An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

”The Mystic Flame Sword is a mass-produced low-grade flying sword. Its formation patterns are damaged, and there are cracks inside. That’ll be five thousand. You can come back in three days to collect it.”

Inside the quiet reception room, an old Daoist and a young Daoist were scrutinizing a broad sword and commenting on it. When Luo Chen heard Huyan Zhuo’s quote, he opened his mouth, then finally shook his head in helpless resignation.

The Mystic Flame Sword was worth at most 40,000 spirit stones, yet repairing it alone cost 5,000. The feeling was like paying 3-4,000 yuan for a phone in his previous life, only to shatter the screen and pay 900 just to replace it. Anyone with slightly deeper pockets would simply skip the repair and buy a new phone.

Sadly, enchanted treasures could not be treated like that. Luo Chen had poured enormous time and effort into refining the Mystic Flame Sword. It was not something he could replace on a whim. Since it had to be fixed, he would fix it!

Luo Chen smacked his lips, then took out a circular item and asked, ”Master Huyan, please take a look at this treasure as well. Can it be repaired?”

Huyan Zhuo glanced over. ”Activate it.”

”All right.”

Luo Chen acknowledged softly and infused it with mana. The disc emitted several crisp clicks as crescent-shaped blades floated out one after another, whistling as they rotated. Each of them radiated a sharp aura that seemed capable of slicing through the very air.

”You refine it quite well,” Huyan Zhuo remarked casually as he picked up several of the wheels. ”You must have used this against a third-tier demonic beast.”

”Yes.”

”There are signs of demonic power corrosion. Oh, and it has been eroded by Eerie Corrosive Fluid as well. It does not look too severe at first sight, but if it’s not handled properly, it’ll barely last you two or three more uses.”

Luo Chen froze for a moment. ”Is it really that serious? I already used a solution to remove the Eerie Corrosive Fluid.”

Huyan Zhuo let out a derisive snort and casually tossed something over. A pitch-black stone thudded onto the floor. It was covered in shallow and deep marks that seemed to be axe and sword cuts. ”Try using your full power to control this wheel and strike the Sword Testing Stone.”

Luo Chen did not hesitate and followed the instructions. Under his mana control, the wheels descended sharply and struck the stone. To his surprise, the impact produced just a burst of sparks. When the sparks faded, only a faint white mark remained on the surface.

”This is a fine enchanted treasure. Though it’s a low-grade one, it really is a premium piece. You can tell it was crafted by a true master,” Huyan Zhuo praised it. ”But here’s the thing... How did it feel when you controlled it at full power just now?”

”It felt the same as before...” Luo Chen replied, though his brows gradually drew together. ”Wait, no. It felt almost the same as before. I have the odd feeling that there’s something off....”

Huyan Zhuo stroked his beard, lifted a teacup, and took a slow sip as he tasted the tea. ”That odd sensation is exactly the problem. This is a set-type enchanted treasure. One blade feeling slightly off is nothing, but you have far more than a single damaged blade. If you control several hundred blades at full power, that sensation will amplify. Tsk tsk, just imagine what could happen in battle if your control is even slightly off. Think it over carefully.”

Luo Chen’s expression changed. Only now did he realize that although Jiang Yu seemed unremarkable, the man’s methods were truly impressive. The raindrops summoned by that Rain Summoning Banner was indeed a large amount of Eerie Corrosive Fluid. In a short battle, their destructive power did not stand out, yet the lingering harm was severe. If not for Huyan Zhuo’s reminder, it really wouldn’t have been weird for the Heavenly Moon Purple Gold Wheel to become scrap after two more uses. Even worse, if his control slipped in combat and someone seized that opening to seriously injure him, that would have been a disaster.

I wonder if Jiang Yu knows about this danger. It’s fine if he doesn’t, but if he knows and he’s kept it from me on purpose...

Before the thought settled fully, Huyan Zhuo’s voice interrupted it. ”Do you want it repaired?”

”Can you fix it?”

”Sure can. I will need five days, though.”

”And the price?”

”That will not be cheap.” Huyan Zhuo raised three fingers.

Luo Chen’s eyes widened. ”Thirty thousand? I could buy a low-grade enchanted treasure for that amount!”

Huyan Zhuo only chuckled and did not bother haggling with Luo Chen. His message was clear: It’s up to you whether to repair it or not.

Luo Chen hesitated for a moment but ultimately chose to have it repaired. There might be more battles in the future. Only after settling his weapon issues could he feel at ease. It was only a few tens of thousands. He could take out such an amount without blinking.

The hesitation came only from years of frugal habits. He never cared whether something was expensive or cheap; he cared only whether the price matched the value. He could pay over a million for a cave residence rental without batting an eye. Yet if a pill worth five hundred were sold to him for seven hundred, he would feel cheated.

It was clear that Huyan Zhuo was inflating the price on the spot, without even leaving much room for bargaining. It all depended on whether Luo Chen was willing to accept being fleeced. Yet he had no choice. To maintain his combat strength, he chose to accept it willingly.

After Luo Chen paid the deposit, Huyan Zhuo finally smiled and added a few more words, ”Fellow Daoist, there is no need to feel troubled. This amount is nothing to a third-tier alchemist. Besides, these two enchanted treasures are only low-grade pieces. If they were mid-grade enchanted treasures or life-bound enchanted treasures, the cost would be far higher. Actually, not long ago, Fellow Daoist Jiang Yu paid quite the fee to repair his life-bound enchanted treasure.”

These words seemed meant to make Luo Chen feel a little better, and they did help slightly. After handing over both the Mystic Flame Sword and the Heavenly Moon Purple Gold Wheel and agreeing on the pickup time, Luo Chen had no desire to linger another moment. He rose and took his leave.

After leaving the reception room on the third floor, Luo Chen’s gaze paused for a moment on the lively scene on the first floor. This was certainly not where enchanted treasures were forged or repaired. It was the new branch of the Treasure Pavilion that Skysail City had opened in Moonbreak. The shop was huge, and it was mainly used to sell new weapons and take commissions for custom work and repairs.

Yet even such a large storefront was packed to the brim. Complaints from the surrounding cultivators drifted constantly to his ears.

”This is way too expensive.”

”It is only a broken sword tip. You just need to patch it with some materials. Do you really have to charge me 900?”

”Look carefully, this is only a top-grade enchanted artifact. I bought it for 3,500, and now you are telling me it costs 1,000 just to fix it!?”