Chapter 450

Chapter 450: Grave Robber

The gold coin was a generally accepted currency within the Myriad Kingdom Alliance. However, along with the rise in the rank of the kingdom, its use grew less and less frequent.

One couldn’t buy a spirit stone even with a million gold coins. To offer fifty gold coins for something valued at fifty spirit stones? You must be joking!

By the side, Zhao Feiwu’s eyebrows twitched and she nearly puked blood.

It took her so much effort to haggle the price down from a hundred to fifteen, and yet this fellow offered fifty gold coins?

It was just a moment ago that she said that the other party might as well rob a bank… Why does it feel like Zhang shi was the one who should be robbing a bank instead?

In a sense, Zhang Xuan’s offer wasn’t any different from daylight robbery.

“Fifty… gold coins?”

Appraiser Liu Chang was still worried that the other party might offer a higher price. Thus, when he heard Zhang Xuan’s words, he nearly burst out laughing.

Where did this countryside bumpkin come from?

Spirit stones and gold coins were two different trading currencies with completely different values. I offered fifty spirit stones, yet you went ahead and offered fifty gold coins. Why don’t you just tell the vendor to give it to you instead?

You sure are thick-skinned!

Appraiser Liu Chang glanced at Zhang Xuan in disdain.

To declare an offer of fifty gold coins so brazenly, you’re probably the only one in the entire market.

“I apologize, but I’ll have to turn down your offer…”

Recovering from his shock, the owner hurriedly shook his hands.

He’d thought that the other party was some rich gongzi, young master, or something similar. In the end, he turned out to be just some poor bloke.

To think that he had wasted so much time on the other party.

“Do you think that my price isn’t high enough?” Zhang Xuan didn’t get angry. Instead, he smiled calmly in response.

The vendor fell speechless.

This was no longer a problem of whether the price was too low or not, but that the offer was as good as offering nothing!

Have you ever seen anyone holding a stalk of grass to purchase anything?

“Appraiser Liu Chang, I’ll be selling this item to you then. May I know if there’s anything you’re interested in as well? I’ll wrap it up for you together…”

Having lost his patience for the countryside bumpkin, the vendor turned his attention to Liu Chang.

“Does that mean that you aren’t going to sell it to me?”

Zhang Xuan shook his head and a look of pity flashed across his face. “Sigh, I was thinking that I could solve your insomnia and nightmares if you’d sold the item to me. Since you aren’t interested, let’s forget about it then!”

After leaving behind these words, Zhang Xuan placed the scale back in place, turned around, and prepared to leave.

“What did you say?”

The vendor had intended to ignore Zhang Xuan regardless of what he said, but upon hearing those words, his body immediately stiffened and his face turned pale, “Friend, please wait a moment!”

To cultivate was to go against heaven, forcibly absorbing the spiritual energy from the environment to nourish oneself. Under normal circumstances, it was rare for one to suffer from insomnia and nightmares. But for some reason, for the past half a year, he found himself unable to fall asleep, and even if he managed to doze off, he would immediately be jolted awake.

If it was just a day or two, he would still be fine with it. But this continued on consecutively for half a year. Despite his powerful cultivation, his mind was already reaching its limit.

Privately, he had consulted many physicians but they were all powerless against it. Yet, the person before him had pointed out his problem and offered to give him a solution to it. How could he not feel agitated?

“Recently, do you find yourself being jolted awake frequently, sweating profusely whenever it happens? Also, when you fall asleep, does your body convulse slightly?” Knowing that the other party would definitely stop him, Zhang Xuan smiled and turned around.

“You… how did you know?” The vendor’s body trembled in shock.

Due to being unable to sleep, even though he could make up for his lack of rest through cultivating day and night, his face was still unnaturally pale.

Most physicians could tell that much, but… Waking up sweating profusely and convulsing in his sleep, these were symptoms that only he knew of. He hadn’t told anyone about it before, not even his wife.

How did the other party learn of it? And to even point it out directly.

“I can solve your problem!” Zhang Xuan said calmly.

“Solve my problem?”

The vendor’s body trembled in agitation, unable to believe that he would be freed from his agony.

“You are free to choose whether to believe my words or not, but… this is the only chance you’re going to get. If you don’t solve it soon, your lifespan will take a toll and you won’t live for much longer!”

With his hands behind his back, Zhang Xuan spoke indifferently.

Even though Zhang Xuan wanted the Dragon Scale Amulet, he needed the other party to place his trust in him first. Otherwise, it would be futile no matter how much he spoke.

“I…” The vendor hesitated.

After a moment, he gritted his teeth, turned to the middle-aged man and said, “I apologize, Appraiser Liu Chang, but it seems like I can’t sell this item to you anymore…”

Money was important, but what could be more valuable than one’s life?

For the past half a year, plagued by this affliction, he had spent more than fifty spirit stones on consulting physicians but it was to no avail.

If the person before him could truly solve his affliction, then he didn’t mind giving the artifact away to him.

As for whether he should believe the other party or not… Just by how the other party was able to determine the symptom of his affliction, his eye of discernment was already superior to the physicians he had consulted before. Perhaps… the other party might really be able to solve his affliction.

“Hmph, there are many untrustworthy fellows loitering around the markets nowadays. You should be careful!”

Not expecting his fifty spirit stones to lose out to the other party’s fifty gold coins, Appraiser Liu Chang turned to Zhang Xuan and stared at him with narrowed eyes.

“I don’t think that it’s a concern of Appraiser Liu whether I am trustworthy or not!” Zhang Xuan waved his hands casually.

“Hmph, very well…”

With an awful complexion, Appraiser Liu Chang flung his sleeves and left.

It would be humiliating if a well-respected appraiser like him were to cause trouble just because he couldn’t buy an item.

But of course, that was if he didn’t know the value of the artifact he had just missed.

He had only wanted to buy it due to his curiosity after finding himself unable to identify the artifact.

In truth, he didn’t really think that it was a huge loss just because he’d failed to obtain it.

Even so, to be outdone by a countryside bumpkin despite putting in so much money, he still felt a little enraged.

“Friend…”

Upon seeing Appraiser Liu leaving with a displeased expression, the vendor turned to Zhang Xuan.

If that fellow had truly been speaking just for the sake of it and was unable to solve his affliction, he really might burst into tears.

Offending a 2-star appraiser in this market was truly an unwise move.

“Don’t worry, since I’m able to see through your affliction, I’ll surely cure you of it. Show me your punching routine!” Zhang Xuan said.

“Yes!” Without much hesitation, the vendor began executing his fist art, causing a huge gust of wind to blow.

To think that even an ordinary vendor’s cultivation would reach Half-Zongshi—truly as expected of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance.

With sufficient resources and master teachers, its overall strength was far above that of Tianxuan Kingdom.

“Alright, that’s enough!” Zhang Xuan waved his hands casually.

As the other party’s cultivation was far beneath him, Zhang Xuan was able to see through most of his problem through his Eye of Insight. Even so, if he wanted to cure him completely, he needed the help of the Library of Heaven’s Path to determine the root of the illness.

