To Shen Haoren’s expectation of having discovered a fellow comrade versed in the field of crafting spiritual artefacts – he was to be sorely disappointed.
The young girl continued to observe the golden bracelet with a noncommittal expression of comprehension, before a trace of befuddlement settled in.
An Fei’s eyelashes fluttered, her brows settling into a deep frown.
Enhanced… object?
What was that?
“Hey, Old Stinky, what’s an enhanced object?” the young girl raised her question after a brief moment of hesitation.
“You don’t know about enhanced objects?” The middle-aged man gaped in surprise.
“Since you owned a spiritual beast, I thought that you might already possess knowledge regarding enhanced objects – known as spiritual artefacts… and don’t call me Old Stinky!”
“You called me a stinky lass, so I’ll call you Old Stinky, ah!” An Fei swiftly retorted.
The young girl placed down the gold bracelet onto its original position, before crossing her arms as she gazed upwards towards Shen Haoren’s sweating visage.
An Fei directed a skeptical glare towards the middle-aged man for a few breaths, before returning to her placid expression.
“…can you explain?”
Shen Haoren wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, before releasing a heavy sigh.
“Enhanced objects… they are essentially forged artefacts that are imbued with spiritual essence,” the middle-aged man picked up the gold bracelet that An Fei had relinquished, displaying the inscribed words to the young girl.
“See this gold bracelet and the words – accelerate movement, enhance base agility, temporary – inscribed onto its surface? These words serve as a conductor that can transmit spiritual essence throughout your body at a higher efficiency than you are normally capable of, hence, producing these enhanced capabilities upon utilization.”
“Conductor…” An Fei rubbed at the base of her chin with her finger.
“The reserves of spiritual essence within the body remain the same?”
“For some, that is the correct answer,” Shen Haoren’s countenance flickered with a flash of amazement, his originally discontented impression against the young girl having faded from his memory.
“But for others, they are capable of functioning as a secondary storage of atmospheric spiritual qi – which does indeed result in a lowered efficiency of the amplification. However, the practitioner would then be able to utilize the spiritual accessory without squandering an additional quantity of spiritual essence per movement.”
“Then there must be a categorization for the spiritual accessories – passive and active depending on their independent capabilities…” the young girl nodded, her mind lost in thought.
“Then how are they constructed? Does the magnitude of amplification and their targets differ on the construction?”
An Fei abruptly raised her question, causing the middle-aged man to burst into a beaming smile of praise.
Shen Haoren repeatedly nodded, his voice attuning itself to that of an elder teaching a student.
“Depending on the methods and the materials utilized in the construction process, the final results may be different,” the middle-aged man coached.
“For example, if I constructed this bracelet but with silver, jade, or even aged birch, the results would be completely different. If I used silver, I might be able to supplement the ‘extreme’ predicate to the notion of enhanced agility, but if I utilized any type of jade, the notion of agility wouldn’t be able to be utilized.”
“The enhancements are restricted by the type of material utilized?” the young girl echoed.
“Then aren’t enhanced objects regarded as insignificant increases to a person’s strengths? If certain types of materials prevented a specific range of enhancements from being available… then those who can be craftsman or blacksmith must be in the lower numbers?”
“Craftsmen and blacksmiths who are able to forge spiritual accessories are definitely in the low… but they are immensely respected by the jianghu, ah.” Shen Haoren smiled.
“Besides, everything regarding enhanced objects is fair. Even if a certain type of material prevents a specified enhancement, the rest would be of a heightened degree to compensate for the loss. Furthermore, the jianghu is in love with enhanced objects ah.”
“…enhanced to a heightened degree, ah…”
The young girl’s lips twitched at the notion of spiritual accessories serving as the capstone of a battle.
However, An Fei made no motion of choosing an enhanced object from the vast array even after Shen Haoren had displayed numerous puppy eyed expressions to guilt-trip her into purchasing one.
“You won’t buy a single one from my assortment?” the middle-aged man sighed.
“You know, my reputation is well renowned throughout the continent, ah! I even have personal stores opened in Jiang’an, Changshan, and Kusan, if you’re doubting my credibility…”
“I’m not doubting your credibility as a craftsman, but…”
These spiritual accessories are essentially lethal objects to me!
