Chapter 2: Fangqi Pavilion

Qu Yi arrived at the Time and Space Hall of Fei City, paid the divine crystals, and was transported to the Time and Space Hall of Liquan City via the time and space array.
Soon after, Qu Yi used the time and space array of Liquan City to reach Huobao Town.
Alone, he left the Time and Space Hall of Huobao Town and stepped onto the streets, only to find them extremely crowded.
Huobao Town was a renowned crafting hub throughout the Huoli Divine Realm. It was the birthplace of the most famous God of Crafting in the divine world—Yan Zhenleng. Since ancient times, it had been a cradle for craftsmen, and a gathering place for various merchant groups, with people everywhere purchasing divine artifacts.
After walking for a while, Qu Yi understood the situation of Huobao Town. It had not declined due to the disappearance of the God of Crafting; people from all walks of life continued to flock there.
Qu Yi quickly figured this out—while the God of Crafting was one thing, Huobao Town was another. Though without the God of Crafting’s protection, craftsmen, as a rare profession in the divine world, were still highly valued by cultivators, so Huobao Town retained its status.
“The God of Crafting and Huobao Town are really bustling,” Qu Yi transmitted mentally to the God of Crafting inside the Cunjie Ball.
“Huobao Town is fine. Now I can focus on training you to help me seek revenge,” the God of Crafting replied immediately.
Qu Yi nodded and continued strolling around Huobao Town.
“How expensive! A divine artifact at the Divine Human stage costs ten million divine crystals? It’s better to just kill me!” complained a cultivator who had just stepped out of a store selling divine artifacts.
The other cultivators passing by sneered at his words, as if ten million divine crystals for an artifact was already cheap, and he still had the audacity to complain. If he didn’t have the money, he shouldn’t come to Huobao Town and embarrass himself.
Seeing the scornful looks from the crowd, the cultivator’s face turned red, and he quickly ran away.
Qu Yi was slightly surprised at this scene, but soon his face lit up with joy. He now realized that being a craftsman was indeed the fastest way to make money.
“If a divine artifact at the Divine Human stage costs over ten million divine crystals, then I’ll start selling them. After all, I’m already at the Divine Weapon stage, and I don’t need these divine artifacts anymore,” Qu Yi thought happily.

Over ten thousand years, people sent by Tianfeng Fort went to the Savage Beast Mountains and dug up many ores. After some refining, Qu Yi created millions of divine artifacts at the Divine Being level. Ninety thousand of these artifacts were left for Tianfeng Fort to sell, helping it amass wealth quickly and train its members. Qu Yi kept ten thousand for himself, and now he wanted to sell them all.

“Divine Artifact God, which store should I sell these artifacts to?” After making up his mind, Qu Yi immediately sought the Divine Artifact God’s advice.

Yet, after asking, the Divine Artifact God didn’t respond for a long time. Not understanding why, Qu Yi could only wait.

Suddenly, the Divine Artifact God’s voice rang out, “Qu Yi, sell them at Fangqi Pavilion. It’s at the end of this road. There’s only one store there—Fangqi Pavilion.”

Hearing this, Qu Yi exclaimed and quickened his pace toward the end of the road.

※※※

“Divine Artifact God, this is the store you recommended? It’s really… quite shabby.” Standing in front of a store with few customers, Qu Yi was shocked. He immediately contacted the Divine Artifact God with his mental senses.

Along the way, Qu Yi had seen no fewer than a thousand stores selling divine artifacts. While not all were luxurious and elegant, most were spacious, well-lit, and bustling with customers. But the store before him was nothing more than a house, with only a few decent artifacts inside. There were barely three customers, all of whom looked disdainful.

Above the store’s entrance hung a wooden plaque with the words “Fangqi Pavilion” carved on it.

Qu Yi couldn’t believe this Fangqi Pavilion was the one recommended by a Divine King. It greatly diminished its value. More importantly, he was certain Fangqi Pavilion didn’t have the money to buy his ten thousand artifacts.

“Qu Yi, wait until those three leave before entering,” the Divine Artifact God said softly, without objection.

Since the Divine Artifact God had spoken so, Qu Yi knew Fangqi Pavilion must be connected to him. He said nothing more and waited quietly outside.

Inside Fangqi Pavilion, the three customers looked down on the simple items in the store, casting disdainful glances at the seven or eight artifacts hanging on the walls before giving them a quick glance and losing interest.

“Hey, Fangqi Pavilion—after all, it’s part of the Divine Artifact God’s legacy. How can it be so shabby?”