“You’ve quite a few valuable objects on you, but if I’m not wrong… you obtained them through depraved means. The objects have an ancient tone to them, and there’s a slight green shade to their surface. This is caused by a lack of air ventilation. On top of that, an aura of death is exuding from you… If I’m not mistaken, your expertise is digging graves!”

Walking up to the vendor, Zhang Xuan looked around before speaking nonchalantly.

“Yo-you…” The vendor’s face paled, and he nearly fell to the floor in fright.

Digging graves was a nicer way to put it. In truth, he was a grave robber.

No matter how powerful an expert was, regardless of whether he reached Zhizun realm or Transcendent Mortal realm, it was impossible for him to escape the sands of time. Eventually, all would be swept away by the river of history. After their deaths, these people would be buried in a tomb along with their most prized possessions.

And it was exactly through digging these places and selling the artifacts of the dead that the vendor’s business could grow to such a scale.

However, he had hidden this fact well. Many of his close friends weren’t aware of it. Thus, having his main trade being exposed by Zhang Xuan left him light-headed, and he nearly fainted from shock.

“You don’t need to worry, I’ve no interest in your business!”

Chuckling softly, Zhang Xuan continued, “I’m just talking about the origin of your affliction.

“If you’d only dug up ordinary tombs, there wouldn’t be any problems at all. However, eight months ago, you dug up the grave of a Transcendent Mortal. Am I mistaken?” Zhang Xuan looked over.

“This… No, you aren’t!” The vendor clenched his jaws.

“Unfortunately for you, that Transcendent Mortal was betrayed by his wife and killed by his good friend, causing his resentment to linger in the world even after his death… If my judgement doesn’t fail me, you must have taken a personal possession of his and carried it along with you.” Zhang Xuan continued asking.

“… Yes!” The vendor nodded his head as he stared at the fellow before him as though he had seen a ghost.

The other party’s tomb was shabby and there was nothing of value there except for a personal amulet. Since it seemed as though it was at least worth something, he’d taken it along with him… How did this fellow know about something so private?

On top of that, to describe it so clearly as though he had seen it himself?

“It’s precisely due to the resentment contained within this object that you found yourself suffering from insomnia and convulsions when you finally fall asleep… It’s actually not too difficult for you to solve your problem. You just have to return to the tomb, pay respects to the owner, return the amulet, and treat his descendants well. If so, your affliction should disappear!” Zhang Xuan stated.

In truth, the affliction this vendor was suffering from was kind of similar to that of Apothecary Chen Xiao back then.

The latter took possession of an apothecary’s cauldron while disregarding his promise toward the other party. As a result, he was cursed.

On the other hand, this vendor had been plagued with the resentment of a Transcendent Mortal expert for a long period of time. It would’ve been bizarre if there hadn’t been anything wrong with him!

If he didn’t resolve the issue soon, his longevity would definitely be reduced significantly. Most probably, in less than a few years, just as with Apothecary Chen Xiao back then, the aura of death would shroud him, claiming his vitality.

Zhang Xuan’s words from before claiming that the other party wouldn’t live long weren’t just fear mongering.

“Master, thank you for your guidance!”

Given how the other party’s analysis was spot-on, the vendor already felt significant trust toward Zhang Xuan’s words, and he was filled with gratitude for him.

All along, he thought that it was a problem with his body. Never in his dreams would he have imaged that it would be due to this.

“This item… Master, please take it!”

Upon learning the method to curing his affliction, the vendor immediately passed the Dragon Scale Protective Amulet over.

He had no idea what the functionality of this artifact was, but no matter how valuable it was, it couldn’t possibly be worth more than his life. In a sense, he had profited from this deal.

Zhang Xuan nodded his head and kept the amulet. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he took out a pile of gold coins. There were precisely fifty of them in the stack. “Here is your money!”

“There’s no need for it…”

The vendor shook his hands, turning down the payment.

Rather than taking this measly sum of money, he might as well just give the amulet away. At the very least, he could win the goodwill of the other party in this way.

“Why is there no need for it? Since we’ve agreed on the price, if I don’t pay you, wouldn’t it be no different from robbery?” Zhang Xuan spoke righteously.

“This… Alright then!” Left with no choice, the vendor could only accept Zhang Xuan’s payment.

“This works as well?”

Taking the entire happening into sight, Zhao Feiwu felt as though her understanding of the world was being overturned.

Buying a treasure worth fifty spirit stones for fifty gold coins, and for the seller to even thank him for it…

That was way too incredible!

As the daughter of the alliance head of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, the princess of an empire… She had seen many formidable physicians, but to tell that someone was sick and even deduce that the other party was a grave robber…

You aren’t a physician at all…

You must be a fortune teller instead…

Chapter 451: Spirit Calming Grass

Having bought the Dragon Scale Protective Amulet for fifty gold coins, Zhang Xuan bade the vendor farewell in satisfaction.

There was no one in the world who was completely healthy, and demanding compensation for treatment wasn’t anything much.

Even if one was truly healthy, one would at least want to raise one’s cultivation. Considering how even a 4-star master teacher wasn’t capable of making a person achieve a breakthrough with just a short moment of guidance, Zhang Xuan’s guidance was more than sufficient to replace a Tutelage Jade Token.

Even without money, Zhang Xuan was confident that he could buy this artifact for sure. Thus, he wasn’t worried at all.

After walking around the market for a while longer, the group realized that there was nothing else of value left here. Thus, Zhao Feiwu said, “Let’s go up and take a look. The treasures on the second floor are much more valuable than those of the first floor, and most of them have already been verified by appraisers!”

As such, the crowd headed up the stairs.

The second floor wasn’t as chaotic as the first floor, where booths and shouting vendors filled the entire venue. The scale of the second floor was much smaller, and there were various stores in the area. The objects on display were clearly much more valuable than those on the first floor.

If what was sold on the first floor could be considered as miscellaneous goods, then those on the second floor could be considered as true treasures.

All the stores here had at least a hundred years of history to them, and regardless of whether it was their reputation or the goods that were on sale in their shops, they were much better than the booths on the first floor. Hung at the front of each store were all kinds of plaques, such as ‘Master Mo Xiu’s Appraised Treasures’, ‘Master Sun Xiang’s Appraised Treasures’, ‘Master Hong Li’s Appraised Treasures’…

All kinds of different goods were displayed in each store.

Even though these stores weren’t large and the items inside weren’t as many as the booths below, just the fact that it carried the name of the appraisers attracted the gazes of many, making them even more popular than the booths below.

“The largest store on the second floor is [First Class Pavilion], which is right in front of us. The items they sell, just like their name, are all top grade. Even though it isn’t operated by an appraiser, it’s the most bustling store here. In fact, appraisers also frequent there personally to trade for some treasures!” Jin Conghai said.

He had been here before so he knew quite a bit about this place.

As for Zhao Feiwu, she only knew about this location from some books so she wasn’t too sure about the details.

“Let’s go over and take a look!”

The primary objective of Zhang Xuan’s trip was the Soulless Metal Humanoid, so he wasn’t really interested in the other miscellaneous stuff. However, since the supposed First Class Pavilion was right before them, it wouldn’t hurt to take a look. Besides, he could also try asking about the Metal Humanoid there.

