Reversing the Milky Way

"Look, my friend, this package is so big. The two Grade 3 spiritual plants exposed right now are worth at least 100 silver coins, and that's a low price. If you buy them and don't need them, you can resell them. The normal price for Grade 3 spiritual plants is 150 silver coins. But don't forget, I have a whole package of spiritual plants and herbs in my bag. If there's another Grade 3 spiritual plant in there, then buying this package will be a sure thing. Besides, there are quite a few other spiritual plants and herbs in this package, and I can guarantee that there's nothing mixed in with them."

Upon hearing this, the person in front of him was clearly stunned.

"Brother, what you're saying is just a matter of probability, but you know best whether it's in there or not. What if it's not in your bag? Wouldn't that be lying to us?"

"Hey, brother, you're wrong about that. What do you mean by 'scam'? The spiritual plants in this bundle are worth at least 240 silver coins. Even if I sell them to you at the lowest price, you won't lose out! I'm just trying to sell all the spiritual herbs and plants."

Upon hearing Bai Cheng's words, the people around him began to whisper among themselves.

At this moment, another passerby who was watching also stepped forward.

“But you’re selling so many at once, we can’t possibly take them all. Besides, there are many of these that we don’t need.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng scrutinized the person who had just spoken and discovered that this person was at the Great Perfection of Body Refinement Realm and had no spiritual energy fluctuations.

“Brother, as I just said, you won’t lose out even if you buy it. You can resell the spiritual plants you don’t need. It’s just that I’m in a hurry, so I want to sell them quickly.”

Upon hearing this, a cultivator at the mid-stage of the Qi Condensation Realm stepped out from the crowd. He had already scanned the number of spiritual plants in the bundle with his divine sense, and the price was indeed not much different from what Bai Cheng had said. However, as a cultivator, it was not difficult to obtain first-grade and second-grade spiritual plants. It was only the third-grade spiritual plants that were more difficult to find.

Therefore, he didn't need the other first-grade and second-grade spiritual plants in the package; he only had his eye on these two third-grade plants.

So he stepped forward and said, "Tch, who knows if the rest of the plants inside are just weeds or something, besides these two grade-three spiritual plants? How about this, I only want these two grade-three spiritual plants, okay?"

Bai Cheng looked at the person walking up in front of him and sized him up in his mind.

“My friend, you may buy these two Grade 3 spiritual plants, but the price will be calculated at the highest market price, which is two hundred silver coins. Also, since I promised that these are all spiritual herbs and plants, there will be no weeds.”

Upon hearing this, the cultivator's expression immediately turned somewhat displeased.

"What a joke! You just said you'd sell to us at the lowest possible price, how come you've changed your mind now?"

"Hehe, the minimum standard I just mentioned is the price of buying the whole package, not selling it separately. If you want it sold separately, you'll have to buy it according to the highest standard."

That's right, Bai Cheng wanted to sell the bag of spiritual plants and herbs in his hand as soon as possible. After all, he couldn't just leave them there like the others, waiting for them to come and buy them. That would be too much of a waste of his time. Besides, he had only picked these spiritual plants and herbs casually on Emerald Spirit Island. He could just go back for more when he needed money. At least, that's what Bai Cheng was thinking right now.

The cultivator glanced at Bai Cheng's attire, pondered for a moment, and then nodded. Although he didn't really need anything besides the third-grade spiritual plants, as a mid-stage Qi Condensation Realm cultivator, he didn't care about the money.

In the end, Bai Cheng sold the bag of spiritual plants he had collected. However, what surprised him was that the people buying and selling things here were quite logical and their methods were very clear. They didn't seem to be easily fooled. However, the price of his bag of spiritual plants was also reasonable, so the buyer didn't lose out.

After putting the money into his cloth bag, Bai Cheng was about to leave when the person who bought his things called him back.

"Young man, I see this is probably your first time buying and selling items here, right?"

"Yes, that's true."

"Hehe, I'll be frank. Many people have tried your so-called blind box sales method before. Do you know why no one has done it again since?"

Bai Cheng nodded in confusion. "Why?"

The cultivator shook his head.