“Crafting weapons? Does your Fangqi Pavilion even qualify to craft them? Look at those eight divine weapons on your wall—it’s obvious they’re of poor quality. Who would buy them?”
“The God of Weapons died just fifty million years ago, yet your Fangqi Pavilion has already declined to this state. How can you even be considered worthy of the God of Weapons?”
The three of them were now laughing mockingly.
Inside the store, the only salesperson was a young man dressed simply, at only the Divine Being stage. He appeared terrified, but he stood upright, smiling faintly at the three customers without responding, allowing them to say whatever harsh things they wanted.
At that moment, Qu Yi entered Fangqi Pavilion.
Qu Yi went straight to the counter and faced the salesperson, his eyes wide and his expression angry. He slammed his right hand on the counter with a loud crack.
The salesperson jumped back in fright, trembling, almost in tears. He thought Qu Yi was someone who came to destroy Fangqi Pavilion.
“What’s going on with your Fangqi Pavilion? You clearly have top-quality divine weapons, so why do you keep displaying such shoddy ones on the wall? If it weren’t for information I got from a friend, I would have been deceived by you. It turns out your Fangqi Pavilion has always had secret sales channels, supplying top-quality divine weapons only to certain merchant groups.” Ignoring the salesperson’s reaction, Qu Yi took out a sword-shaped divine weapon and placed it on the counter, shouting loudly.
Instantly, the three customers, who had been surprised earlier, focused their attention on the sword on the counter.
The sword emitted a gentle blue glow, with a sharp edge hidden within. Its wood element energy was extremely strong, making it one of the top-tier divine weapons among those at the Divine Being stage.
Naturally, after hearing Qu Yi’s words and seeing the sword on the counter, the three customers believed him right away.
“Brother Daoist, does Fangqi Pavilion really have secret sales channels? Has it been pretending to be in decline while secretly amassing huge wealth?” asked the tallest of the three, filled with surprise.
In fact, these three customers came from three different merchant groups. Their purpose for visiting Huobao Town was to buy large quantities of divine weapons to sell in their stores across various cities.
Having encountered setbacks in other stores, they came to Fangqi Pavilion, using mockery as a way to vent their accumulated anger over the past few days.
Hearing Qu Yi’s words, the three immediately realized that Fangqi Pavilion might offer them a path to wealth.

“Of course. The Square Vessel Pavilion is clearly capable of producing a large number of divine artifacts, yet it refuses to sell even one, always showing itself in this dilapidated state—just to hide its true strength. Fortunately, my friends are everywhere in the divine realm, and they finally gave me some information, allowing me to understand the Pavilion’s real capabilities,” Qu Yi said firmly.
The salesperson from the Square Vessel Pavilion finally realized what was happening and immediately cried out in panic, “Sir, our Pavilion doesn’t have the ability to create divine artifacts! Really, don’t believe him!”
Obviously, not knowing why Qu Yi had appeared and made such bold claims, the salesperson quickly realized he was facing a serious crisis. If they couldn’t produce good divine artifacts, those three customers would surely destroy the Pavilion!
The salesperson was on the verge of crying, looking at Qu Yi with pitiful eyes, pleading for mercy. The three customers already believed Qu Yi’s words, and seeing the salesperson’s reaction only strengthened their belief that he was acting, trying to conceal the Pavilion’s true strength.
“Fine, so you’ve been hiding the truth from everyone all this time. Today, you must explain clearly why the Pavilion never shows off its good divine artifacts and why you’re trying to hide your strength,” another person shouted angrily at the salesperson.
Frightened, the salesperson sat down on the ground, his expression conveying only one thing: “Why? Why are you trying to frame our Pavilion?”
Qu Yi ignored the salesperson’s gaze and turned to the three customers, saying, “My fellow cultivators, it seems this salesperson isn’t in a position to make decisions. He can’t give us a satisfactory answer. How about we come back in ten days? Let him discuss this with the real authorities of the Pavilion and see what their response is. Hmph, if they still can’t give us four of us a satisfactory answer, we’ll expose their true strength. I wonder how they can continue to conduct secret transactions then.”
Hearing Qu Yi’s words and seeing the terrified salesperson, the three customers nodded immediately.
“Good, that’s settled. We’ll come back in ten days. If the Square Vessel Pavilion dares not provide divine artifacts to our True Treasure Merchant Group, I’ll expose their true strength.”
“Yes, our Ten Thousand Artifacts Merchant Group also wants to do business with them. Otherwise, they can forget about continuing their secret deals.”
“Hmph, our Rare Treasures Merchant Group wants its share too.”

The three of them said proudly, their eyes shining and faces excited. They were all glad to have come to Fangqi Pavilion, as they had received such important news and thus secured a source for divine artifacts, ensuring a future in the business of selling them.
Soon after, Qu Yi and the three customers left Fangqi Pavilion.
The salesperson watched the four of them leave helplessly. He staggered to his feet, his eyes unfocused, repeating over and over, “Why? Why frame us at Fangqi Pavilion?”
While the salesperson was still muttering foolishly, Qu Yi returned, stepping into Fangqi Pavilion happily.
“What are you staring at? The path to Fangqi Pavilion’s revival has already begun,” Qu Yi called out with a smile.