Walking past row after row of stores, it didn’t take long before they stopped by a vast space with three gold words written on it. With just a look, Zhang Xuan could tell that the calligraphy had reached an extremely high level of artistic conception.

“To think that it would be an art piece of the fifth level!”

Zhang Xuan eyes couldn’t help but light up.

He was a 3-star painter so he had an in-depth knowledge of calligraphy and painting.

The three large words ‘First Class Pavilion’ might seem simple on the surface, but the words were written with forceful and flowy strokes, giving a feeling as though the words would leap out at any moment just like an ascending flood dragon. It was clear that the words were anything but simple, and it had already reached the fifth level of painting.

At this kind of level, the words had already reached the level of Spirit Creation. Even if one were to look at it for an extended period of time, not only would one not feel fatigued, one would even feel refreshed and revitalized.

Just these three words were probably worth a huge fortune already.

As expected of the number one store in the Appraiser Hall, its scale sure wasn’t anything that the other stores could match up to.

Walking into the store, Zhang Xuan saw several people strolling about the displays. Some of the customers dressed in appraiser robes were staring fixedly at the treasures before them with a tranced look.

All occupations were enjoyable when one could immerse oneself into it; appraising was the same as well.

Some of the most exquisite masterpieces were at a quality such that even the greatest craftsmen and blacksmiths could only create one in their entire lives. It was practically impossible to replicate it, and these were the treasures that left countless appraisers awed when they examined them.

“Welcome, may I know what you are looking for? I can guide you around if you need!” offered an attendant as he walked over.

“There’s no need for that, we’ll just take a casual look!”

Zhang Xuan shook his hands.

Then, he walked over to the various treasures displayed on the shelves.

They were indeed much more valuable than the artifacts seen below. All of the items carried a powerful aura, and they seemed to resonate with the spiritual energy in the air. Even without the Eye of Insight, it was apparent with a look that they were of great value.

Upon seeing that Zhang Xuan’s gaze was on a chi large cauldron, the attendant immediately walked forward and introduced, “This is the Divine Copper Cauldron. If you were to put spirit stones inside, it would automatically refine and cleanse it, making it easier to absorb the spiritual energy within it! Using this object, your speed of cultivation can be heightened by ten percent!”

“As for this, it’s the Nine Dragons Cauldron. Every single mouth of the cauldron harnesses a surge of sword qi, making it a formidable weapon when it’s activated. Even a Zongshi realm pinnacle expert would be killed swiftly before it…”

Upon hearing the introduction, Zhang Xuan nodded his head in awe,

Honestly speaking, all of these items were truly worthy of being classified as treasures. If placed in any of the Tier 1 Kingdoms, it could become a national weapon to deter aggressors.

But after taking a look at the price, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

None of these items were cheap. Putting everything aside, just the Divine Copper Cauldron was already worth two hundred spirit stones, and the Nine Dragons Cauldron was priced at three hundred and twenty spirit stones!

Even a Tier 1 Kingdom would be unable to fork out such a sum. Even if it was Xuanyuan Kingdom, its finances would probably suffer greatly for many years if it were to purchase it.

“This is the appraisal authentication certificate?”

Regardless of whether it was the Divine Copper Cauldron of the Nine Dragons Cauldron, there was a carved jade at its bottom which detailed the name of an appraiser, his evaluation, as well as his signature.

“Yes, most of the treasures of our First Class Pavilion will go through the hands of appraisers to have them authenticated. We will never deceive our customers!” the attendant said proudly.

“Un!”

Zhang Xuan nodded his head. Then, with a thought, lines of insight appeared in his eyes.

Eye of Insight.

He wanted to see if there was any treasure beyond his current means here.

It didn’t take him long to scan through the artifacts in the room, and in the end, he simply shook his head.

There were many valuable treasures here, but there was nothing beyond him like the Dragon Scale Protective Amulet from before.

“Teacher, Appraiser Liu Chang…”

Just as Zhang Xuan was looking around to see if there were any treasures he had missed, Yuan Tao exclaimed in shock.

Following the direction of Yuan Tao’s finger, Zhang Xuan saw a familiar figure.

It was the person who competed with him over the Dragon Scale Protective Amulet previously.

At this moment, his haughtiness and aura of superiority had disappeared. He followed behind an elder with a respectful look just like a humble student.

The elder was in his fifties, and he had an authoritative disposition to him. With a single glance, it was clear that he was a person who had been in a powerful position for a long period of time.

Right in front of the duo was an average-sized plant with a purple flower on top.

Amidst the petals, faint yellow veins could be seen, and it exuded a faint fragrance which left one in a tranquil state upon being breathed in.

On top of treasures, the First Class Pavilion also dealt in some of the rarer medicinal herbs.

“Ashen stems, slightly yellow leaves, petals divided by yellow veins… Could this be [Spirit Calming Grass]?” after a moment of hesitation, Zhao Feiwu asked.

“This gongzi indeed has good eyes. That’s indeed Spirit Calming Grass. This is the only stalk within the entire Myriad Kingdom Alliance, and our First Class Pavilion bought it at an exorbitant price. It’s said to be exceptionally useful in nourishing one’s soul, and rumor has it that it can even wake a dormant soul!”

The attendant chuckled.

“Wake a dormant soul?” Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up, and unknowingly, his fists clenched tightly together.

Chapter 452: Purchasing a Herb at an Inexpensive Price (1)

However, he quickly shook his head with a bitter smile.

Zhang Xuan had stumbled across the Spirit Calming Grass in one of the books he had read, and its main function was to calm one’s spirit, allowing one to enter the state of Heart of Tranquil Water more easily. It didn’t have the effect of waking a dormant soul.

Otherwise, given Zhang Xuan’s understanding of herbs, he wouldn’t be at a loss over the matter.

“Wake a person’s soul? That’s impossible!”

Zhao Feiwu frowned.

She had read many books regarding medicinal herbs as well, and she knew that the effects of this herb weren’t as exaggerated as the attendant put it out to be.

“Normal Spirit Calming Grass indeed doesn’t have that effect, but this one is different. It’s the Emperor Spirit Calming Grass, and it grows by consuming the spiritual energy within spirit stones. As such, its properties have been enhanced to the point that it’s highly effective even for Transcendent Mortal experts.”

Upon speaking of this stalk of grass, the attendant’s eyes began to glow.

“Consuming spiritual energy within spirit stones? It’s fed using spirit stones?”

“Correct. From its germination, it’s placed within a unique formation which extracts the purest spiritual energy contained within a spirit stone to provide the required energy for the Spirit Calming Grass’s growth… And to grow to such a size, this Spirit Calming Grass has probably consumed over a hundred pieces of spirit stones. Considering the manpower and resources required to groom this herb, it’s definitely an invaluable treasure!” the attendant explained.

Zhang Xuan was taken aback, “A hundred spirit stones just to groom a stalk of grass?”

Even Zhang Xuan had yet to expend so many spirit stones in his cultivation.

To think that a single stalk of grass would be treated even better than him. It was truly the case of a human being beneath a stalk of grass.

“Indeed. Due to the great care showered upon it during its growth, its property has been enhanced greatly, granting it immense effects on one’s soul!” the attendant said.

Even though Zhang Xuan was surprised, he didn’t take the attendant’s words at face value. Instead, he activated his Eye of Insight and took a closer look.

