Qiwu Zhai.
Zhang Tianbao, holding a white cloth, listlessly wiped the dust from the treasure cabinet.
It wasn't until a figure blocked his view that he belatedly realized his shop, which hadn't had a sale in half a month, had finally welcomed a customer.
"Fairy... Greetings, Senior."
Zhang Tianbao's enthusiastic voice abruptly stopped upon sensing Xu Yi's cultivation, his expression shifting to one of reverence.
Xu Yi smiled slightly at him and asked, "Shopkeeper, I'd like to use your refining room. We can discuss the price."
"Ah? This, this..." Zhang Tianbao appeared hesitant.
Xu Yi's smile faltered, "Is it inconvenient?"
She had just surveyed the city and found very few shops selling magic treasures or refining materials in this desolate town.
If the shopkeeper of Qiwu Zhai refused, she would have to travel further to rent a refining room.
"No, no inconvenience at all." Zhang Tianbao awkwardly rubbed his nose. "Our refining room in the backyard hasn't been used in a long time. Please wait a moment, Senior, and I'll clean it up."
With that, he scurried off towards the backyard.
Xu Yi relaxed and began to examine the magic treasures and refining materials displayed in Qiwu Zhai, shaking her head as she looked.
The magic treasures sold here were mostly low-level, grade two or three, and the refining materials were also dull and lusterless. After a stroll, very few items caught her eye.
No wonder the shop only had the shopkeeper.
Zhang Tianbao hastily cleared all the杂物 (záwù - miscellaneous items) piled in the refining room and then cast a dust removal spell. When every corner was spotless, he returned to the shop with a beaming smile, bowing to invite Xu Yi inside.
Xu Yi followed Zhang Tianbao through a corridor and arrived at the backyard.
The refining room was located in the very center of the backyard, converted from the largest room.
After Xu Yi entered the refining room, she looked at Zhang Tianbao with surprise, "Shopkeeper, this refining room of yours is quite good."
Xu Yi immediately recognized the shallow gray indentations on the wall as Nether Iron, which possessed excellent heat insulation properties.
A palm-sized piece of Nether Iron was equivalent to a grade two magic treasure displayed outside Qiwu Zhai.
The entire refining room here was constructed from Nether Iron, indicating a considerable cost, which did not align with the impression Qiwu Zhai had given Xu Yi.
Zhang Tianbao's face showed pride, "Senior has a discerning eye. My ancestors once had a master refiner, and this refining room was personally built by him."
This master refiner from Zhang Tianbao's ancestors was a renowned figure in Haozhou back then, with many prominent families in Haozhou personally requesting him to craft magic treasures.
Qiwu Zhai was established during that period.
And as the place where the master refiner spent most of his time, the refining room was naturally built with the best materials.
However, later generations of the master refiner failed to inherit his mantle, and Qiwu Zhai gradually declined. The refining room he painstakingly built was relegated to storing杂物 (záwù - miscellaneous items).
If Xu Yi hadn't requested to use it today, this refining room might never have seen the light of day again, even if Qiwu Zhai changed owners.
Xu Yi withdrew her gaze with satisfaction, took out two mid-grade spirit stones, and handed them to Zhang Tianbao.
"This is a deposit. I'll pay the rest after I finish."
Zhang Tianbao happily accepted the spirit stones and said repeatedly, "No problem, no problem. Please use it as you wish, Senior. I won't disturb you."
Zhang Tianbao, clutching the spirit stones, retreated with great tact.
Xu Yi closed the door to the refining room and took out another spirit stone, placing it into a groove on the wall of the refining room.
The dim refining room was instantly illuminated.
Xu Yi took out her communication disk, lightly rubbing the cracks with her fingertip, and several repair methods flashed through her mind.
She pondered for a long time, finally settling on a method. She rummaged through her storage ring and took out the necessary materials, arranging them before her.
Chenyin Sand, Flame Mud, Sun Essence Stone...
Once the refining materials were prepared, she took out the refining platform from her storage ring, used her palm's spiritual fire to activate the array on it, and tossed the Chenyin Sand and others into the spiritual fire of the refining platform one by one.
The firelight flickered, and Xu Yi stared intently at the refining materials in the spiritual fire. When they had all fused into a pool of silver liquid, she immediately channeled her spiritual power to inject the silver liquid into the communication disk.
The cracks on the communication disk were gradually filled by the silver liquid.
Then, the silver liquid rapidly solidified, and its color changed to match the communication disk at a visible speed.
An hour later, Xu Yi exhaled softly, injected her spiritual sense into the communication disk, and the smile on her lips instantly froze.
"How could this be?"
Xu Yi exclaimed, holding the communication disk in her hand to examine it closely.
Finally, she had no choice but to accept that the spiritual sense imprints within the communication disk had all disappeared due to the damage.
This meant that although the communication disk was repaired, she still couldn't contact Lu Zaiye.
Xu Yi knitted her brows, not entirely satisfied with this outcome.
Although she felt Lu Zaiye would be fine, she couldn't rest assured without confirmation.
After much consideration, Xu Yi decided to wait until she reached a prosperous city before sending a message to her sect to inquire about Lu Zaiye's situation.
Her immediate priority now was to craft a flying magic treasure.
While the Discipline Ruler could serve as a substitute for a flying magic treasure, it wasn't particularly outstanding in terms of speed.
Xu Yi wanted to forge a flying magic treasure solely for travel, without any attack capabilities, to maximize its speed.
In that case, all refining materials related to attack power could be omitted, and she only needed to include Wind Concealment Stone, Peacock Blue Crystal, and...
Xu Yi was fully immersed in the process of refining.
Inside Qiwu Zhai.
Zhang Tianbao wielded the white cloth in his hand with great vigor, his upturned mouth indicating his good mood.
Simply renting out the vacant refining room for a profit without any cost was a sure-fire, no-loss transaction.
He bowed three times towards the backyard, murmuring, "Ancestor, please send more generous customers like Senior."
Just as he finished his wish, three young cultivators with handsome appearances and extraordinary auras stepped in from outside.
The most restless-looking of the three young cultivators stared at Zhang Tianbao in surprise and said, "Shopkeeper, what are you muttering about? Hurry and welcome our guests."
Zhang Tianbao suddenly snapped back to reality and approached with a fawning smile, respectfully saying, "Distinguished guests, what would you like to see? Please tell me if you need anything."
The young cultivator who had spoken earlier nodded perfunctorily, his gaze sweeping around the shop. He frowned with disdain and impatiently asked, "Shopkeeper, are all your good things here?"
Zhang Tianbao's heart skipped a beat, sensing that this business might fall through. He quickly asked, "Yes, everything is here. Are there no items to your satisfaction?"
"The spiritual energy in these materials has already dissipated by more than half, and you're still trying to sell them. Isn't this ripping people off?"