After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 141 Poverty Can Be Fatal

"That shopkeeper is no ordinary person. Shen Xu was right to avoid her. You should also avoid going to that place again in the future," Zuo Chen instructed on the way back.

"However, the masks you bought must be quite special. Go back and study them carefully. If you're unsure about anything, feel free to ask me. This will also help me put my array formation skills to good use."

Furthermore, the location and rules for the sword selection will be announced tomorrow. You need to find out the specific details so we can discuss our specific plans for the sword selection together tomorrow.

Especially Brother Cen and Miss Xiao, you both hold very high positions in your respective sects. I hope you can find out some secrets that only the five major alliances know.”

"Leave it to me!"

"I try my best!"

"Thank you both. Let's call it a day!"

After everyone left, Qingyun asked Li Xiaoyi curiously, "Sister Xiaoyi, why did you join Wentian?"

“Because of Shen Xu!” Li Xiaoyi replied calmly.

"Brother Shen? Did Sister Li know Brother Shen before?"

Li Xiaoyi shook her head. "I lost to him, so I joined Wentian according to the bet I made with Zuo Chen. So, I'm actually the fourth member of Wentian!"

"So Sister Xiao Yi didn't join Wentian voluntarily!"

"At first I felt a bit like I'd been tricked, but now it seems pretty good." Li Xiaoyi played with the golden mask in her hand. The golden flowers on it closed up one by one under her touch, becoming a flawless pure golden mask, with no gaps that could allow the flowers to open.

"Wow! How amazing!" Sister Xiao Yi must look especially beautiful wearing this mask.

"The mask you have is worth a thousand more Nourishing Yuan Pills than this one, so it will definitely have an even more amazing effect. However, this is not the right place. You can try it when we get back!" Li Xiaoyi said with some anticipation.

"But I still think it's not worth spending so much money on a mask."

"Qingyun, you should understand the principle that scarcity increases value. If this mask were at an auction house, it could fetch no less than five thousand Nourishing Yuan Pills. It wouldn't be surprising if it sold for tens of thousands if someone was interested. The world doesn't lack Nourishing Yuan Pills, but it does lack such exquisite masks," Li Xiaoyi said quietly.

"Sister Xiao Yi, now that you put it that way, I think I can understand the value of this mask." Qing Yun looked at the blue mask in his hand with a sense of realization.

"It's a pity that even though Brother Shen was the first to discover that place, he used the cheapest mask."

"No need to regret it, that demon mask suits him best!"

"Why? Brother Shen is clearly very capable!"

"Because that mask has a curse that brings bad luck; whoever owns it will soon be penniless. That's probably why the mask is so cheap." As he said this, Li Xiaoyi's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Ah! Why didn't Sister Xiao Yi remind Brother Shen?" Qingyun asked anxiously.

"Who told him to be so arrogant when he competed with me in swordsmanship? Besides, Shen Xu probably didn't have much money left after buying that mask. Isn't it appropriate for him to use that mask?" Li Xiaoyi's eyes revealed a hint of coldness.

"So Brother Shen is really poor!" Qingyun couldn't help but think of the more than a thousand Nourishing Yuan Pills that her master had left her in the storage ring.

Shen Xu was very poor; he felt he was desperately poor. Taking Yuan Wuwei to the Min Pavilion was the second stupidest decision he made after arriving in Tianjian City. The first, of course, was that he had somehow become obsessed with buying things from the Min Pavilion.

When he first arrived in Tianjian City, he had three hundred Nourishing Essence Pills. In less than half a month, he only had a few Qi Nourishing Pills left. What could he do with that little money? Besides, he was about to spend the remaining Qi Nourishing Pills.

"Could you make it cheaper? It's just an ordinary sword box! Isn't it too much to charge me ten Nourishing Yuan Pills?"

"Ordinary? You say the sword cases in our shop are ordinary? These sword cases are made of century-old Nourishing Wood, which is the most suitable material for nurturing and repairing weapons. They are also handcrafted by a master carpenter. Charging you ten Nourishing Pills is already a bargain."

"If you want something ordinary, you can buy it from one of those small workshops for ten Qi-Nourishing Pills."