"Because for us, we only need to scan with our divine sense to know what's inside."

After saying that, he turned his head and waved his hand.

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng's mind was suddenly jolted.

'Yes, this trick might work for ordinary people, but it's meaningless for cultivators. However, since this person knows what's in my package, why did they say it might contain weeds? Human nature is truly unpredictable.'

And so, Bai Cheng returned to his residence in the academy with a hint of doubt.

Time comes the next day.

Bai Cheng left his residence early and headed to the main hall in the center of the academy.

However, when Bai Cheng arrived, he found that there was no one there. After making some inquiries, he learned that Elder Lu Xuzi's forging class was in a place called the Forging Gold Cave.

Bai Cheng had never heard of this place before, but after a brief inquiry, he learned that the so-called Gold Forging Cave was located in a mountain valley in the northeast of the academy. It was also where the Third Elder, Lu Xuzi, often stayed, and it was about ten miles away from the academy's main hall.

"Sigh, this academy is so big, it doesn't seem like such a good thing."

After saying that, he inquired about the matter while heading towards the Gold Forging Cave.

After a while, Bai Cheng arrived at his destination while asking passing students for directions. There he saw a huge main hall with the four large characters "Forging Gold Cave" written above it.

To his surprise, he noticed that behind the gate was a massive mountain, from which came occasional clanging and banging sounds. Upon reaching the entrance, Bai Chengcheng could clearly feel a wave of heat wash over his face.

"So that's how it is. The White Palace Academy actually built its forging workshop inside the mountain. That's quite an idea." Immediately afterward, Bai Cheng entered the main hall.

What came into view was a huge furnace. Below the furnace, Lu Xuzi was holding an iron hammer and striking his weapon, while a group of students were watching from all sides.

Bai Cheng walked forward and randomly found an empty spot. However, as he approached the huge furnace, the scorching air around him made him feel as if he had entered a hot sauna. He could even feel the heat wave entering his lungs through his trachea when he breathed.

Moreover, he noticed that red patterns were appearing on the skin of Lu Xuzi's arm, which was holding the weapon. He immediately recognized these as body-refining inscriptions. Meanwhile, the veins on Lu Xuzi's arm, which was wielding the hammer, were bulging, and the perfect muscle lines displayed immense power. With each strike, a surge of spiritual energy emanated from the surface of the hammer colliding with the weapon, its power no less than that of two people with spiritual energy locked in combat.

'Is this the forging process here? It's completely different from Lu Qixiong's at Renhui Academy. Wait! The Third Elder also shares the surname Lu, could there be some connection between them?'

As he was pondering, Lu Xuzi swung his iron hammer again, and a ring of ores placed around him suddenly flew up. Under his control of his spirit manipulation technique, they flew into the scorching furnace, while his weapon continued to hammer.

After some time, Lu Xuzi felt that the time was about right, so he directly threw the weapon, which he had already molded, into the furnace. Then he used his divine sense to condense the essence of the molten ore that had just been thrown into the furnace into the weapon he had put in.

After a while, he suddenly raised one hand, and the weapon he had thrown into the furnace flew out. Under his control, the weapon spun continuously in the air and then flew straight into a pool of liquid not far from him.

Lu Xuzi's series of actions were incredibly smooth, appearing almost like art to Bai Cheng. As the weapon submerged in the unknown liquid flew out again, Lu Xuzi suddenly leaped into the air, raising the iron hammer in his hand. At that moment, Bai Cheng was astonished to see a layer of golden light covering the surface of the hammer.

As Lu Xuzi forcefully struck the weapon's surface with his iron hammer, golden light instantly enveloped the entire weapon. A deafening clang of weapons resounded throughout the hall, followed by a sudden burst of golden light that dispersed in the air. A fully forged longsword, under Lu Xuzi's control, hovered before him.

Immediately afterwards, the students in the surrounding halls exclaimed in admiration.

"As expected of the Third Elder, his Thousand Refinement Formation Technique instantly solidified the weapon's shape."

"Yes, it doesn't even need polishing."

Hearing the exclamations of the surrounding students, Bai Cheng, while marveling at the sight, also repeated the technique that the person had just mentioned.

