154: Chapter 154 Zhou Changgeng

"What would this Fellow Daoist like?"

"Two things." Su Cheng got straight to the point. "First, do you have any Treasure Artifact Pill Furnaces for sale here recently? Second, heaven and earth exotic fire. Do you have any relevant sales information or reliable intelligence on discovery locations?"

The middle-aged manager's smile remained unchanged, but a hint of scrutiny entered his eyes.

Someone who asks for these two items right away is either a young master with more money than sense, or a powerhouse with genuine needs.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment." The manager went to the back hall and returned about two cups of tea later, holding a thin volume of information.

"Regarding Treasure Artifact Pill Furnaces, this tower currently has no stock. However, if Fellow Daoist is interested in a custom order, we can contact several well-known third-rank Artifact Refining Great Masters on your behalf. As for the price..."

"How much?"

"At least thirty thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones to start, depending on the Materials and the complexity of the additional formation patterns. The construction period is eight to ten years."

Su Cheng's brow furrowed slightly. Thirty thousand Mid-Grade stones was equivalent to three million Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce's annual profit, after expenses, was only a few hundred thousand. He could scrape it together in five or six years, but adding that to the eight to ten-year construction period meant it would take nearly twenty years in total.

"What about the heaven and earth exotic fire?"

The manager opened the information booklet and pointed out two records for Su Cheng to see.

The first was the Red Yang Heart Flame, which Su Cheng had already researched in the Danding Sect's records. The information was largely the same, but it had an extra note: "As the Chiyang Mountain Range falls within the territory of the Fentian Sect, this tower cannot guarantee the accuracy of the intelligence; it is for reference only."

The second was new. In a mountain forest in the south of Tianlan Province, a Loose Cultivator claimed to have sensed spiritual energy fluctuations suspected to be an exotic fire thirty years ago, but there had been no subsequent verification. The Treasure Gathering Tower had established a long-term intelligence collection point there, but no new discoveries had been made to date.

"Is that all?"

The manager gave a professional, apologetic smile. "heaven and earth exotic fire is a product of heaven and earth's creation; it is something that can be sought but not easily found."

Our tower's branches across the continent are continuously collecting relevant intelligence. Once there is definitive new news, we can notify Fellow Daoist immediately.

However, an information reservation fee of five hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones is required."

Su Cheng did not pay. Paying five hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones for an empty promise of "we'll tell you if there's news" was a massive ripoff.

"Then, in the most recent auction, were there any similar items up for bid?"

"No. The next large-scale auction is in five months, and there are no such items on the currently published list of auction lots."

The expected answer.

Su Cheng didn't press further and turned to another task, purchasing a batch of spiritual Materials from the Treasure Gathering Tower.

Upgrading the wanbao mirror required a large amount of medium to high-quality spiritual Materials for feeding.

He browsed the spiritual Materials section of the Treasure Gathering Tower, carefully selecting over a dozen types of second-rank Spiritual Ores and three types of natural Exotic Stones containing faint elemental Origin, spending a total of eight thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

In the past, he would have felt the sting for a while, but now, the monthly dividends from the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce allowed him to spend quite lavishly.

Eight thousand Spirit Stones—spent was spent.

When he emerged from the Treasure Gathering Tower, the sun was already slanting toward the west.

Su Cheng stood in the street, looking at the pile of spiritual Materials in his Storage Pouch, when a headache-inducing problem suddenly occurred to him.

The spiritual Materials were bought, but who would perform the upgrade for the wanbao mirror?

He wasn't an Artifact Refiner himself and knew nothing about engraving formation patterns.

The current formation pattern structure of the wanbao mirror was something he'd cobbled together by imitating the ten thousand souls banner and referencing the creation furnace, using crude methods and trial-and-error.

To continue the Fusion and enhancement, a professional Artifact Refiner was necessary to perform the work.

A supreme grade Magical Artifact-level precious mirror that could change into various offensive and defensive forms at will and boost the user's Spell power by fifty percent...

If someone saw this, even if it wasn't stolen, the attention it would draw would be enough to cause him major trouble.

