Walking through the Oddities Trading Zone, Li Mu's steps were unhurried and calm, weaving through the bustling crowd, his figure like a unique landscape.
Around him, stalls and shops displayed a dazzling array of goods, various rare treasures, spiritual items, and oddities, making it impossible to take everything in. Li Mu's eyes, as deep as autumn water, took in everything before him.
Heavenly Talent - Identifying Myriad Spirits quietly activated, and the characteristics, grades, textures, and all attributes of various spiritual items and oddities continuously appeared on a virtual panel. Li Mu scanned them quickly, reading ten lines at a glance.
With the help of Identifying Myriad Spirits, the attributes of oddities and spiritual items flowed before his eyes like water.
As he looked through each shop and stall, a glint occasionally flashed in Li Mu's eyes. Sometimes he hesitated slightly, sometimes he paused to think, as if he were admiring an art exhibition. When he encountered a good spiritual shop, he would stop and look for a while. However, it seemed he hadn't found anything to his liking, as he never stopped to enter a shop.
Wang Wenbao and Xue'er followed closely behind Li Mu. Xue'er's bright, large eyes curiously surveyed her surroundings, filled with novelty and curiosity about everything. She would sometimes point and exclaim in excitement, and sometimes, upon seeing beautiful or strange spiritual items, she would ask Li Mu questions.
Li Mu smiled faintly, patiently answering her questions, appearing as if he knew everything, which greatly increased Xue'er's admiration.
Wang Wenbao silently followed behind Li Mu and Xue'er, much like a butler or attendant, remaining quiet and appearing unfazed.
As the Store Owner of Wanbao Pavilion, Wang Wenbao had seen countless good things in Wanbao City and had little interest in the spiritual items and oddities here.
As a prosperous trading hub, Wanbao City gathered an innumerable amount of spiritual items and oddities. Wang Wenbao was well aware that some truly exquisite and High Grade spiritual items had already been identified and collected by Wanbao Pavilion's Senior spirit appraisers for Auction or other sales channels. While the spiritual items and oddities sold in the Oddities Trading Zone's spiritual item shops and oddity shops also had their unique aspects, their overall quality could hardly compare to Wanbao Pavilion's collection.
"Lord Li, this spiritual pearl is so beautiful and full of spiritual energy. What kind of spiritual item is this?"
Inside a large spiritual item shop, Xue'er was immediately drawn to a five-colored spiritual pearl shrouded in spiritual mist on the main display shelf, and she curiously asked Li Mu.
Li Mu gently walked to Xue'er's side, his gaze falling upon the spiritual pearl, and he smiled as he replied, "This spiritual pearl is indeed extraordinary, possessing a thousand years of age. It is a spiritual pearl formed by a fifth-grade Black Jade Spiritual Clam."
Under Heavenly Talent - Identifying Myriad Spirits, Li Mu obtained the attributes of the five-colored spiritual pearl and introduced it to Xue'er in detail: "The Black Jade Spiritual Clam is a giant clam that lives in the deep sea, usually primarily of Water Element attribute. However, this spiritual pearl contains five-colored spiritual charm, with each color representing a Five Elements attribute. This means that this spiritual clam must have lived within a Five Elements Spiritual Vein in the deep sea, and after a long period of condensation and precipitation, it formed into its current state of complete Five Elements. This spiritual pearl is quite rare."
At this moment, a slightly plump middle-aged man walked over. After listening to Li Mu's explanation, a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes.
The plump man cupped his hands in a salute to Li Mu and praised him, "Senior has excellent discernment. This five-colored spiritual pearl has all Five Elements. Ordinary people would never discern its origin. This spiritual pearl, with all Five Elements, forms its own Five Elements. If refined by an Artifact Refining Great Master, it could be crafted into a Five Elements Formation eye, a Five Elements protective artifact, or a Five Elements auxiliary cultivation artifact, absorbing the Five Elements Spiritual Qi from heaven and earth. For any cultivator of any element, it offers immense benefits and is extremely rare."
"I am the Store Owner of this shop, Qu Hai. Senior, if you are interested in this pearl, I will offer you a discounted price." The plump man paused, introduced himself, and greeted Li Mu.
Li Mu smiled faintly, not responding. The item's grade was too low, making it somewhat unsuitable for his use.
Xue'er, however, listened with great interest. Upon learning that the pearl contained all Five Elements, her eyes lit up. She tugged on Li Mu's sleeve and whispered, "Lord Li, this item has all Five Elements and is just right for you. Why not buy it?"
Li Mu pondered for a moment. Although this spiritual pearl would not be of much use to him, it was better than nothing. Perhaps in a hundred years, after he advanced another Realm, this pearl could serve as a decent gift for a Disciple in the Painting World Treasure Mansion.
"I intend to purchase this five-colored spiritual pearl, Store Owner. Please state your price." Li Mu smiled and nodded, looking at the Store Owner and gesturing.
The Store Owner's face lit up with joy upon hearing this, and he quoted a price of three thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones.
