Zhang Tianbao's expression changed upon hearing this, but considering their identities, he suppressed his anger and said with a forced smile, "You jest, esteemed guest. You get what you pay for. I sell my wares at their true value and would never dare to deceive anyone."
"Junior Brother Chen, do not be rude."
The most handsome of the three rebuked Junior Brother Chen and then spoke gently to Zhang Tianbao, "Junior Brother Chen is merely careless with his words. I hope, shopkeeper, you will not take offense."
Zhang Tianbao repeatedly shook his head, "Not at all, not at all."
He lowered his head, but the corners of his mouth turned downwards.
Careless with his words meant he agreed with what his junior brother had said. He wasn't deaf, he understood.
Furthermore, although the speaker tried his best to appear approachable, the arrogance in his eyes was not hidden at all, and it was clearly visible.
Chen Tao was a little unconvinced, but with a glance from his senior brother, he immediately shut his mouth.
"Senior Brother Long, they definitely won't have what we need here. Let's go to the next place."
The one who had remained silent also urged them on. Although not explicitly stated, his contempt could be heard in his words.
Zhang Tianbao's teeth itched with anger, but he dared not show it. His earlier joy had long since turned into indignation.
Long Haotian offered the shopkeeper an apologetic smile, turned, and led his two junior brothers out the door.
Zhang Tianbao stood his ground, making no move to see them off. After the three had left, he let out a cold snort, picked up the white cloth that had fallen to the ground, and slowly began to wipe down the Precious Treasures Pavilion.
On the street.
Chen Tao indignantly shouted, "Senior Brother, why didn't you let me continue speaking earlier? That was definitely a black shop. The shopkeeper looked like a bad person the moment I saw him."
Long Haotian chuckled softly and said, "Junior Brother Chen, why bother with that shopkeeper? It only lowers your status for no reason. Moreover, we have more important tasks on this journey; it's not worth wasting time on him."
Chen Tao suddenly understood and said ingratiatingly, "Senior Brother has a long-term vision; I was just thinking too simply. We are from the Xuan..."
"Junior Brother Chen!" Long Haotian forcefully interrupted Chen Tao, "Do you remember what the elder instructed us before we left? Not to reveal our identities."
Chen Tao flinched, "Senior Brother Long, I remember. There won't be a next time."
Long Haotian nodded indifferently, but his mind was already contemplating where to search for a master artifact refiner next.
This desolate city was too barren; he had no confidence in finding the person he sought within a few days.
If they had known this, they should have cooperated with one of the senior brothers skilled in artifact refining from the sect before coming to the desolate city, rather than being in such a predicament.
"Senior Brother Long, let's go check out that place."
The taciturn Wang Yi'an looked at another shop on the street corner and said to Long Haotian.
"Senior Brother Long, let me go check first."
Before Long Haotian could reply, Chen Tao eagerly stepped forward, not missing any opportunity to impress his senior brother.
Long Haotian smiled and shook his head, then followed.
Two days later.
Long Haotian smashed the table into pieces with a palm strike and said coldly, "Can this desolate city not find a single artifact refiner!"
Seeing Long Haotian's anger, Chen Tao didn't dare to breathe and lowered his head, lamenting his misfortune.
"Junior Brother Chen, tell me, what should we do next?"
Long Haotian suddenly called out Chen Tao's name.
Chen Tao wailed inwardly and slowly raised his head, saying sheepishly, "Senior Brother Long, if we can't find a suitable person in the desolate city, I can't think of a solution either."
After speaking, Chen Tao saw Long Haotian's expression growing even gloomier and quickly tried to salvage the situation, "Why don't I rush to Great Goose City now to find someone? Perhaps there's still time."
"It took us half a month to travel from Great Goose City to here. If you rush back now and find someone to come over, it will take at least another month. There are less than ten days left until the secret realm opens. Do you think you can make it in time?"
If Chen Tao were not the favorite disciple of the outer elder, Long Haotian would have cursed him as an idiot.
Chen Tao also knew he had proposed a foolish idea and dared not speak further.
"Junior Brother Wang, do you have any good suggestions?"
Chen Tao breathed a sigh of relief and secretly chuckled at the silent one, thinking he couldn't possibly come up with anything.
Wang Yi'an was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Senior Brother Long, I have a suggestion, and I don't know if it is feasible."
"Oh? Junior Brother Wang, please speak." Long Haotian's eyes lit up.
"Although the desolate city is small, it's impossible that there isn't a single artifact refiner. It's very likely that we are using the wrong method."
Long Haotian found some sense in his words, nodded, and gestured for Wang Yi'an to continue.
Wang Yi'an said gravely, "Since we can't find artifact refiners in the shops selling magical treasures, let's find someone familiar with the desolate city and ask them about the artifact refiners in the city. We should broaden our criteria; we'll definitely find someone."
"Broaden our criteria."
Long Haotian hesitated.
The secret realm they needed to enter required an artifact refiner to open it. For the sake of certainty, he naturally wanted to find an artifact refiner with superb refining skills.
He had initially thought this requirement was not too demanding, as in the Xuan Prefecture, while intermediate artifact refiners were not common, they were not difficult to find.
But who could have imagined that the desolate city had no one who met the criteria.
The magical treasures sold here were things he wouldn't even glance at if they were thrown on the ground, let alone cooperate with these low-level artifact refiners.
However, with the opening of the secret realm approaching, it was difficult for him to adhere to his own standards.
A flicker crossed his eyes, and he resolutely declared, "Alright, all we need now is to find any artifact refiner."
Wang Yi'an nodded heavily.
He had felt for a long time that they should have done this, but Senior Brother Long was too proud. If he had spoken up earlier, his senior brother would not have agreed. Now was the opportune moment.
"Junior Brother Wang's thoughts are quick and agile, excellent."
Having come up with a solution, Long Haotian was in a good mood and rarely offered praise.
This one sentence made Chen Tao so jealous that his eyes almost turned red.
He had run errands for Long Haotian all the way without receiving a single word of praise. Instead, this person named Wang had only offered a suggestion and had already caught his senior brother's attention.
This was too unfair.
The one named Wang, who he thought was a dullard, turned out to be so cunning. He had deliberately emerged after Chen Tao had spoken incorrectly to show off, thus overshadowing him. It was truly detestable.
Chen Tao felt that if he didn't perform well, he wouldn't gain anything upon returning to the sect.
He quickly said, "Senior Brother Long, leave this matter to me."
Long Haotian looked at him deeply, his tone carrying a hidden meaning, "Since that's the case, Junior Brother Chen, I'll trouble you with this task. Please, do not disappoint me again."
Chen Tao trembled all over and loudly guaranteed his commitment.
Just as he was about to go out to search for an artifact refiner, a strange auspicious light in the sky caught his attention. The foot he had already stepped forward stopped in mid-air.
"Junior Brother Chen, why haven't you set off yet?"
Long Haotian saw Chen Tao lingering and a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes.
Chen Tao suddenly snapped back to reality, pointed outside the window, and stammered, "L-Long, Senior Brother Long, you, you look outside quickly!"
Long Haotian froze, strode to the window, and casually glanced outside.
The next moment, his eyes widened in shock, and he exclaimed, "This is..."