He had to determine for himself whether this stalk of grass was truly effective on dormant souls.

Soon, his eyes lit up.

Even though the medicinal herb was expensive, it wasn’t beyond Zhang Xuan’s current cultivation realm yet. According to the information reflected in the Eye of Insight… it was really useful toward dormant souls!

However, unlike what the attendant said, it couldn’t wake dormant souls. Instead, it simply stabilized it, preventing it from dissipating.

Even though dormant souls were known to be souls that were sleeping, in truth, they were just too weak to be woken up.

It was just like how a severely ill patient was too weak to get up from his bed.

The great impact that Lu Chong’s body suffered back then had caused his soul to dissipate. Even though Zhang Xuan had saved him swiftly, the other party still suffered great damage, and the strength of his soul was less than a hundredth of what it was previously. As such, it was unable to sustain the functions of his body, resulting in his coma.

Even though this Spirit Calming Grass didn’t have the ability to wake Lu Chong up, it could stabilize his soul and even strengthen it slowly.

“I must get it!”

Zhang Xuan had no idea how he could wake Lu Chong up at this point, but one thing he was certain was that he couldn’t allow his soul to grow weaker and weaker.

Since he had stumbled across this Spirit Calming Grass, he mustn’t allow it to pass him by.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan turned to the attendant and asked, “This… How much does it cost?”

“This stalk of Spirit Calming Grass is one of the most expensive treasures in our First Class Pavilion. It’s priced at five hundred spirit stones!” the attendant said.

“Five hundred?” Zhang Xuan’s body shook.

He couldn’t even take out five spirit stones at the moment, not to mention, five hundred…

You must be jesting!

Will you accept my five hundred gold coins instead?

Appraiser Hall… Why don’t you call it Daylight Robbery Hall instead? Given how expensive every single one of your items are, how in the world do you expect others to buy it?

Surely there are very few customers who can afford that sum…

Just as Zhang Xuan was considering how he could lower the price to five hundred gold coins and take it down, a deep voice sounded in front of him, “Alright, I’ll be taking that Spirit Calming Grass. Also, help me wrap up the Verdant Bamboo, Deep Accruing Grass, Yinyang Umbrella… that I’ve just browsed through as well!”

Lifting his head, Zhang Xuan saw that the one who had just spoken was the elder who came in along with Appraiser Liu Chang.

It seemed as though in the other party’s view, five hundred spirit stones were no different from five hundred gold coins.

“Sure!”

Upon hearing the other party’s words, the attendant serving the elder hurriedly took the various items that the elder pointed out excitedly.

The more the customer buys, the greater the commission of the attendant.

“I apologize but it’s already sold… Customer, why don’t you continue browsing around to see if there’s anything that would interest you?”

The attendant who tagged along with Zhang Xuan shook his head in disappointment upon seeing that the Spirit Calming Grass had been taken away.

“There’s no need for me to look any further, I want this herb…”

There was nothing else in this store that caught Zhang Xuan’s eyes. As such, he walked forward and said, “Wait a moment!”

“It can’t be that you’re still interested in the Spirit Calming Herb?”

Seeing Zhang Xuan rushing forward and shouting ‘wait a moment’, the attendant beside him leaped in fright.

The other party had already said that he was taking it, if you were to insist on taking it away at this point, it’ll be no different from theft… But more importantly, do you know who the other party is?

To rush over despite not knowing who the other party is, aren’t you being too reckless?

Zhang Xuan’s voice was bright and clear, and he immediately caught the notice of the elder and the others around him. Upon seeing Zhang Xuan, Appraiser Liu Chang began glaring at the other party.

He had just attempted to claim the item that the other party was buying. Could the other party be holding a grudge, so he wanted to do the same as well?

“What are you up to?”

Thus, Appraiser Liu Chang stepped in front and blocked Zhang Xuan’s path.

Since he couldn’t be bothered with Appraiser Liu Chang, Zhang Xuan turned to the elder and said, “I want this Spirit Calming Grass.”

“We’ve already set our eyes on this herb, you should look for other items to buy!” Appraiser Liu Chang waved his hands.

“Even though you have set your eyes on it, you haven’t paid for it yet, right? It’s only natural for the good to go to the highest bidder. As long as the price I offer is higher than yours, I should be able to take it.” Zhang Xuan replied Appraiser Liu Chang calmly.

“You…” Appraiser Liu Chang’s chest rose and fell rapidly, and he nearly erupted on the spot.

Those words were extremely familiar to him; it was exactly what he said to the other party just a moment ago.

It seemed like this fellow was really here to cause trouble.

Otherwise, how could their words be identical?

Zhao Feiwu and Jin Conghai exchanged glances and smiled bitterly.

Zhang Xuan indeed wasn’t one to let anyone who crossed him get away easily.

However, the elder didn’t look like someone who lacked money. It would be no easy feat to purchase the item he had set his eyes upon!

“What is your offer then? Just to let you know, we’re purchasing this Spirit Calming Grass for five hundred spirit stones!” Suppressing his fury, Appraiser Liu Chang harrumphed.

The fellow before had to hesitate even before a measly sum of fifteen spirit stones, so it was almost certain that he didn’t have much money. To outbid them on this medicinal herb and take it away was surely impossible for him.

“Can you give this Spirit Calming Grass away to me?” Zhang Xuan turned to the elder and asked.

Even though Appraiser Liu Chang’s standing was high, he acted subserviently before this elder. From this, it could be seen that the standing of the elder was far superior to Appraiser Liu Chang.

Also, the one who was buying the Spirit Calming Grass was the elder, so Appraiser Liu Chang probably had no say in this matter.

Since he had no say, what was the point of wasting time with him?

“I…”

Upon being ignored, Appraiser Liu Chang’s face flushed bright red.

The elder had been watching the argument of the duo, and with his hands behind his back, he replied impassively, “He’s my student so he has a say in whether I’ll sell this medicinal herb or not. However, I do have a use for this medicinal herb and I don’t wish to part with it. Thus, it doesn’t matter how high a price you offer!”

“Student?”

Given that Appraiser Liu Chang was a 2-star appraiser, his teacher must be at least a 3-star or even 4-star appraiser.

It was no wonder that he could buy a stalk of medicinal herb priced at five hundred spirit stones so easily.

“Doesn’t matter how high a price I offer? That might not necessarily be the case!” Zhang Xuan said.

“Oh? Why don’t you tell me your offer then?”

The elder looked at Zhang Xuan in interest.

The attendants spectating the commotion were also filled with curiosity.

That young man might be unaware of who the elder was, but they were extremely clear about his identity. Even if this elder wasn’t the richest man in Honghai City, he wasn’t too far away from it.

Even if one could offer up something that interested this elder, it would probably have an astronomical price.

Zhao Feiwu and the others were also intrigued and curious.

This fellow had bought the Dragon Scale Protective Amulet previously through his medical skills, so until now, they had no idea how much wealth this young man possessed. Since he was determined to buy this Spirit Calming Grass, he should at least take out a portion of his fortune now.

After all, without real money, the First Class Pavilion wouldn’t sell something worth five hundred spirit stones to him.

