Chapter 37: Dominating the Trending List for Three Days

For the first time in nearly fifty years, the Treasure Forging Pavilion sold a mid-grade spiritual weapon for the astronomical price of one million high grade spirit stones, skyrocketing to the top of the Communication Communication Jade Slip trending list overnight.

#Shocking! Mysterious unknown Artifact refiner’s casually crafted mid-grade spiritual weapon sparks frenzy, fetches million high grade spirit stones! What’s behind this madness?#

#Ancient weapon inscriptions lost for ten thousand years reappear—crafted by unaffiliated Refiner. Who is this person?#

#Su Chen’an | The Mysterious Artifact refiner#

#Hefty bounty offered for runaway bride—girl, you can’t escape my grasp!#

#Daily question: Have you inscribed your spiritual tool yet?#

#Girl, come back. Your husband knows he was wrong!#

#Urgent: Where can I buy Su Chen’an’s spiritual tools??? Help!#

The trending news about this mysterious refiner dominated for three consecutive days, occupying four of the top five trending slots. Interest only increased as more cultivators clicked to investigate.

Su Chen’an’s fame soared overnight, with major families secretly investigating his background.

Recently, the topic of the mysterious refiner dominated street gossip. Even common greetings changed from “Have you eaten?” to “Have you inscribed your weapon yet?”

“Has the legendary inscription technique really returned? Isn’t this just another scam?” someone skeptically asked. “I remember a few years ago, someone claimed they could inscribe weapons, but it turned out to be a fraud. Isn’t this just another gimmick?”

“That spiritual weapon was sold directly by the Treasure Forging Pavilion itself. How could it be fake?” another person chimed in. “Moreover, many cultivators witnessed the weapon’s unveiling. It even sparked a fierce bidding war between two wealthy young masters—one from the Mu family. Who in the cultivation world would dare deceive the Mu family?”

The skeptic, now convinced, looked intrigued. “I heard inscribing a weapon can drastically increase its power… I’d like to have my weapon inscribed too. Do you know how to find this refiner?”

“Well, not to brag, but I might have a lead,” the person lowered their voice conspiratorially. “A friend of a friend’s friend has a spiritual weapon made by this very refiner. If you need, I can introduce you…”

The cultivator’s eyes lit up. “Are you serious? If you could introduce me to that master, I’d be forever grateful!”

“Hahaha, though we’ve only known each other a short while, I already see you as a lifelong friend! Of course, I’ll help with the introduction… but…” The person rubbed their fingers together, laughing slyly. “Asking for favors requires a little something in return, maybe a meal or a small gift. My funds have been tight lately…”

The cultivator hesitated, but just as they reached for their spirit stone Spatial bag, shouts rang out from nearby. “That’s him! That swindler! He’s been tricking people around here for days! He even claimed to be Master Su Chen’an and swindled me out of hundreds of spirit stones!”

“Quick, catch him!”

“I trusted you so much, and you turn out to be a damn scammer!” The cultivator found his spatial bag stolen by the thief and angrily drew his sword, charging after the thief into an alley.

What followed was the sound of punches and kicks, accompanied by pitiful cries for mercy.

Su Chen’an had only come down the mountain to buy some forging materials, but as soon as he arrived, he was scared right back up.

Was he having a nightmare?

Shaken, Su Chen’an looked at his junior disciples who had just rushed back, his face pale. “What… what did you all do??”

How had he suddenly become famous?

Why was everyone talking about him?

His name was on everyone’s lips, leaving him dumbfounded.

“Fifth Senior Brother, you’re about to become super popular!” Chu Sang, seeing her brother too shocked to speak, tried to comfort him. “Don’t be too excited. This is just the beginning. We’ll work hard to market you as the top Artifact refiner in the entire cultivation world.”

“That day will come soon!”

Su Chen’an: “…”

Excited? Happy? Not in the least.

He just wanted to live quietly and avoid all the chaos. But now, every cultivator in the streets was hunting him down, all demanding his services. He could already picture his future misery, vomiting at the sight of a forge.

…

Chu Sang wasted no time posting online:

[Treasure Pavilion’s Exclusive Offer: Mysterious Artifact refiner Su Chen’an—Limited Sale of Ten Weapons! First come, first served!]

[The only shop in the cultivation world with a money-back guarantee—ten times compensation for any fake!]

[Top-tier talismans and elixirs available at the lowest prices! First hundred customers daily enjoy 50% off! Hurry!]