Although the Danding Sect had third-rank Artifact Refiners, the cost of asking them to act was not small, and it would mean being completely exposed to everyone's sight.

But this wanbao mirror involved the Black Rock Palace's ten thousand souls banner. Once someone discerning noticed it, he would surely be questioned about those elemental Fusion methods.

Those secrets weren't just applicable to Artifact Refining; those old Alchemy geezers would probably want to dissect Su Cheng!

Since Fang Zhenhai dared to recommend him, that Formation Master was likely reliable.

East City, Qingfeng Alley, Artifact Refining Shop, Zhou Changgeng.

He had to go and see what this person was made of.

Qingfeng Alley was an inconspicuous little alley in the eastern district of the Prefecture City. Most of the storefronts on either side were general goods stalls run by Loose Cultivators, selling odds and ends like low-rank spiritual Materials and talisman papers.

The deeper one went into the alley, the fewer people there were.

Su Cheng found the small Artifact Refining shop at the end of the alley.

Calling it a shop was a bit much; it was actually a stone house with a small storefront. The door was half-open, and inside, one could vaguely see several dust-covered display cases holding a few oddly shaped Magical Artifacts and Formation Plates.

The craftsmanship was fine, but the styles were old-fashioned—clearly unsold inventory gathering dust.

The shop was filled with the scorched smell of metal being burned at high temperatures.

Su Cheng pushed the door and walked in.

"Is anyone here?"

No one answered.

He called out again.

A series of clanging and banging noises came from the workshop behind a door curtain, accompanied by a muffled curse.

"Buy it or don't, if you're not buying, get lost! I'm busy!"

Su Cheng looked at the dust-covered display cases around him, his lip twitching.

To run a business like this and still be picky with customers, the man certainly had a temper.

He didn't leave, but instead casually picked up a Formation Plate from the display case to examine it.

The craftsmanship was indeed good.

The engraving technique of the formation patterns was clean and sharp, the line thickness was uniform, and the connections at the joints had no burrs.

Judging solely on the level of second-rank Formation Plates, the quality of this piece was top-tier.

The clanging stopped.

The door curtain was lifted from the inside, and a middle-aged man with a Face covered in oil and soot poked half his body out.

He was short and stout with broad shoulders, and his hands were covered in years of burn scars and knife wounds.

His cultivation aura was at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, but the scent of smoke and fire emanating from him was even thicker than his Spiritual Qi. He didn't look like a Cultivator at all; he looked more like a master from a blacksmith shop.

Zhou Changgeng sized Su Cheng up, his gaze lingering for a moment on the Formation Plate in his hand.

"Put it back when you're done looking. If it breaks, you can't afford to pay for it."

Su Cheng put the Formation Plate back. "Are you Zhou Changgeng?"

"Who are you?"

"Fang Zhenhai of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce introduced me."

Zhou Changgeng's attitude didn't change much. He wiped his hands with a filthy cloth. "I'll still give President Fang some Face. Speak, what's the job?"

Su Cheng was in no hurry to take anything out, but first asked a question.

"Can you make Treasure Artifacts?"

Zhou Changgeng's hand-wiping motion paused, then he snorted. "You're looking for me to make a Treasure Artifact? Look at this shop of mine; does it look like a place where Treasure Artifacts can be made?"

"So you can't?"

"I can't, satisfied?" Zhou Changgeng draped the dirty cloth over his shoulder. "For formation pattern engraving and artifact repair within the second rank, I, Zhou, can do it easily. But Treasure Artifacts are third-rank work; they require Golden Core cultivation, third-rank Materials, and a third-rank Artifact Refining furnace. I have none of those. You've found the wrong person."

Su Cheng stared at him for a moment.

"Then, if I show you an item, can you judge its formation pattern structure and tell me what conditions are needed to upgrade it to the Treasure Artifact level?"

Zhou Changgeng frowned.

"What kind of item?"

Su Cheng didn't make a move in the storefront. He looked at the dust-covered display cases around him, then at the wide-open door.

"Is there somewhere more quiet?"

Zhou Changgeng hesitated for two breaths before finally jerking his head toward the back. "Come in."