Even if Zhang Xuan intended to talk his way out of it, these attendants weren’t qualified to make the decision.

After all, such a sum of money was way beyond them as well.

Just as everyone was perplexed over this matter, curious to see what Zhang Xuan would do next, the young man in question declared confidently.

“I can offer five hundred gold coins!”

Pu!

Appraiser Liu Chang nearly spurted a mouthful of blood and fainted on the spot.

This again?

Is there even a point to be doing this?

When I offered fifty spirit stones to buy down that bizarre object, you offered fifty gold coins in exchange. This time, for such a valuable Spirit Calming Grass, you intend to use the same method as well…

Can we start conversing properly?

The mouths of the attendants watching the commotion also twitched violently.

The young man had spoken so confidently so they thought that he would offer a huge sum of money. In the end, to offer five hundred gold coins… You’re here to cause trouble, right?

The attendant who had been waiting on Zhang Xuan ever since his entry felt so embarrassed that he wanted to find a pit to bury himself in.

He thought that Zhang Xuan would really be able to offer a price that no one could match up with, but to think that it was this…

Cough cough.

Even if you don’t have sufficient money, you shouldn’t offer something that can’t even buy you a handful of dirt.

Just as the crowd was about to faint from the ridiculousness of the situation, Zhao Feiwu slapped her forehead and said, “Elder Jin, prepare to make a move. I’m afraid that if we don’t protect him, he might end up being… pummeled to death!”

“Yes!” Jin Conghai nodded as he secretly propelled the zhenqi in his body, preparing himself to make a move at any moment.

He shared the same sentiments as ‘gongzi’.

This elder was clearly of high standing, and to provoke such a person as well, Zhang Xuan was truly arrogant. In fact, he found it a miracle that the other party could survive until now given his character.

“Purchasing a Spirit Calming Grass for five hundred gold coins?”

As expected, the elder’s face immediately darkened. His aura began gushing out like a gigantic torrent. Even though it was hard to gauge his cultivation realm, his strength didn’t seem to pale to Jin Conghai in any way.

Most probably, the other party had at least reached Transcendent Mortal 3-dan.

“Indeed!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

Seeing how the other party admitted to it so candidly without the slightest hint of embarrassment, the elder harrumphed, “Do you think that the First Class Pavilion would reject an offer of five hundred spirit stones and sell such a valuable herb to you for five hundred gold coins instead? Who do you think you are? Do you think that you are the lord of Honghai City or the head of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance?”

“I am neither of the two, I’m just someone who’s interested in buying the Spirit Calming Grass.”

Zhang Xuan shook his head calmly, “Besides, I intend to buy it from you instead of the First Class Pavilion! I believe that you’ll definitely sell it to me for five hundred gold coins!”

“Buy it from me?”

The elder flew into a frenzy, and his facial muscles convulsed violently.

How can you be so sure that I’ll be so cheap as to sell a medicinal herb worth five hundred spirit stones to you for five hundred gold coins?

You must be dreaming!

Chapter 453: Purchasing a Herb at an Inexpensive Price (2)

Even though he was rich, it didn’t come from nowhere.

Naturally, he wouldn’t be so foolish as to sell an item he bought for five hundred spirit stones for five hundred gold coins.

Was there something wrong with this fellow’s head? Otherwise, how could one speak such foolish words?”

Turning his head to look at the young man, he saw the other party nodding his head with a smile, “Indeed!”

“Are you done yet? Do you know who my teacher is? How dare you speak such arrogant words here!”

Seeing how the other party was going overboard as to even provoke his teacher, Appraiser Liu Chang couldn’t hold himself back anymore and stepped forward.

“Who your teacher is? Given his sharp eyes that could determine the crux of an artifact with a single glance, if I’m not mistaken… he must be an appraiser!”

Zhang Xuan glanced at Appraiser Liu Chang.

“It’s good that you know that much. My teacher is…”

Liu Chang was just about to introduce his teacher’s identity when the elder interrupted, “Alright, since you know that I’m an appraiser, you should know that I’ve no lack of money. Thus, you should know that it’s impossible for me to sell something that I’ve already bought!”

He finally understood that that the fellow must have something wrong with his head. As he couldn’t be bothered with to argue with a psycho, he turned to his attendant and said, “Wrap these items up for me and sent them over to my residence!”

“Yes!” The attendant nodded.

Before long, several stalks of herbs and artifacts were brought to one side to be packed.

Zhao Ya and the others sneaked a glance over and they were astounded.

Even though the elder didn’t buy much, every single one of the item was exceptionally expensive. None of their prices were below three hundred spirit stones.

The total cost had already exceeded two thousand spirit stones. To spend so much money in one go without the slightest hesitation, the elder’s wealth was indeed astonishing.

Facing such a person, their teacher actually offered to purchase a herb worth five hundred spirit stones for five hundred gold coins…

Wasn’t that going a little too far?

Staring at their teacher doubtfully to see what he would do next, they only saw him placing his hands behind his back and shaking his head with a look of pity.

“Sigh, I thought that an appraiser would at least be a little sharper when purchasing something. To think that you would spend such a huge sum of money just to take away a fake. Your preferences… are indeed hard to understand!”

There was a hint of lamentation to his tone, as though disappointed by the other party’s actions.

“Fake? Do you know who my teacher is? How dare you spout nonsense here…”

Appraiser Liu Chang thought that the other party would tone it down after his teacher had spared him. Yet, the other party still went on to utter such words. Liu Chang’s face immediately darkened.

Are you done yet?

My teacher chose to let you off, and yet you still dare to say that he bought a fake. Are you seeking death?

“Sigh!” Zhang Xuan was completely unconcerned with the other party’s reprimand and simply sighed once more. Shaking his head, he continued, “It’s one thing for one’s eyes to be bad, but to refuse to admit to it as well…

“More importantly, you still claim to be some incredible figure, how humiliating. Forget it, since you’re unwilling to listen to my advice and insist on buying a fake, I won’t be nosey then. Let’s go!”

After finishing his piece, Zhang Xuan prepared to leave with Zhao Ya and the others.

“Hold it right there! Who did you say is buying a fake? If you don’t clarify yourself right now, don’t even think of leaving…” Seeing how the other party was hinting at his teacher buying a fake and shamelessly denying the matter, Appraiser Liu Chang couldn’t hold himself back any longer and immediately stepped forward.

At the same time, his aura gushed out. Zhenqi drove through his body, granting him immense strength.

Transcendent Mortal 1-dan Prolonged Longevity realm!

Even though he was at the same realm as Ding Hong, he was a cultivator of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance and was entitled to significantly greater resources than the latter, and as such, he was much stronger as well.

If he were to make a move, Zhang Xuan would probably find it hard to withstand his might.

Even so, Zhang Xuan remained completely nonchalant to the immense might the other party was exuding. Instead, he glanced at the other party disdainfully and said, “Why? Not only do you have bad vision, causing you to be unable to discern a fake good, you’re also attempting to silence those who advised you out of goodwill?”

Zhang Xuan had encountered many of such situations as Yang Xuan. Without such confidence, he wouldn’t have been able to fool others with his act.

