Chapter 1059

Chapter 1059: Emptied Out

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In the back courtyard, accompanied by a series of explosive sounds, countless metal fragments rained down from the sky, clattering onto the green stone slabs.

It was as if the sound mirrored the shattering of Wang Chen’s heart!

Just a moment ago, the seven top-tier spirit swords he had painstakingly refined were all shattered and destroyed in an instant.

Although crafting his own flying swords saved a considerable amount of resources, Wang Chen had still spent a significant number of spirit stones to gather the necessary materials. Now, all that effort had gone to waste.

The difficulty of practicing the Seven Ultimate Sword Technique far exceeded Wang Chen’s expectations!

When practicing swordsmanship, one naturally needs a sword. For ordinary sword techniques, any sword would suffice—even a cheap black iron sword costing just a few spirit stones would do.

But the Seven Ultimate Sword Technique required a sword formation of seven flying swords, all controlled simultaneously.

Controlling seven swords at once was no challenge for Wang Chen. His split consciousness technique had long reached perfect mastery, and with his current cultivation level and spiritual strength, he could activate nearly a hundred talismans at the same time.

Seven swords? He could handle ten without breaking a sweat.

The real problem lay with the swords themselves.

Wang Chen had initially thought that using seven second-tier flying swords, each corresponding to the seven ultimate attributes of heaven, earth, man, wind, thunder, fire, and rain, would be sufficient to practice this formidable technique.

He never imagined that during his very first attempt, all seven flying swords would be destroyed simultaneously.

Their grade was clearly inadequate to withstand the destructive power of the sword technique, even though Wang Chen was only at the beginner level.

This experience once again reshaped Wang Chen’s understanding of the Seven Ultimate Sword Technique.

Its power was nothing short of astonishing!

With a flick of his robe sleeve, Wang Chen gathered the scattered fragments of the flying swords from the ground.

Even the landlord’s family has no surplus grain!

Though the flying swords were ruined, the remnants could still be melted down to recover some materials. Every bit saved was a bit earned.

Wang Chen couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of frustration.

No matter how many spirit stones he had, they never seemed to be enough!

During the battle against the Xiaojiao, his gains had been substantial, but most of the spiritual minerals had been consumed by the Cangqing Ring. The materials he obtained from the Xiaojiao were traded for Xiaojiao meat, leaving him with only the Intermediate Spirits that Su Ziling was currently processing.

But even acquiring all the Intermediate Spirits wouldn’t solve the dilemma Wang Chen now faced.

It was clear that to practice the Seven Ultimate Sword Technique, he would need third-tier magical artifact flying swords, preferably of the highest quality.

However, the thought of refining seven high-grade third-tier flying swords, each aligned with seven different attributes, made Wang Chen’s head spin. The amount of precious materials required was staggering.

Even if he poured all his resources into it, he still wouldn’t have enough!

Perhaps the only way forward was to take it step by step, using his life treasure flying sword—the Longyuan Sword—to break down the Seven Ultimate Sword Technique and practice each component separately.

Wang Chen knew full well that this approach would be inefficient and laborious, a far more arduous and time-consuming path.

But the Seven Ultimate Sword Technique was simply too extraordinary!

Wang Chen let out a long sigh, his heart heavy with indecision.

"Master!"

At that moment, Su Ziling skipped into the back courtyard, cheerfully looping her arm through his and saying, "I have finished my work!"

Wang Chen was delighted. "You processed all these ores?"

"Yup."

Su Ziling nodded vigorously, triumphantly showing him a storage bag. "It’s all in here!"

"Well done."

Wang Chen, worried about the spirit stone situation, couldn’t help but praise her. "You’ve worked hard."

"It’s nothing."

Su Ziling rested her head on his shoulder and said, "Master, from now on, let Ziling handle this kind of work. I promise I will do a good job."

A warm feeling surged in Wang Chen’s heart as he put away the storage bag and lifted her into his arms.

Su Ziling was taken by surprise. "Ah!"

Wang Chen gave her a kiss. "I reward you with three days and nights of Dual Cultivation!"

Su Ziling’s eyes widened, her face flushing, and her body involuntarily softened.

Though he said three days and nights, it would actually just be a night of romance—not that Wang Chen lacked ability, but because Su Ziling could not bear it.

After one night of Dual Cultivation, Wang Chen felt refreshed and made up his mind.

He first organized his treasures.

He took out all the items hidden in the Cangqing Ring, Xumi Ring, and several storage bags, including magic weapons, materials, elixirs, and talismans.

He left only what he must use, sending the rest to the trading association for sale.

Additionally, Wang Chen discussed with the Little Cauldron and finally confirmed the materials needed to refine seven Treasure Flying Swords.

Then, he took the list to the Four Seas Trading Association.

"Three pounds and six ounces of star sand, two hundred seventy pounds of heavenly meteorite iron, one millennium water spirit pearl…"

Manager Chen of the Four Seas Trading Association in Luodu Immortal City looked at Wang Chen’s list and his expression became quite strange.

As one of the heads of the Four Seas Trading Association’s branch, he had dealt with countless large transactions, and this business of Wang Chen’s was certainly not the biggest, nor the most special.

But so many precious weapon refining materials, including nearly ten different kinds of heavenly materials and treasures…

"Please wait a moment, I need to calculate this."

Manager Chen raised his hand and grabbed an ancient bronze abacus.

With the sound of clicking, he spent a whole tea’s worth of time calculating the total price.

"Some materials are not in stock here and will need to be sourced from other branches."

Manager Chen said, "Master Wang, I can guarantee that I will gather everything you need within three months!"

The Four Seas Trading Association has numerous branches, and their inventory is unimaginable to outsiders. Besides a few legendary items that cannot be traded, they can usually find anything a customer needs.

Some items not available in the Haotian Realm can still be sourced from other worlds by the Four Seas Trading Association.

Of course, the costs would be high.

Regarding Wang Chen’s list, he quoted two prices.

One was for Intermediate Spirits, the other for Upper Spirits!

Some materials Wang Chen needed could only be traded for with Upper Spirits.

Wang Chen felt a twitch at the corners of his eyes.

That’s really steep!

The price Manager Chen quoted was thirty percent higher than he had estimated, especially the amount of Upper Spirits, which made his blood pressure rise.

But Wang Chen knew very well that this was how the Four Seas Trading Association operated; they wouldn’t budge without profit.

If he tried another place, besides Wanbao Pavilion, he absolutely couldn’t gather so many materials.

And Wanbao Pavilion would likely be even more expensive than the Four Seas Trading Association!

Taking a deep breath, Wang Chen had no choice but to muster all his strength to negotiate with Manager Chen.

His bargaining skill level was actually quite low, but in the current situation, he had to grit his teeth and give it a try.

Every little bit counts, he chopped the listed materials one by one.

Every saved bit would mean more spirit stones!

Finally, when Wang Chen walked out of the Four Seas Trading Association’s door, he felt completely emptied.

His Xumi Ring was emptied as well.

There was no choice; ordering materials from the Four Seas Trading Association required a deposit, and after much discussion, Wang Chen managed to convince Manager Chen to accept only a thirty percent deposit.

This meant that Wang Chen would need to find more spirit stones within three months to cover this astonishing cost.