"Yes! That's the regular kind I want. Could you please give me directions?" Shen Xu said with some surprise.

"Get lost! If you don't have money, don't even bother entering our Hundred Weapons Hall. You're wasting my time!"

Seeing the waiter's arrogant attitude, Shen Xu couldn't help but think to himself, "Tch! What's with the attitude? It's not my fault I don't have money. If you keep kicking customers out like this, the shop will go out of business sooner or later!"

But this was the only place he could find that sold sword cases. He had tried talking to carpenters and explaining his needs, but they all said they couldn't make a sword case in such a short time.

He wanted to buy a sword case to hide his two swords inside, otherwise carrying two swords would make him easily recognized, which would make it difficult for him to conceal his identity and avoid being targeted by Su Jing's people.

Just as Shen Xu was still wondering where else he could buy a sword case, he suddenly heard an old man's voice in his ear, "Young brother, I see that your face is dark, I'm afraid that not only will your fortune be bad recently, but you may also suffer a bloody disaster!"

Shen Xu turned his head and saw an elderly Taoist priest with white hair and a youthful face, holding a long banner and smiling at him. On the left side of the banner were written "Half of the mysteries of the world are known," and on the right side were written "Ancient and modern secrets are now clear." The horizontal inscription read "Perceiving all phenomena."

"Uncle! You're too boastful and you might hurt your back. You'd better be careful." Shen Xu had never seen anyone dare to write like that before.

The old man didn't care about Shen Xu's sarcasm, and continued to ask, "Young man, am I wrong?"

"I was kicked out because I had no money, so of course my luck is bad. Besides, anyone with eyes can see that I came here to participate in the sword selection, so how could there be no danger! Old man, please find someone else to scam! I really am poor." After saying this, Shen Xu tried to leave.

"I can answer one of your questions for free, young man. How about you wait for my answer before drawing any conclusions?"

"Can the Four Sword Saints become true demigods within ten years?" Shen Xu asked tentatively.

"It's all up to human effort; there's still a glimmer of hope." The old man smiled and stroked his white beard.

"Nonsense!" Shen Xu turned and left without hesitation.

"Wait! I can tell you where to buy cheap sword cases!" the old man suddenly said.

"Why didn't you say so earlier! How much money do you want? I won't give you more than that."

"I don't want money, but I need you to do me a favor, young man."

"You old man, you're really pushing your luck. You just gave me directions and now you want me to do something for you? You can't be too greedy."

The old man smiled and took out three boxes from the ring on his hand. "One of these three boxes contains a priceless treasure. Young man, you can exchange all the Qi-Nourishing Pills you have for a chance to choose. If you choose correctly, you can take that priceless treasure!"

"Pshaw, you'd better just tell me where I can buy a cheap sword case! I'd really appreciate it!"

Seeing that Shen Xu seemed uninterested in the box, the old man continued, "Whatever your choice, I'll give you a sword case, how about that?"

“Unsolicited kindness is either a lie or a theft!” Shen Xu looked at the old man with deep suspicion.

"Uncle, I suddenly remembered I have something to do, so I'll have to keep you company no longer," Shen Xu said, and then quickly slipped out of the old man's sight.

Once the old man was out of sight, Shen Xu breathed a sigh of relief. The old man's scheme was too obvious; he was clearly after his Qi-Nourishing Pills. He just couldn't understand why a big shot who even had a spatial ring would covet his few dozen Qi-Nourishing Pills.

However, upon further reflection, he realized this was definitely part of a scam. Ordinary young people would definitely fall for this kind of trick of a big shot giving away treasures. Fortunately, he was very aware of scams and never got fooled.

It seems he'll have to be wary of those swindlers from now on; he only has those thirty-odd Qi-Nourishing Pills left.

Shen Xu reached into his pocket, but found nothing. He was stunned. "Impossible!"

He searched carefully several more times, but his arms were empty. Apart from a mask, there was no trace of the porcelain bottle containing the Qi-Nourishing Pill. Shen Xu felt utterly hopeless.

There are more tricks in big cities. He had only been there for less than half a month and was already penniless, unable to even afford food.