“Bad vision? Do you know who my teacher is? There are countless people in Honghai City who are begging my teacher to spare a glance at their artifacts…”

With a face reddened in anger, Liu Chang lashed out. However, halfway through his words, the elder walked over.

“Enough!”

Waving his hands casually to stop Liu Chang, the elder turned to Zhang Xuan and said, “You said that I’ve bought a fake, so may I know which one is it? Do you have any proof of it?”

Even though the elder had asked an extremely ordinary question, his tone carried deep confidence, exerting a huge pressure on Zhang Xuan. It felt as though as long as Zhang Xuan were to misspeak, he would immediately be punished.

“Proof? Are you sure you want to know?”

Zhang Xuan smiled.

“If your reasoning is sound and you have evidence of the matter, I’ll admit to my vision being bad! However, if it ends up that you’re only spouting rubbish to gain the attention of others, I can overlook it but… I’m afraid that Liu Chang might not share my sentiments!”

The elder’s tone was filled with authority.

As an appraiser, being accused of making a flawed judgement was a huge matter. If the other party was truly speaking nonsense, even if he didn’t make a move, his student, Liu Chang, also wouldn’t let the other party off.

“This fellow sure knows how to cause trouble…”

Taking all of these into sight, Zhao Feiwu rolled her eyes.

In her view, if Zhang Xuan really wanted the Spirit Calming Grass, he should just take out the money required for it. To make an enemy out of such a powerful figure for this was the most foolish decision one could make.

Why must he cause trouble wherever he goes? Couldn’t he learn how to stay still?

If only he was willing to take out the money, wouldn’t the matter be solved easily?

If Zhang Xuan were to learn of the other party’s thoughts, he would definitely burst into tears.

You are the daughter of the Alliance Head, the princess of the empire. It’s easy for you to say those words since you don’t lack money. If I had the money too, do you think that I’d be so bored as to put my life at risk just to act cool…

…

“Spouting rubbish to gain the attention of others? You’re thinking too much into it!”

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan stepped forward and pointed at the pile of objects that the elder had just bought. “This Verdant Bamboo is something that you have just bought, right?”

“Indeed. Teacher spent three hundred spirit stones on buying this Verdant Bamboo. Just to let you know, it’s the only one you’ll find in the entire Honghai City!” Liu Chang sneered coldly. “Why, do you think that there’s a problem with it?”

The item was right there and there was a label beneath it. There was nothing to deny about it.

Besides, Liu Chang didn’t think that there was a problem with this object either. He had also taken a close look at that item and verified that there was no problem with it.

Ignoring the other party’s words, Zhang Xuan circled around the bamboo, touched it with the tip of his finger, and as though having confirmed something, he smiled and asked, “May I know what the properties of the Verdant Bamboo are and what do you intend to do with this medicinal herb?”

“The Verdant Bamboo is a unique spirit medicine. Its leaves are the main ingredient to forging [Verdant Crystalline Pills]. This pill can nurture a Heart of Crystal within one to dispel one’s inner demons, thus putting one in a state of calmness. It’s exceptionally useful to Transcendent Mortal 3-dan Yin-Yang realm experts.

“As for the stem, it’s extremely tough and it can be used to forge the Spirit weapons [Verdant Bow] and [Piercing Arrows]. The Verdant Bow is a Spirit low-tier weapon, and when paired with the Piercing Arrows, it can easily pierce through one’s body. Due to the extreme speed of arrow when the two are paired together, it’s capable of killing one without even leaving behind a wound. It’s one of the weapons that Transcendent Mortal experts are willing to fork out an exorbitant sum to buy.

“And of course, it has one last method of utilization; it can be used as a formation core. However, this property is significantly weaker than the former two and it’s not worth mentioning at all!”

Stroking his beard, the elderly spoke impassively.

His composed voice was tinged with confidence as he revealed his broad knowledge on the matter.

Most people knew that the Verdant Bamboo was valuable but very few were aware of its uses. It was only because of his identity as an appraiser that he knew a thing or two about it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent a hulking sum of three hundred spirit stones to purchase it.

“Indeed, most people only know that the leaves of the Verdant Bamboo can be forged into a pill. Very few know that it can be forged into a bow, arrow and serve as a formation core as well. It’s impressive that you know all of these!”

After praising the other party, Zhang Xuan’s lips curled up and he continued on, “Since you know the various functions of the Verdant Bamboo, may I know if you’re using it to lay out a formation, forge a bow and arrows, or forge a pill?”

Given that the stem and the leaves came from the same origin, the medicinal properties of the leaves could be best brought out if the stem was used as fuel for the pill forging process.

On the other hand, for the forging of the bow and arrow, the Verdant Bamboo would have to be nourished in a unique medicinal fluid when it’s still in its freshest state. However, if one were to do so, the leaves would be mixed in with impurities, rendering it useless.

And similarly, if the Verdant Bamboo was used as a formation core, one would have to carve inscriptions on it. This would damage the leaves and bamboos, rendering it unusable for any other purpose.

Thus, even though the Verdant Bamboo had three uses to it, one could only choose one of it for each bamboo. If one attempted to be ambitious and use a single bamboo for multiple purpose, one might potentially end up simply wasting the bamboo instead.

“Of course it’s for pill forging! Even though it isn’t too bad to use it for the other purposes, the Verdant Crystalline Pill is still the most valuable of the three!”

A deep frown appeared on the elder’s face. He had no idea what Zhang Xuan was up to, but even so, he still answered his question patiently.

The Verdant Crystalline Pill was a nourishment that was useful to even a Transcendent Mortal 3-dan Yin-Yang realm expert. Every single pill could fetch an astronomical sum; this wasn’t something that the Verdant Bow or the formation could match up with.

If one wanted to maximize one’s profit from the Verdant Bamboo, one should definitely choose to forge the most valuable Verdant Crystalline Pill.

After receiving the answer to his question, Zhang Xuan declared, “Since you’re intending to forge Verdant Crystalline Pills, I can tell you upright that what you bought is a fake!”

“Fake? The Verdant Bamboo has a smooth green body, reminiscent of jade. There is a huge gap in between its leaves, and even the sharp edge of a blade cannot wound it. On every single division, there are three leaves, and each leaf has seven veins on it…”

This time, it was Liu Chang who replied. He swiftly stated dozens of ways to appraise the authenticity of a Verdant Bamboo, and every single point that he mentioned matched the properties of the bamboo in his hand. “This is the way to ascertain the authenticity of a Verdant Bamboo. Even I can easily tell that it’s definitely an authentic good, and yet you’re saying that it’s a fake? Fine, if this is a fake, why don’t you tell me what’s wrong with it?”

“Your method of appraising is indeed correct!” Zhang Xuan nodded with a smile, not refuting the other party’s words at all.

“Ah? Since you know it, why do you say that it’s a fake?” Liu Chang was taken aback by the other party’s words.

“You’ve memorized it accurately, and your method of appraisal is correct as well. There’s no doubt that this is a Verdant Bamboo!” Zhang Xuan chuckled lightly.

“These have been confirmed by our predecessors, how dare you try to deny… Huh? What did you just… say? If that’s the case, why do you claim that it’s fake…”

“Are you making a fool of us?”