As soon as the post went live, it shot to the top of the Communication Communication Jade Slip trending list. Over a million cultivators clicked to view it.

In just a few hours, the post had amassed tens of thousands of comments.

[Is this for real? That legendary refiner actually joined Treasure Pavilion? I’m going to buy right now!]

[Don’t believe it. Scammers are everywhere these days. What even is Treasure Pavilion? Never heard of it. That refiner sold a single weapon for over a million high-grade spirit stones—there’s no way he’d lower himself to some unknown shop.]

[Exactly. These scammers are getting bolder, grabbing any hot topic to spin their lies. Do they think we’re fools?]

[Hahaha, ten times compensation if it’s fake? They’d probably give me eleven just to fake it!]

The comment section was filled with mocking laughter.

A user named «Selling cheap divine tools, PM if interested» retorted angrily, [How can you slander others without any evidence?]

[Haha, and you’re selling divine tools? Those have been extinct for ten thousand years! Where did you even find one, let alone ‘cheap’?]

[Supporting a scam shop? You must be a scammer yourself.]

[Hahaha, I can’t stop laughing. Scammers these days don’t even try anymore.]

Several cultivators chimed in, agreeing.

“Little Junior Sister, they don’t believe us at all! They’re even slandering us!” Tantai Ming was so frustrated he wanted to tear his hair out, but couldn’t win the argument, making him even more furious.

“Step aside, Seventh Senior Brother. I’ve got this.” Chu Sang swiftly took his Communication Jade Slip, fingers flying as she engaged in a fierce debate with a dozen cultivators.

In less than half an incense stick’s time, she had silenced them all.

Tantai Ming stared in awe.

…Too impressive!

“Stay humble. My ‘Level 10 Trash Talker’ title wasn’t earned for nothing. Call me Keyboard Warrior.”

“But what about the majority who still don’t believe us? What do we do now?” Tantai Ming slumped over the table, looking defeated.

“Don’t worry.”

It didn’t matter if they didn’t believe; curiosity was a powerful thing.

By the crack of dawn, cultivators started arriving on the quiet streets, and judging by their attire, they had traveled great distances, coming from faraway regions.

A group of about a dozen cultivators hesitated outside the shop, whispering amongst themselves.

“This shop looks so unreliable… should we really go in? What if we get ripped off?”

Someone wanted to leave.

A female cultivator in blue robes pulled her back, raising her chin. “We’ve come all this way, might as well take a look.”

Though the shop appeared to be an ordinary three-story building in a remote location, the interior was unexpectedly stocked with a wide variety of treasures, dazzling the eyes.

Chu Sang had carefully selected items from the spoils of the Myriad Death Sect’s treasury, now displayed on the first floor.

Each treasure was rare and valuable, quickly capturing the attention of the cultivators.

In no time, they had set aside their doubts and began seriously picking through the materials and items they needed.

The shop’s second floor featured Chu Sang’s talismans, elixirs made by her Sixth Senior Brother, and a few beast eggs raised by her Third Senior Sister.

The beast eggs were extremely rare, and the quality of the elixirs was outstanding. The cultivators were thrilled to find such treasures, congratulating themselves for their wise decision to visit the shop.

But as for the talismans… why did they look so different from the ones they were used to? Could these be counterfeit?

Though the shop seemed humble on the surface, surely it wouldn’t sell fake talismans among such treasures?

Skeptical but curious, the blue-robed cultivator bought a few talismans to try. To her surprise, she found that they not only cost less than usual but were also more than twice as effective!

They were amazing!

Who could refuse such cheap and effective treasures? All their prejudices vanished, and they began buying more.

“Darlings, to celebrate our grand opening, we’re running a special promotion—buy more, save more! Invite friends and earn points to redeem premium talismans for free!” A cheerful young woman in red approached with a smile.

Free premium talismans?

Free!

Who doesn’t love free stuff?!

The group immediately pulled out their Communication Jade Slip and bombarded their friend lists.

Don’t ask.

Let’s just say Pinduoduo^[1]a chinese e-commerce app taught them well.

Chu Sang continued, “Become a member and enjoy a 20% discount, plus receive a free speed talisman!”

“Okay.”

Sign me up for membership!

They had to join, even though they didn’t know what a membership was.

