CHAPTER 273: CHAPTER 273: THE DEAL WITH THE MERMAID

The moment he took out the flying sword, Yaoguang’s beautiful eyes lit up instantly!

Even though the moonlight tonight was not bright, the flying sword adorned with luxurious gems shimmered with a cold light, so captivating that she couldn’t bear to look away, loving those glittering and extravagant treasures.

"Ah, a method of Water Manipulation?" Yaoguang stared intently at the flying sword, swaying her tail to swim to the shore, a trace of hesitation appearing on her pretty face, "For mermaids, a long life begins and ends in the water, so we don’t really need to cultivate any specific Water Manipulation Technique. However... there are indeed some Cultivation Techniques, but our experience is too shallow, and we don’t have the qualifications to teach..."

What should I do?

She really liked this flying sword too much!

It’s well-known that the mermaid race seriously lacks Artifact Refiners, so even after having the blueprint for many years, Yaoguang hasn’t been able to find a reliable Artifact Refiner to satisfy her preferences.

That day, bored and after hearing a song, she came to have a look, and even when fate brought her to make a trade with Jiang Yuan, the completion of the gorgeous flying sword was only stopping at the blueprint effect. She really didn’t expect the actual crafted piece would be so beautiful!

The shining gems emitted a dreamy glow, and even the complex patterns on the flying sword were carved so exquisitely!

"What kind of Water Manipulation Technique do you need? Is it a Water Cultivation Technique or a magic that allows you to journey freely in water?" Tian Qu, noticing his companion’s dilemma, swam over and said in a deep voice, "I must admit you crafted this flying sword very perfectly and luxuriously, but at most, it’s just a decoration, absolutely impossible for the former. As for the latter..."

He took out a double fish jade pendant from the storage bag and displayed it, saying: "This is a Water Element Magical Artifact. Humans wearing it can breathe freely in water without restriction of movement; it can also transform into a fish-shaped mount at will; if encountering danger in water, it can expel fish bubbles to provide some defense.

However, the value of my artifact is much higher than your gorgeous flying sword. If you want it, we can discuss making another trade."

[Double Fish Jade Pendant: A unique Magical Artifact of the mermaid race, wearing it allows summoning a fish-shaped mount in water, lacking an entity, only providing water-borne movement. Fish bubbles Defense +100, can gather materials at the Treasure Forging Workshop for upgrades]

Jiang Yuan glanced at the system’s evaluation, confirming that the other party wasn’t exaggerating, and he was very satisfied with this magical artifact. Comparatively, using an ornament to exchange for a magical artifact was indeed not equivalent in value.

"What do you want to trade for?"

"There are many skilled artisans among human cultivators; I want a Feathered Robe that can resist water and fire. But this way, you pay more, and I benefit, so..." Tian Qu stared seriously at him and said, "I will trade a potion with Yaoguang, meaning you use the gorgeous flying sword and the Feathered Robe in exchange for the Double Fish Jade Pendant and the potion, making our trade equitable."

Jiang Yuan: ...

Actually, he didn’t need any potion that much. No matter how good the singing was, what use did it have? I can’t debut as a singer now.

"But the problem is I’ve never seen what a Feathered Robe looks like and really can’t guarantee bringing one for the trade. I urgently need a Water Element Magical Artifact now, can we change the condition of the exchange?" He glanced at the storage bag, thinking that whether it’s Elixir, materials, or Spirit Stones, any of those could be traded.

Though the account showed that the Floating Market sold Second Grade Spirit Core Pills for a lot of silver notes needing exchange, numerous cultivators who purchased directly with Spirit Stones meant there were over two million Spirit Stones in the account, certainly enough to pay the price difference.

"But I don’t need anything else for now." Tian Qu shook his head, indicating he only wanted the Feathered Robe, reaching out to hand over the Double Fish Jade Pendant, explaining: "I won’t impose a time limit on you, and you can also take the magical artifact to use first. When you find it, summon us, now we must hurry and leave; we’ll chat again another day when there’s time."