Everyone thought that Zhang Xuan would deny the matter, but he admitted to it directly. For a moment, everyone was stunned.

Even Zhao Feiwu and Jin Conghai found their eyebrows shooting up.

You claimed that the other party had bought a fake, and yet, the next moment, you turned around and said that it is real… Even a person with dissociative identity disorder wouldn’t be as fickle as you!

Chapter 454: Purchasing a Herb at an Inexpensive Price (3)

“Making a fool of you all? You are misunderstanding my intentions!”

Even though the other party’s face was turning green, Zhang Xuan didn’t fall into a panic. Instead, he chuckled lightly and said, “I only said that it’s a fake because you are intending to use it to forge Verdant Crystalline Pills, I have never said that it isn’t a Verdant Bamboo!”

Confused by Zhang Xuan’s words, the elder and Liu Chang glanced at one another in bewilderment. Eventually, the latter couldn’t hold himself back any longer and asked, “What do you mean?”

The attendants, Zhao Feiwu, and the others were baffled as well. They had no idea what Zhang Xuan was up to.

“Simple, there’s no doubt that this is a Verdant Bamboo, but if you were to use its leaves to forge Verdant Crystalline Pills, I can guarantee you that not only will the pills be ineffective, one will even die from consuming it!” Zhang Xuan said.

“Death? You must be joking! Transcendent Mortals have the ability to communicate with the world and sense the surroundings. While it grants them great strength, it also makes them particularly vulnerable to external influences, making it easy for them to breed inner demons. The Verdant Crystalline Pill forges a Heart of Crystal within one, thus significantly reducing the damage one could suffer from inner demons. There are only benefits to be derived from its consumption, so how could anyone die from consuming it?” Liu Chang uttered in disbelief.

Even the elder couldn’t help but shake his head.

As a Transcendent Mortal, one’s will could meld together with one’s environment to move the energy in one’s surroundings. However, this made it particularly easy for inner demons to appear. The Verdant Crystalline Pill was the best medicine for one to dispel inner demons, and he had even consumed one himself. Its effectiveness was so great that he couldn’t even put it into words, so how could one possibly die from it?

This was clearly nonsense!

Besides, as a skilled appraiser, he had also appraised the Crystalline Pill for others, and the other party had consumed it before him. There were no problems whatsoever with it.

To die from consuming it… was completely unheard of.

“Can you prove it?”

The elder turned to Zhang Xuan and harrumphed.

If the other party couldn’t prove it, then he could only be spouting nonsense.

“If it were anyone else, there would be no way to prove it other than forging the pill and consuming it. However… it just happens that I do have a way to prove it!”

As though expecting the other party to ask this question, Zhang Xuan’s lips curled up. He turned to Liu Chang and asked, “I’ll have to trouble you to fetch a piece of leaf for me!”

Liu Chang turned to the elder, and upon seeing the latter nod his head, he walked over and plucked out a leaf.

“Try burning it with fire!” Zhang Xuan instructed.

“Teacher…”

The elder gestured toward him.

“Do as he says!”

Even though he didn’t quite trust the other party’s words, the other party’s calmness had unnerved him.

If the other party was truly spouting nonsense, the other party would have surely flustered before his immense strength and authority. Yet, not only was the other party calm, his movements also exuded deep confidence. This cast doubt in the elder’s mind.

Could the Verdant Bamboo… really be a fake?

But that’s impossible!

He had specially examined it several times, and regardless of whether it was its stem, leaves, aura, the degree of hardness… There were no problems whatsoever.

“Yes!”

Upon receiving his teacher’s consent, Liu Chang nodded and took out an ignitable fire roll. Then, he turned to Zhang Xuan and harrumphed coldly, “This single leaf is worth at least dozens of spirit stones. If your words turn out to be a lie, I’ll be expecting you to compensate our loss…”

There were only twelve leaves on the Verdant Bamboo. Given that the entire bamboo was worth three hundred spirit stones, every leaf was worth an exorbitant sum.

A single leaf was more than sufficient to purchase a city in Tianwu Kingdom.

In that sense, every leaf was literally worth a city.

Yet, due to this fellow’s claim, they were going to burn a single leaf. The huge loss left even a 2-star appraiser like him with an aching heart.

“Don’t worry, if there’s no problem with the Verdant Bamboo, I’ll surely compensate you. However… I’m afraid that you won’t be saying such words in a moment’s time,” Zhang Xuan said.

“Hmph, let’s see what you’re up to then!”

Seeing the confidence on Zhang Xuan’s face, Liu Chang harrumphed. He ignited the ignitable fire roll and placed it beneath the leaves.

Weng!

After around two minutes, just as Liu Chang was about to demand Zhang Xuan to compensate them, his hands suddenly jolted violently. The green leaf abruptly turned black and an incomparably pungent smell exuded from it. If there was hell in this world, this was probably what it would smell like. The sight felt extremely sinister.

“Ah…”

Shocked, Liu Chang subconsciously let go of the fire roll and the leaf.

“This…”

Jin Conghai and Gu Mu stared at one another in shock.

“Ah?”

The elder was initially looking at Zhang Xuan nonchalantly, but at this moment, his face abruptly warped in shock. He swiftly stepped forward to grab the leaf with his hands, and he stared at it with a grim expression, as though unable to believe the sight before him. “What a potent poison. If this were infused into the Verdant Crystalline Pill, not only would it not dispel one’s inner demons, it would even seep into one’s zhenqi, assault one’s internal organs, causing one to die on the spot…”

As he spoke, cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

If the other party hadn’t said anything at all and he’d taken the Verdant Bamboo back to have it forged into Verdant Crystalline Pills, many people would have died. At the same time, his reputation would be completely ruined!

On top of that, he was intending to consume one himself to try for a breakthrough into a higher realm…

If he were to really eat it… Putting aside his reputation and his standing, even his life would be gone.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

The elder couldn’t maintain his calmness any longer. He turned to look at the attendant with an incredibly awful complexion.

Dang lang!

Liu Chang’s face was also incomparably dark. With a flick of his wrist, he drew his sword and pointed it toward the attendant, threatening to kill the latter as soon as the slightest bit of nonsense was uttered from his mouth.

If it were just a fake, they could only blame themselves for the lack of acuity in their judgement. However, it was clear that someone had laced the leaves of the Verdant Bamboo with lethal poison. From the start to the end, that young man had only moved his mouth, and only the attendant had come into contact with it. Who else could the culprit be if not him?

“Ah… Hall Master Sai, please spare me! I’m just an attendant, I’ve no idea what’s going on. Besides, how could I possibly obtain poison of such high grade that even you’re unable to perceive it…”

The attendant’s knee immediately caved in, and he hurriedly kowtowed non-stop, pleading for the other party to spare him.

Other people might not know this elder’s identity and the authority he wielded, but he was well aware of it!

To that elder, killing him was no different from killing an ant.

Thus, not daring to hesitate in the least, he immediately kneeled down and admitted his fault.

“Alright, he’s indeed unaware of it!”

Recovering from his shock, the elder realized that he had also blamed the attendant erroneously. Thus, he gestured for Liu Chang to sheathe his sword.

Given the lethality and inconspicuous nature of the poison hidden within the Verdant Bamboo, it must be at least a grade-4 poison.