“Big sister, your magic robe looks so beautiful. Look, this jade bracelet matches your robe perfectly,” Chu Sang put the jade bracelet on the woman’s wrist, her voice full of admiration. “It’s really too beautiful, it makes your skin look even whiter. And this jade bracelet is also a high-grade magical tool with a hidden mechanism that can deliver a fatal blow to enemies as a concealed weapon. It suits you so well~”

The blue-robed woman couldn’t resist Chu Sang’s enthusiastic sales pitch, combining flattery and persuasion. Her face slightly flushed as she bought it. Chu Sang pressed her advantage, “Sister, take a look at this jade ring too. It’s from the same series as the bracelet. When used together, they can exert even greater power!”

“It is indeed quite nice.” Pu Lanze’s eyes flickered, clearly very tempted, so she bought the jade ring as well.

“Sister seems to like blue very much. Let me recommend this smoke-blue magic robe. It’s the latest style in our shop, not only fashionable but also engraved with attack and defence talismans. It’s on sale now, and if you leave a good review on the Communication jade Slip, you’ll enjoy a 50% discount~”

“…”

Throughout the entire process, Pu Lanze never had a chance to speak. Somehow, she ended up spending several hundred thousand spirit stones, laden with packages large and small, feeling like she had gotten a great deal. As she left, she was even muttering about bringing her sect sisters to shop together next time!

“…” So powerful.

Tantai Ming and the others were stunned. What kind of operation was this?

“Didn’t you say you had spiritual weapons forged by Su Chen’an? Where are the spirit weapons?”

Although the goods in the shop were indeed very tempting, far better than they had imagined, everyone hadn’t forgotten the purpose of their visit.

They had come for the hype about that mysterious refiner, wanting to see for themselves what spirit weapons with inscriptions looked like.

By afternoon, more and more cultivators were coming to the shop. Now there were over a hundred cultivators gathered in the store, all rubbing their hands in anticipation, waiting for the main event – the spirit weapons.

“Please follow me to the third floor. That master doesn’t easily make weapons, and spirit weapons are precious. We went to great lengths to get the right to sell ten weapons. First come, first served.”

Seven high-grade magical tools and three low-grade spirit weapons.

Although the quality of the weapons couldn’t compare to the mid-grade weapon auctioned at the Treasure Forging Tower, all ten weapons were inscribed with patterns, raising their quality by a large degree, making them very tempting.

The ten weapons were snapped up instantly.

The cultivators who didn’t manage to get one were filled with regret.

At dusk, after closing and all the cultivators had left, Tantai Ming nudged her elbow. “Little Junior Sister, doesn’t your conscience hurt? Those few weapons were just the most ordinary ten weapons in Fifth Senior Brother’s possession, weren’t they? The way you talked about them, I thought Fifth Senior Brother had forged divine tools.”

He was completely baffled, unable to guess his little junior sister’s thoughts. “And for small weapons like these, Fifth Senior Brother has plenty. Why did you say there were only ten?”

For a grand opening, shouldn’t they have brought out the best weapons to make a huge profit and crush other shops?

“A tall tree catches the wind^[2]metaphorically it means that if one has a lot of money, he will easily attract others’ attention and trouble might come. We’re just starting out, we shouldn’t be too flashy,” Chu Sang said. “Hunger marketing, ever heard of it?”

“…”

Weren’t they flashy enough already?

It was just opening a shop, but the entire cultivation world was shaken. Little Junior Sister, don’t you have any self-awareness?

Although Tantai Ming and the others didn’t quite understand the new terms their little junior sister used, the results were obvious. They recovered their initial investment of 300,000 high-grade spirit stones in just one month, and not only did they have a surplus, but the shop’s daily sales were also continuously increasing.

Although it couldn’t compare to old, established big shops like the Treasure Forging Pavilion that had been in business for hundreds of years, the profits were already quite considerable.

Meanwhile, at a meeting of the Treasure Forging Pavilion’s high-level management, the atmosphere was somewhat tense.

They were naturally aware of Treasure Pavilion’s audacious actions this time.

This could be said to have paved the way for others.

“Hmph, this Treasure Pavilion is really too arrogant. It’s just a newly opened shop, yet it doesn’t know how to show respect to its elders and even dares to pull this stunt in our Treasure Forging Pavilion’s territory?”

Sitting to the side, a young man in luxurious clothes turned his jade ring, snorting coldly.

He casually summoned a subordinate, whispered a few words in his ear, and then dismissed them. With a malicious smile, he said, “… So arrogant? Let’s teach them a lesson, show them who’s really in charge!