Lethal objects that could harm me, and me alone!
The young girl’s countenance became glum as she thought of the terrifying restrictions imposed on her soul whilst she was in the mortal world.
An Fei’s lips pursed as she gazed at the row of finely crafted accessories, forced to turn away with a sigh.
She did want to take one back to study it, but was trepid due to the fact that a single brush of her skin was sufficient to trigger a horrifying wave of hives to assault her body.
Calming her mood with a few deep breaths, An Fei parted her lips to ask a rather troubling question.
“That’s right, why were you looking – “
Ta! Ta! Ta!
“Young Miss, the stall is here!”
The cacophonic roar of an armored platoon of soldiers marching through a narrowed corridor drowned the remainder of the young girl’s question, and Xiao Yue finally arrived to her destination with her personal guard.
The young lady displayed a curious expression at her fellow customer, before rushing towards the rotten stall with an excited expression on her countenance.
The platoon of guards remained behind at a respectful distance of seven meters away, their countenances rigid with an unknown anxiety.
“Store owner, is it true that you have enhanced objects on display!?”
Shen Haoren blinked in bemusement and irritation, his mood irked by the young lady’s sudden intervention.
The middle-aged man restrained himself from the urge to slap Xiao Yue away from his treasured objects for she was practically drooling on them, but managed to curb his emotions.
Besides, he was in the middle of a highly engaging conversation!
Albeit her knowledge in this field was quite limited, her insight was still keen!
“Young Lady…”
In the end, the middle-aged man of the Shen Family couldn’t help himself and lightly coughed, attracting Xiao Yue’s attention with ease.
As the young lady gazed upon him with expectation, Shen Haoren nearly trembled from disgust.
Go wipe that drool from your lip!
You’re not my precious little daughter, that looks absurd and disgusting!
“Young Lady, these objects are capable of conducting spiritual essence of a practitioner. Other than the need to handle with care, only practitioners of the Foundation Establishment Realm and above will be able to effectively utilize their amplification to the utmost – and that is for the lowest quality object, which I don’t have on display, ah.”
“You need to be a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator to be able to use these trinkets?” the young girl blinked in surprise.
The inscribed words on the spiritual accessories were as though the amplification effect was not difficult to manifest… but it required the cultivation of a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator?
An Fei’s fingers shot upwards to finger the base of her chin in thought.
Were the amplifications provided to one’s base ability that great?
“Young Lady… these magnitude of amplification depends on the individual prowess of the practitioner,” Shen Haoren explained in a reasonable tone.
“From the same enhanced object, a practitioner may be able to double his agility, but another cultivator could perhaps triple his agility, or receive no benefit at all. Other than that, only a cultivator of the Foundation Establishment Realm and above can supply the volume of spiritual essence required to manifest the amplification, ah.”
“I… understand…”
The young lady turned her attention back onto the plain and exquisite accessories displayed on the rotten stall.
Having regained her chance, An Fei tapped onto the counter of the half-decayed stall, her countenance flashing with a solemn expression.
“Mr. Shen, you should explain why you sought me out last time.”
The middle-aged man inadvertently glanced at the figure of the young lady carefully perusing the objects, his happy-go-lucky expression similarly wiping off to reveal a serious countenance.
Shen Haoren frowned for a few moments, before deigning to speak.
“Young lass, everything will be explained if you go to the Shen Family. Just say that Shen Haoren sent you there, and you’re to meet with the Second Elder of the manor – the guards and the manager will immediately understand. Be assured, we aren’t intending to harm your life at the slightest!”
As An Fei stood in place with an eyebrow raised in bemusement and helplessness, the middle-aged man had already turned his gaze over towards the young lady, doing his utmost to act as a proper salesperson to scam the living death out of Xiao Yue’s pockets.
“Ah yes, the Blood Jade choker can provide an excellent defense capability when it is unleashed, but I would personally recommend the Golden Bhrandi Necklace if you’re seeking defense, since the Blood Jade Choker isn’t of much use until the Spirit Building Realm, and customers can only purchase a single spiritual accessory…”