Li Mu heard it and felt the price was fair. Without bargaining, he nodded in agreement, took out the corresponding Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch, and completed the transaction.
After acquiring the Five Elements spiritual pearl, Li Mu and Xue'er were quite pleased. The two continued to browse other items in the spiritual item shop, and the Store Owner enthusiastically recommended other treasures in the shop, hoping to facilitate more transactions.
After careful selection, Li Mu found that most of these spiritual items were low-grade or of no use to him, and he did not find another spiritual item or oddity worth his purchase.
"Let's go! We'll check out the next shop." Li Mu called out to Xue'er and Wang Wenbao.
Wanbao City had many spiritual item shops, each with its own characteristics and treasures. Since the spiritual items in this shop were not to his liking, he would simply move on to another shop and continue his search.
With that said, Li Mu turned to leave, and Xue'er and Wang Wenbao quickly followed behind him.
Having finally gained a big customer, the spiritual item shop Store Owner was reluctant to let him go so easily. He quickly called out to stop Li Mu: "Senior, please wait a moment.
"I also have a batch of spiritual items recovered from ancient ruins, which might catch your Dharma Eye." The spiritual item shop Store Owner's face was plastered with a polite smile as he loudly called out to retain him.
Upon hearing this, Li Mu paused, turning to look at the Store Owner. He was quite interested in what the Store Owner said, as ancient ruins often contained unknown secrets and rare spiritual items.
"Oh? Are you sure they are from ancient ruins?" Li Mu raised an eyebrow, showing a hint of curiosity, and gestured to the Store Owner, "Then quickly bring them out."
"Senior, please wait a moment. I'll go to the warehouse to retrieve them now." The Store Owner gestured to Li Mu, then quickly turned and walked towards the warehouse at the back of the inner hall.
Wang Wenbao and Xue'er stopped with Li Mu and waited together.
"Lord Li, there won't be anything good in a small shop like this. Why don't we go to the Auction or the trade fair instead?" Wang Wenbao suggested to Li Mu.
"No matter, it won't take much time. If we don't find anything this trip, we'll go to the trade fair." Li Mu smiled and replied.
Compared to the gains from trade fairs and Auctions, Li Mu preferred browsing markets and spiritual shops, using Heavenly Talent - Identifying Myriad Spirits to find overlooked spiritual items and gain unexpected rewards.
Before long, the spiritual item shop Store Owner returned, carrying a rather heavy wooden box, his steps hurried.
He carefully placed the ancient box on the floor, then looked expectantly at Li Mu and the others to open it.
As the box opened, an ancient and mysterious aura immediately permeated the air, as if Transmigration through a tunnel of time, bringing everyone into an ancient and mysterious ruin. Inside the box, ancient spiritual items lay quietly: knives, swords, green lamps, broken jade plates, black banners... various items with dim spiritual light, some flickering with eerie glows, some appearing like ordinary objects, completely unremarkable. They varied in form, some like jade, some like beast bones, each revealing an extraordinary aura.
"Senior, please take a look. This batch of spiritual items is definitely from ancient ruins. I, Qu, acquired them from a treasure hunting team. Please see if there's anything you like." The spiritual item shop Store Owner opened the box and looked expectantly at Li Mu, introducing them.
Li Mu quietly surveyed these spiritual items. Heavenly Talent - Identifying Myriad Spirits had already quietly activated, and flashes of keen light flickered in his eyes as he silently analyzed the attributes and value of these spiritual items.
However, at this moment, a subtle sound suddenly came from Li Mu's body, as if something small was moving. This sudden sound immediately attracted the attention of those around him.
"Chirp!"
A joyful chirp sounded, and a small white worm poked its head out from Li Mu's embrace. Its body was slender and as white as jade, with a pair of dark, nimble eyes that seemed to see into people's hearts. Its gaze was fixed intently on a certain item inside the box, filled with longing and curiosity. If there weren't outsiders present, it would probably have rushed over impatiently.
"Xiao Bai, you're awake!" Li Mu felt Xiao Bai's movement and smiled gently, reaching out to press its small head. He knew this little fellow never woke up without a reason, and its awakening at this moment surely meant something had caught its attention.
Li Mu couldn't help but seriously examine the contents of the box to find out what it was.
"Xiao Bai, long time no see, come here." Xue'er also noticed Xiao Bai. Her eyes lit up, and she quickly waved to Xiao Bai.
Xiao Bai was quite close to Xue'er. Seeing her wave, it immediately flew happily towards her, landing in Xue'er's palm and wiggling, but its gaze remained fixed on the spiritual items in the wooden box.
The spiritual item shop Store Owner saw Xiao Bai, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes. He could feel the powerful and strange aura emanating from Xiao Bai, as if facing a terrifying demonic worm, and a fear from his Soul involuntarily arose in his heart.
"Senior, this spiritual worm you're raising is truly extraordinary!" The spiritual item shop Store Owner let out a dry laugh and praised Li Mu, attempting to conceal his inner dread.
