Chapter 74: Trading a Musket for a Cannon
"High-grade flying boat, Thunder Falcon Boat. Its surface is refined using the Three-Flame Tempering Technique and infused with thunder falcon feathers. At its core lies the soul essence of a thunder falcon."
"As for its performance—well, it's not complicated, just one word."
"Fast!"
"Among high-grade flying boats, none surpass this Thunder Falcon Boat in speed. And once the thunder falcon’s soul essence inside is activated, even top-tier flight artifacts would have to compete with it."
While introducing the Thunder Falcon Boat, Old Huang crossed his arms over his chest, appearing especially smug.
Xu Fugui gave him a once-over and asked, "Made by Uncle Lei?"
Old Huang chuckled, "Besides my master, who else could craft such a magical artifact?"
Judging from this, the "Uncle Lei" mentioned by Old Master Xu must be quite the artifact refining expert—at the very least, a second-rank artifact refiner, Ji Yuan mused silently.
His recent breakthrough had cost him over 400 spirit stones, and he now had less than a hundred remaining.
But no matter—he could offset some of the cost with his Black Wind Boat.
So buying just this Thunder Falcon Boat should be feasible.
"I'll take this Thunder Falcon Boat!"
"How many spirit stones?"
Old Huang gave a thumbs-up. "Good eye! But it's not cheap. The price is—"
He held his thumb up without retracting it.
"100 low-grade spirit stones."
The price was indeed steep—almost at the upper limit for high-grade magical artifacts. Any higher, and you could buy a top-tier artifact instead.
"Kid Ji, is that enough? If not, I can lend you some," Xu Fugui offered.
"I’ve got enough." Ji Yuan smiled and took out his Black Wind Boat, wiping off the ownership mark. "Fellow Daoist, mind appraising this vessel?"
Old Huang took a quick look, then scoffed, "If my master had this material, he could've refined a high-grade flying boat with his eyes closed. And yet someone made a mere mid-grade vessel out of it—what a waste."
"The materials are decent. How about this? I’ll give you 45 spirit stones for it. You just need to make up the remaining 55."
"Sounds good."
Ji Yuan had 55 spirit stones left.
After paying, the Thunder Falcon Boat became his. With a quick refinement, his eyes lit up.
But only briefly—he stored it away right after refining.
"What, you’re not even going to take it for a spin?" Old Huang asked in surprise.
"I still need a high-grade defensive artifact. Do you have any recommendations?"
After much deliberation along the way, Ji Yuan had decided to trade in several of his mid-grade defensive artifacts for a single high-grade one.
When it came to defensive artifacts, quality outweighed quantity.
"I've got something."
"Do you want a robe-type, shield-type, or barrier-type? Those are the standard categories."
Robes were convenient but had weaker defense.
Barriers offered full-body protection but consumed a lot of energy. Shields could take hits and dish them out.
Ji Yuan had always used shield-type defensive artifacts.
"You don’t look like someone strapped for cash, so I’ll skip the cheap stuff and go straight to the best."
As he spoke, Old Huang tossed a pitch-black shield onto the ground, which landed with a heavy thud.
Ji Yuan quickly looked down and saw that the shield’s surface was embedded with dense fish scales.
Even just sitting there, it gave off a strong fishy stench.
"The Hundred Fish Shield. Crafted from the scales of over a hundred top-tier first-rank Spiritual Fish. Its defensive power goes without saying—"
"Among high-grade defensive artifacts, it’s a real contender."
"And in life-or-death situations, you can activate all the scales to unleash a deadly finishing move."
"But once you use that, the shield is pretty much done for. Only use it as a last resort."
Ji Yuan nodded repeatedly as he listened. This Hundred Fish Shield was far superior to his current gear.
"How many spirit stones?"
"Flat rate—90."
After stating the price, Old Huang crossed his arms again, clearly waiting to see if Ji Yuan could come up with the stones.
Xu Fugui didn’t say anything this time.
Ji Yuan pondered briefly. "Take a look at what these are worth."
As he spoke, he brought out the Gold-Iron Shield and Vine-Wood Shield he had taken from the Liu brothers.
Both were mid-grade defensive artifacts.
Old Huang glanced over them and commented, "Still a bit short."
Ji Yuan then took out the Dragon Scale Shield that had been with him the longest.
This old companion showed signs of heavy wear.
Old Huang didn’t even inspect it—just gave it a glance and said, "Still not enough."
Ji Yuan still had the Mysterious Light Barrier, another mid-grade artifact.
But he planned to keep that one for himself. So when Old Huang said it still wasn’t enough, Ji Yuan asked, "How much more?"
Those two shields weren’t bad, and weren’t heavily worn either—surely worth over 70 spirit stones.
The Dragon Scale Shield, though worn and low-grade, was still a functional artifact.
"Add 7 more spirit stones."
"Alright."
Ji Yuan had those to spare.
After paying, the Hundred Fish Shield became his.
Before he could speak, Old Huang asked proactively, "Need a high-grade offensive artifact too?"
"This—" Ji Yuan smiled sheepishly. "You're overestimating me. I don’t have that many spirit stones."
Old Huang and Xu Fugui both let out a sigh of relief.
It was common to upgrade to a high-grade flying boat after reaching the late stage of Qi Refining.
Besides, Ji Yuan’s original vessel wasn’t bad, so the Thunder Falcon Boat hadn’t cost him too dearly.
As for the Hundred Fish Shield, Ji Yuan had basically emptied his pockets for it, even trading in his only remaining low-grade artifact.
It matched his current state of near destitution.
Had he then turned around and bought a high-grade flying sword in front of them, that would’ve been flaunting wealth for sure.
Ji Yuan wasn’t that foolish.
Old Huang chuckled. "Among all the late-stage cultivators I’ve seen, not many can afford to upgrade two high-grade artifacts right after breaking through."
"Just lucky. All thanks to Grandpa Xu’s care," Ji Yuan casually flattered Xu Fugui again, causing the old man to grin from ear to ear.
"Well then, get back and cultivate properly. If you have questions, come see me."
"Will do."
With two high-grade artifacts newly acquired, Ji Yuan finally took his leave.
After he left, Old Huang turned to Xu Fugui and asked, "Old man, you sure are lucky to know a kid with that kind of talent."
"Given his age and capability—those artifacts he brought out were no joke. He’s definitely a skilled fighter."
Looking up, Old Huang couldn’t help but sigh. "He might really have a shot at forming a foundation with a pseudo-spiritual root."
Such cases did exist within the Water Dragon Sect, but without exception, those who succeeded were elite cultivators of their realm.
"Maybe. If he can, that would be the best outcome," Xu Fugui sighed deeply.
Meanwhile, after leaving Zengtou Market, Ji Yuan arrived at a secluded riverbank and summoned the Thunder Falcon Boat.
The flying boat floated in midair, and Ji Yuan leapt up, landing inside.
With a thought, the vessel turned into a streak of light and soared into the sky.
Feeling the extreme speed, Ji Yuan was momentarily speechless with excitement.
Flying.
Immortality.
The two grand dreams of a cultivator—he had finally achieved one.
Still unsatisfied, he activated the thunder falcon’s soul essence within the flying boat.
"Whoosh—"
A faint sonic boom followed, and a violet light streaked across the sky like a bolt of heavenly lightning.
Ji Yuan wasn’t flying aimlessly.
Since Zengtou Market was no longer viable, he planned to head to another marketplace to acquire a few catties of Cold Iron Sand.
Only then would he be ready to trade for that high-grade flying sword.