. What’s the price?”
Steward Li studied her as if seeing her for the first time. Earlier, he might have taken her for nothing more than a rich Inner Sect disciple leaning on her status. That clean, practiced swordplay said otherwise.
“It was 3,200 Cui Stones,” he said. “But I can make the call to shave off the excess.”
Zhao Chun accepted the goodwill. She took out three spirit jades and slipped the Crimson Edge Dagger into her pouch.
Two defensive tools, one offensive tool—this trip had drained her badly, but she didn’t regret it.
She wasn’t the sort to cling to coin for its own sake. If she spent, she spent where it mattered.
Leaving the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, she went straight to the Myriad Vault Tower and exchanged for the Tiger Strength Art and Serpent-Form Step, spending 800 Cui Stones.
After counting everything, she still had 30 spirit jades and a little over 2,000 Cui Stones left. Comfortable, for now.
But even the fattest purse ran thin if you only spent and never earned. She would need a way to bring money in.
Now her tools and techniques were in place. Zhao Chun set her sights on mid-stage Qi Refining and decided to enter seclusion—no leaving until she broke through.
On her way back to her residence, she rode a Mist Skiff along the sect paths toward the western courtyards.
And by the spring behind her courtyard, she ran into someone she couldn’t quite call a friend.