Jiang Yuan didn’t expect the other party to trust him so much, thinking he should inquire a bit about this with Hu Jiu, so he took the jade pendant and replied, "Alright, I’ll do my best to quickly find a Feathered Robe to trade."

Seeing this, Yaoguang smiled and accepted the gorgeous flying sword to thank him.

Seeing the mermaids preparing to leave, he suddenly remembered seeing a colossal creature when fishing Moon in the Water at Crescent Lake and reminded them: "I once saw a huge shadow in Crescent Lake; I also saw something resembling giant octopus tentacles sweeping the noisy Moon Pearl Birds off the shore, so be particularly cautious if you’re often shuttling through the lake."

Hearing this, the two mermaids exchanged a glance and didn’t rush to leave.

After asking him a few more detailed questions, Yaoguang delightedly said, "What you saw must be the water monster—the White-Finned Demon Flood Dragon, when it curls in the water, it looks like a flood dragon slowly swimming, but when it attacks, it unfurls and exposes dozens of long, thick tentacles, resembling an octopus but much scarier.

The White-Finned Demon Flood Dragon is ferocious and most hates noise, but that creature is full of treasures, if you see it again, you can try to capture it. Especially its Demon Core, which is excellent for making medicine!"

"Now that you have the Double Fish Jade Pendant to assist you in the water without barriers, you can indeed give it a try." Tian Qu reminded again, "If you can lure it to the shore, it would be the easiest to capture it. Of course, if you don’t feel entirely confident, you can call us to hunt together the next time you discover it.

The White-Finned Demon Flood Dragon is crafty and agile, and upon catching our scent, it will hide far away, so if you need help, you must find a way to lure it as close to the shore as possible to prevent it from escaping, making success more likely."

Yaoguang hurried to add, "If you manage to hunt it yourself, and if you are willing to sell me some of its Demon Core or blood, I can invite you to attend my birthday party in the Undersea World! Trust me, you’ll witness incredible scenes in the mermaid world that you absolutely can’t see on land, and you’ll also join the undersea forest hunt to gain plenty of treasures!"

The allure grew the more he listened, Jiang Yuan agreed and bade them farewell.

Since he came, he casually cleared a batch of Moon Pearl Birds from the grass. Now that his attack power had multiplied several times, dealing with such small creatures became very easy, and before long, he returned with his full harvest.

"Sure enough, all sold out." Jiang Yuan entered the Cloud Grocery Store, picked up a stack of neatly arranged silver notes, and counted them, there were over three million needing to be exchanged at the Money Shop for Spirit Stones.

Elixirs sold well and were pricey, but the problem was the gathering speed for raw materials couldn’t catch up.

The Spirit Medicines grown in the herbal garden still had too slow growth rates, and there were no usable powders in the System Mall to expedite Spirit Medicine growth, should he look for a reliable supplier?

He was planning in his mind while opening the Golden Carp Lake Market door.

With the Double Fish Jade Pendant already equipped and locked at his waist, Jiang Yuan’s thought moved to reveal a beautiful golden fish beneath the water surface outside the store, on which he firmly stood and raced forward.

He accessed the Double Fish Jade Pendant usage interface, showing two fish to choose from, one gold, one silver—the former luxurious, the latter understated; if both appeared simultaneously, they would shrink considerably, accompanying on either side and move freely in the water; and upon fusion, the size was flexible, capable of diving deep into the ocean.

Switching to the more understated silver fish, from afar, he seemed like flying close to the water surface.

"Zhi Zhi Zhi!" The little golden monkey from the neighboring store, having just noticed activity at the grocery store, jumped excitedly and cried out to alert its owner. Yet, Hou Ze was sleeping soundly behind the counter, and upon being tugged and scratched out the door by the little monkey, he only saw a fleeting figure.

"Hey? Are you sure it’s our neighbor?"

He scratched his hair, finding it odd, "Though Alchemists primarily focus on the Alchemy Dao and aren’t good at fighting, making their aura somewhat weaker, it shouldn’t be totally unnoticeable, right? He was clearly performing a Water Walking Technique, so why was there no spiritual power fluctuation?"