Chapter Nineteen: The Market for Inscribed Artifacts

Over the next few days, he inscribed all the remaining ten low-grade magical weapons with runes. The only rune he chose to engrave was the gravity rune. Although the introductory level of rune inscription included several types of runes, gravity was the only one he found satisfactory; the rest were far too common, almost useless. There was another reason as well. At this stage, his mastery of inscription was just beginning. Even with the help of the white light sphere, it would have been foolish to blindly experiment with multiple kinds of runes. He needed to focus on one, and gravity was the most prudent choice.

Throughout this process, he practiced the gravity rune repeatedly, gradually refining his technique. At first, he had to observe each stroke carefully, and whenever he reached a complex section, he often made mistakes that required several adjustments before he succeeded. But eventually, he became so adept at the simpler parts that he could even forgo observation altogether. Even the more complicated sections needed only one or two corrections. As a result, the frequency with which he used the white light sphere diminished, so that by the end, each inscription consumed only two or three third-grade Thunder Stones at most.

Though one low-grade magical weapon was damaged in the process, his spirits soared. After inscribing all eleven weapons, he still had fewer than five fourth-grade Thunder Stones left, far less than he had expected. When he first failed to inscribe the Washing Marrow Pill, he had resigned himself to using up all his Thunder Stones for a single weapon. Now, he had managed to inscribe all eleven low-grade magical weapons, surpassing his expectations by a wide margin—and with Thunder Stones still in hand!

With these thoughts, Tu Lu glanced at the remaining two mid-grade magical weapons, hesitated briefly, then decided not to proceed with them yet. He tidied up, gathered his newly inscribed weapons, and headed east of the city.

Although he still had plenty of Thunder Stones, his materials for concocting spirit liquid were running out; he needed to replenish his stock and sell the eleven magical weapons. After all, the art of rune inscription was a costly pursuit. His expenses were already much lower than other inscribers, but he could not afford to continue spending without any income.

Instead of going to the Heavenly Dragon Market—the largest cultivator marketplace in Divine Wind City—he went to another trading hall. His motivation for practicing inscription was not merely personal advancement, but also to strengthen Divine Wind City as a whole. If he sold the eleven low-grade magical weapons to the Heavenly Dragon Market, he could fetch a handsome price, but who knew when those weapons would make their way into the hands of the city's cultivators? That was not his intention.

The trading hall, though smaller in scale, offered direct, face-to-face transactions between cultivators. Only this way could he be at ease.

He wasn’t sure how much of a difference he could make, though. The current situation was far from what he had imagined. Even though his grasp of the gravity rune had become proficient, his mental strength limited him to inscribing at most two weapons a day. With eight hundred or even a thousand cultivators in Divine Wind City, it would take over a year to inscribe a weapon for each—more than enough time for the city to be overrun by monsters.

He would do what he could and let fate decide.

The trading hall was far more chaotic than he had anticipated. Many cultivators walked around bearing wounds, giving him his first real sense of the war’s brutality.

"Low-grade magical weapon, crafted by Master Xu Lei, inscribed with the Weak Water rune. Slows enemies and hinders their movement in battle. Priced at three thousand Thunder Stones!"

Before renting a stall, Tu Lu wandered the trading hall to gauge the market for inscribed magical weapons. Hearing such a price, he was stunned. Three thousand Thunder Stones—equivalent to three fourth-grade Thunder Stones! To inscribe eleven weapons, he had spent just over five hundred Thunder Stones in materials, averaging a little over fifty per weapon. Even accounting for the losses inherent in external inscription, the cost per weapon never exceeded a hundred. Xu Lei was known as a master; even if he succeeded only once every ten attempts, the maximum cost per weapon would not exceed a thousand Thunder Stones. Including the value of the weapon itself, it should not go above twelve or thirteen hundred—yet it was selling for three thousand, more than double.

He swallowed hard. The profit was staggering. Moreover, during his observations, three thousand Thunder Stones was a typical price; some weapons with special inscriptions were marked as high as five thousand.

This made him think of his own inscribed weapons, filling him with anticipation. The gravity rune was one of the most ordinary, yet in the midst of this beast tide, its value was greater than many so-called special inscriptions. The force of a thousand pounds bestowed by the rune meant a cultivator at the Mountain-Moving Stage would have their strength elevated significantly. When fighting other cultivators, agility might matter, but against stupid beasts, a single blow was often enough—they wouldn’t even try to dodge. In such circumstances, raw power was paramount.

In his view, runes like Weak Water were more or less pointless. In a beast tide of this scale, slowing one or two monsters meant little. Yet even so, he saw that the low-grade magical weapon priced at three thousand was soon bought.

He was surprised, but quickly understood. The battle was so urgent that cultivators who usually scrimped and saved were now desperate. Any boost in power was worth it, whether for fighting monsters or preparing to flee.

This had been his own initial motivation, so he sympathized deeply with these cultivators.

After a circuit of the hall, he had a good grasp of the market for inscribed magical weapons and went to the main desk to present a weapon for inspection, intending to rent a stall.

Although the trading hall was the second largest cultivator marketplace in Divine Wind City and trades were conducted directly between cultivators, stalls had to be provided by the hall itself. Thus, they had to be responsible for the goods traded there; any mistake would affect their reputation.

The person who received Tu Lu was a fat steward, sweating profusely and clearly overwhelmed by the rush. With the beast tide, the number of cultivators trading had surged, putting him under tremendous pressure.

He wasted no time on pleasantries, getting straight to the point: "What do you want to trade? Show it, quickly!"

Seeing the steward’s harried state, Tu Lu took no offense and handed over the low-grade magical weapon for inspection.

"A spirit spear forged of iron and silver? The craftsmanship is decent, but it’s only a low-grade weapon. The stalls are in high demand right now—we can’t spare space for such things," the steward said disdainfully after a glance, waving his hand and preparing to leave.

"Wait!" Tu Lu, now irritated, stopped him. "Take another look—see what this really is!"

He pointed to the circle of runes inscribed on the weapon.