"The Thousand Refinements Formation Technique? Could it be the golden light covering Elder Lu's hammer just now?"

He recalled watching Lu Qixiong forge weapons at Renhui Academy and suddenly realized that the difference between the two was too great. At that time, the weapon polishing took no less than twenty minutes.

When he looked at the longsword forged by Lu Xuzi, the mirror-like blade radiated a sharp aura, exactly the same as the power of the top-grade treasure-level weapons he had ever seen.

"That concludes today's forging lesson. You should practice diligently on your own when you return home. I have clearly explained the ins and outs of forging, so do not disappoint my expectations."

After Lu Xuzi finished speaking, he casually hung the forged longsword on the weapon rack, and the surrounding students gradually began to leave.

After a while, only Bai Cheng and Lu Xuzi remained in the main hall.

Seeing that Bai Cheng had not left for a long time, Lu Xuzi suddenly spoke up.

"Few informal trainees come to observe the forging process anymore. I remember your name is Bai Cheng. Why haven't you left yet?"

Bai Cheng stepped forward and looked at Lu Xuzi, who was cooling the molten iron in the furnace.

"I have come to ask you about something."

"Oh? What is it?"

"This junior would like to inquire about spirit puppets."

Upon hearing the words "spirit puppet," Lu Xuzi frowned slightly.

“Spirit puppet? That’s an extremely difficult thing to forge. Even as an expert in forging, I’ve never been able to forge a spirit puppet that satisfies me. So, with your current strength, it’s too early for you to get involved.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng recalled the giant spirit puppet he had seen that night, and felt a slight sense of resentment.

"Elder Lu, what conditions are required if I want to create a spirit puppet?"

"As for the conditions, I only know the general outline. You must master the most basic forging techniques, and you also need to be proficient in various formations,"

"Array?"

Bai Cheng was somewhat confused after hearing about the formation.

"That's right, it's an array. To make the spirit puppet move as nimbly as a human, you have to inscribe array patterns on each part to ensure the transmission of spiritual power. Not only that, you also need to have various rare materials to ensure the strength of the spirit puppet."

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng pondered for a moment.

"Elder Lu, I've heard that there are spirit puppets in the academy's trial tower. May I go and observe them?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xuzi fell into deep thought.

'This kid's cultivation level isn't high, why would he be interested in spirit puppets?'

After thinking for a moment, Lu Xuzi said, "Alright, since you want to go, I'll take you to see it. It just so happens that I haven't been to the Trial Tower for a long time, so I should go and see it too."

After saying that, Lu Xuzi led Bai Cheng and flew towards the Trial Tower.

The Trial Tower is located in the northwest of the academy, a full forty miles away from the central hall. After passing through a dense forest, Lu Xuzi led Bai Cheng to land at the foot of a mountain, which was right in front of the Trial Tower.

"Wow! This is huge!"

Bai Cheng looked at the trial tower in front of him, which was more than 300 meters wide and even 800 meters high.

"This tower is the academy's trial tower. Let's go in."

After saying that, Lu Xuzi arrived at the entrance of the Trial Tower. When he placed his hand on the door, a formation suddenly appeared on the door.

"This place is not open to the public normally. There is also a sealing formation on the gate. You can only enter by opening the formation."

As they spoke, Lu Xuzi had already activated the formation. With a loud bang, the doors of the Trial Tower opened, and he led Bai Cheng inside.

"This tower has ten floors, and each floor has a spirit puppet."

Bai Cheng looked around at the empty space, in the center of which stood a humanoid puppet.

Bai Cheng quickly arrived at the scene, but when he saw the puppet in front of him, he was greatly disappointed.

"This, this is a spirit puppet? This is so different from the ones I've seen before."

The spirit puppet in front of him was about the same height as Bai Cheng. It was made of wood and felt very rigid to the touch. Although its limbs had a clear structure, they were also quite angular.

The finger joints were passable, but Bai Cheng couldn't stand the face of the spirit puppet. It was like a person's expression painted on a mask. The only thing that Bai Cheng could accept was the spirit puppet's eyes, which shone like gemstones.