Wang Wenbao also felt Xiao Bai's formidable aura. Looking at Li Mu's back, his admiration for him deepened even further.
"It's alright, it won't hurt anyone with me here." Li Mu saw the other party's fear and quickly reassured him, smiling as he asked, "Shall we continue the transaction? I'll take out these spiritual items to look at them, is that alright?"
"No problem, Senior, please proceed." The spiritual item shop Store Owner breathed a sigh of relief and quickly gestured.
Li Mu nodded, his gaze continuing to fall into the box. With a slight movement of his Divine Thought, he summoned the spiritual items from the box, making them float in the air, fully displayed before him.
Under Heavenly Talent - Identifying Myriad Spirits, the attributes of forty to fifty ancient spiritual items were revealed one by one.
Li Mu immediately understood why Xiao Bai was so agitated. Among this batch of ancient spiritual items, three were worth his purchase. One of them even concealed the remnant Soul of a True God, and its aura was extremely faint. If not for Xiao Bai's exceptional Heavenly Talent, which allowed it to detect it in advance, he too would have been deceived.
"This one, this one, and this one, I'll take them all." Li Mu pointed, selecting the three spiritual items, and at the same time said to the spiritual item shop Store Owner, "Name your price."
Seeing this, the spiritual item shop Store Owner felt a surge of excitement. He hadn't expected this business to succeed, that these old discarded items could actually sell for three of them.
He had just introduced many exquisite spiritual items in the shop to the other party, but he hadn't taken a liking to any of them. Now, he had suddenly chosen three. The spiritual item shop Store Owner felt somewhat awkward and didn't know how to quote a price.
This batch of ancient spiritual items was acquired from a secondary dealer, costing only tens of thousands of Medium Grade Spirit Stones. After being examined by several appraisers in the shop, most of them were found to be lacking in spiritual energy and of little value. However, this Senior before him had extraordinary and quite discerning taste, and now he had suddenly chosen three. It seemed these three spiritual items were quite valuable, and the spiritual item shop Store Owner couldn't help but suspect that his shop's appraisers had overlooked something.
Li Mu could probably discern the Store Owner's thoughts and asked in a deep voice, "What? Is there a problem?"
Upon hearing this, the spiritual item shop Store Owner came back to his senses and quickly explained, "Senior, to be honest, this batch of spiritual items has not yet been appraised by our shop's appraisers, so the pricing... is indeed a bit tricky."
Hearing the spiritual item shop Store Owner's words, Wang Wenbao was furious and was about to reveal his identity and question him. At this moment, Li Mu quickly reached out to stop him, smiling meaningfully, "No matter. Take these three spiritual items to your shop's appraisers for a thorough re-appraisal, and then give me a price. If it's truly difficult to estimate, then this transaction will be off."
"Uh! Senior, please wait a moment, I'll be right back." The spiritual item shop Store Owner's face showed a hint of embarrassment upon hearing Li Mu's words. He quickly nodded in agreement, carefully put away the three spiritual items, and turned to walk towards the inner hall to find the shop's appraisers for a re-appraisal.
Before long, the spiritual item shop Store Owner returned with the three spiritual items. He walked up to Li Mu and respectfully asked, "Senior, after careful appraisal by our shop's appraisers, I will give you an honest price. This stone spiritual pearl is priced at 150,000 Medium Grade Spirit Stones, this jade-copper ancient bell is priced at 180,000 Medium Grade Spirit Stones, and this Jade Slip is priced at 220,000 Medium Grade Spirit Stones. With a small discount, the total is 500,000 Medium Grade Spirit Stones. How does that sound?"
"Your price is too high. Is there something wrong with your shop's appraisers?" Li Mu coldly glanced at the Store Owner and sneered, "These three ancient spiritual items have lost their spiritual energy and are no longer proper artifacts. Only some of their artifact patterns are interesting. I'm buying them only for studying the artifact patterns; they have no other use. Ten thousand at most."
Being exposed by Li Mu face to face, the spiritual item shop Store Owner's old face immediately felt a bit red. Several appraisers in the shop had already looked at them, and just as the other party said, the three ancient spiritual items were only estimated to be worth fifty to sixty thousand Medium Grade Spirit Stones.
"Senior has sharp eyes. Let's proceed with the transaction at the price you stated!" The spiritual item shop Store Owner had a thick skin, maintaining a respectful smile as he accepted.
Li Mu was too lazy to argue with him further. With a wave of his hand, he took out a thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones from the nine storage spiritual pearl and handed them to the other party.
The spiritual item shop Store Owner accepted the Spirit Stones, and the embarrassment on his face slightly eased. He quickly presented the three spiritual items with both hands, respectfully saying, "Senior, these are your spiritual items. Please keep them safe."
Li Mu took the spiritual items, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. He put the three spiritual items into the nine storage spiritual pearl, then turned and left with Xue'er and Wang Wenbao. (End of Chapter)
