Chapter 451 - Gengbai Emporium

Lin Mu looked around the shop and saw all the items that were on display. There were spirit tools like shields, seals, weapons, clothes, and even some spatial storage treasure.

Lin Mu could sense the faint spatial fluctuations coming from the spatial storage tools and thus recognized them quickly. He looked at the shopkeeper, who had his hands clasped and nodded his head in greeting.

"Hi, I would like to buy some spirit tools from here." Lin Mu stated.

"Of course, we have a large assortment of spirit tools you can choose from, or if what you need are spirit weapons, we have those too." The shopkeeper said.

"I would like a Mid grade communication jade slip first." Lin Mu replied.

"Sure, I'll bring one right up." The shopkeeper said, and opened one of the drawers to his back. 

From there he pulled out a pale green jade slip that was five inches long and one inch wide. He put it on a display cushion and slid it to Lin Mu.

"Here, you go sir. Please check if it is up to your satisfaction." The shopkeeper replied in a professional tone.

Lin Mu nodded his head and picked up the jade slip before checking it with his spirit sense. He could sense the formations that were constructed in it and the connections they formed with each other.

It was a bit different from the one he had with him, and he couldn't exactly tell why.

"This one seems to have a self-destruction formation integrated into it, that is why it looks different to you," Xukong stated.

"A self-destruction formation?" Lin Mu asked.

"Yes. It is actually quite popular to put them in certain spirit tools such as jade slips and spatial storage treasures as they can contain sensitive information or items that a cultivator would not want to be revealed to the public if they are killed.

They are as a precaution so that if someone kills them, they will not get their items from the ring or will be able to get the confidential information stored on the jade slip." Xukong explained.

Upon hearing this, Lin Mu declared what senior Xukong had told him a while back in the Sleepscape. At that time, Lin Mu had asked him how did so many items turn up in the void, to which Xukong had said that one of the major causes of the items ending up in the void was due to self destructing spatial storage treasures.

When a spatial storage treasure was destroyed, there were two things that could happen. In the case that there was no self destructive formation on it, the items contained in the treasures would all spill out into the real world.

But if there was a self destructive formation placed on it, the items would be thrown into the void instead of being pushed out into the real world. This also helped reduce the cases of robberies among the cultivators, but not completely.

If a cultivator was proficient in formations or spatial manipulation, they would still be able to retrieve the items. In fact, robbing was so lucrative that there were even special spirit tools made just for that. One of these spirit tools could even disable the self destructive formation of spatial storage tools and every robber worth their salt would own one of these.

Lin Mu was fine with the jade slip either way and decided to get it.

"How much does it cost?" Lin Mu questioned.

"This mid grade communication jade slip costs 150 low grade spirit stones." The shopkeeper answered.

"Oh, okay. I'll take it then." Lin Mu replied.

"Is there anything else that you would like, sir?" the shopkeeper asked.

He could tell that the customer in front of him was interested in more items than just the jade slip and it was now up to his own skills, to make him buy them. He was after all, a businessman and needed to use his sales skill to the best.

"Hmm… I do want a few more things," Lin Mu said, remembering the things he wanted for little Shrubby. "But they need to have certain properties which I do not know if you have them." Lin Mu added.

"Sir, even if you need something custom made, we will happily oblige to it. As long as you can pay for our service, we will do our best to please you." The shopkeeper replied, almost in a rehearsed manner.

"Can we talk in some place more private then?" Lin Mu asked, showing his reluctance to speak.

"Of course, sir. Please follow me." The shopkeeper said right away.

He could very well sense that Lin Mu was at the peak stages of the core condensation realm. This was not a cultivator he wanted to offend in any way as core condensation realm cultivators were already considered good experts, not to mention one that was at the peak stage.

The man took Lin Mu to a private room in the interior of the shop, away from the customers. A servant also came and served him some tea before the shopkeeper spoke again.

"We will not be disturbed here, sir. Please state your requirements." The shopkeeper said.

"That's good then. I need three more items in addition to the jade slip. I want a spatial storage treasure that can be used by anyone, even a beast. Then I need a durable harness made for riding on a beast and I also need a custom made spirit tool that can work as a hand." Lin Mu stated.

The shopkeeper had not expected that Lin Mu would be asking for something like this. In his twenty years of experience as a shopkeeper, he had never seen anyone ask for a spatial storage treasure for a beast. 

As for the harness Lin Mu asked, it was something that could be easily procured from a blacksmith.

But the last item on the list was something he would need to ask a spirit tool refiner for. He would not be able to estimate the price himself either, as the complexity would determine that.