In other words, the one who poisoned the Verdant Bamboo was most probably at least a 4-star poison master. How could a person of that standing be willing to serve as a mere attendant in the First Class Pavilion? Besides, if the other party truly wanted to make a move on him, given how his guard was down just now, there was no need for him to go through so much trouble.

After all, he might not necessarily buy the Verdant Bamboo. Thus, the hypothesis that the other party had poisoned the Verdant Bamboo in advance to harm him didn’t seem to hold.

“Hmph!”

Liu Chang sheathed his sword, but he still maintained an air of hostility.

The medicinal herb that his teacher bought was actually laced with lethal poison. If news were to spread, his teacher would be in great trouble.

To successfully lace a medicinal herb within the First Class Pavilion with poison, who in the world could it be?

And what did he hope to achieve from this?

“Little brother, thank you for your help!”

The elder turned to Zhang Xuan once more, and this time, instead of disdain and coldness, his gaze was filled with commendation and respect.

Even he was unable to discern any problem with this Verdant Bamboo. Yet, the other party was able to determine that there was a problem with it without even getting close to it. His eye of discernment was way too fearsome!

Most probably, the other party’s appraising ability was even higher than his.

Fearsome!

“Now, it’s been proved that the Verdant Bamboo is a fake, right?” Zhang Xuan glanced at the elder.

“Yes… It’s a fake!” After a moment of hesitation, the elder nodded.

The main purpose of a Verdant Bamboo was to forge it into a pill to supplement one’s cultivation. Yet, this stalk would kill the one who ingests it. In that sense, it could indeed be considered a fake.

“Actually, you need not blame him nor the First Class Pavilion. They weren’t the ones who laced the Verdant Bamboo with poison. In fact, it wasn’t the doing of a human at all!” Placing his hands behind his back, Zhang Xuan lifted his head slightly and spoke with composure.

“It wasn’t the doing of a human?”

The elder was bewildered. Even Jin Conghai and Gu Mu couldn’t help but turn their gazes over.

Other people might not know too much about poison, but the two of them were true poison masters. They had grown up alongside poison, and they possessed broad knowledge in the field.

The poison contained in the Verdant Bamboo was extremely bizarre. It had already melded within the veins of the leaves, making it extremely difficult to be noticed. On top of that, the poison was exceptionally potent such that it could even kill a Transcendent Mortal 3-dan expert easily. All evidence pointed to it being the doing of a 4-star poison master.

If it wasn’t the doing of a human, then… where did the poison come from?

“Bring me the information on the production of the Verdant Bamboo!”

Instead of answering the crowd’s doubts, Zhang Xuan turned to the attendant from before and instructed.

“Yes…”

Upon hearing the young man speaking up for him and the First Class Pavilion, the attendant flashed him a look of gratitude before hurriedly walking out. Not too long later, he returned with a book in his hands.

Most larger retailers would look thoroughly into the background of the artifacts they bought and compile it into a book so as to prepare their attendants for the questions of the customers.

This could enhance the value of the treasure and track down the source of the problem if a fault appeared in the goods.

“Read it out loud!” Zhang Xuan instructed.

“Un!” The attendant nodded. Flipping open the book, he began reciting, “Verdant Bamboo, originated from Hongxu Marsh. It was found by a merchant company and four months ago, the merchant company used a unique method to pick it and delivered it here…”

The information regarding the Verdant Bamboo was extremely detailed, and it even included details on who was the one who dug it out, who was the one who delivered it, where was the trade conducted, what kind of method was used to preserve its freshness…

All in all, the introduction took up more than several hundred words.

However, upon hearing the introduction, not only did the crowd not feel enlightened, they fell into even deeper confusion.

The Verdant Bamboo was extremely well-guarded and there was no chance for a poison master to lay his hands on it at all. Thus, this made the possibility of it being a human doing extremely unlikely.

But if it wasn’t a human doing, then how did the poison get here?

“The lethal poison had seeped into the branches and leaves, but yet, there isn’t any damage on the plant at all. In fact, it’s impossible for one to discern that it’s poisoned from its outer appearance. Even 4-star poison masters would require a long duration of time to achieve such a feat!”

Jin Conghai spoke with a grim expression. He was also intrigued by this matter.

If those records were real, there was indeed no way for anyone to strike at all.

After all, it was no easy task for even a 4-star master teacher to poison the Verdant Bamboo so inconspicuously.

One had to know that lethal poison had an adverse effect on plants as well.

“What’s going on?”

The more Appraiser Liu Chang listened on, the more confused he became. Eventually, unable to withstand his curiosity anymore, he turned to Zhang Xuan with a questioning look.

“You still don’t understand?”

Zhang Xuan chuckled and said, “Fine, I’ll explain the matter then! I believe all of us here should know what the specialty of Hongxu Marsh!”

“Specialty? That region seems to specialize in the production of [Withered Leaf Tea]… Could it be related to that?”

The elder couldn’t help but turn to look at Zhang Xuan.

Chapter 455: Concrete News of the Soulless Metal Humanoid

The Withered Leaf Tea, also known as the Withered Glory Tea, was a well-known specialty of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance’s Hongxu Marsh.

The tea grew in the marsh, and in a single year, there was only a single month that it would be alive. At any other time, it would be no different from a withered tree.

Dead branches growing leaves, one withered while the other glorified, life and death intertwined together in such a mystical manner; this was where the origin of the name of the tea came from.

Upon preparation, this tea could grant one the refreshing sensation of the four seasons, thus making it one of the most well-known tea throughout the entire Myriad Kingdom Alliance.

However, Hongxu Marsh was extremely dangerous. There were Transcendent Mortal experts who were devoured by the marsh, never to be seen on the face of this world ever again. On top of that, there’s only a month of harvest for the tea leaves and the production amount was extremely low. As such, very few people had a chance to taste it.

“Indeed, that place is known for the production of Withered Leaf Tea! But there’s also an animal which lingers around the tea leaves… the Withered Leaf Snake!” Zhang Xuan said.

“Un!”

The crowd nodded in agreement.

The Withered Leaf Snake was a spirit beast which lived off the Withered Leaf Tea. It was a highly venomous spirit beast, and even a Transcendent Mortal 3-dan expert would die easily if bitten by it.

“Could it be that the venom on the Withered Leaf Tea… comes from the Withered Leaf Snake? But that can’t be! Even though the Withered Tea Snake’s poison is lethal, it has a unique smell to it. On top of it, its saliva also leaves a mark, making it extremely conspicuous to the eye. However, there’s no visible damage apparent on this Verdant Bamboo, and it looks as good as new…”

The elder couldn’t help but remark.

The Withered Leaf Snake was an extremely fearsome adversary that even Transcendent Mortals had to be careful of, thus contributing to its great reputation. If the Withered Leaf Snake had left behind its saliva on the Verdant Bamboo, he would surely be able to tell so.

“It’s not the saliva of the snake, but that… this Verdant Bamboo was the nest for the Withered Leaf Snake. In other words, this smooth-looking bamboo has had a Withered Leaf Snake slithering over it every single day,” Zhang Xuan said with a grim expression.

“Ah…”

Hearing the words, the face of the attendant holding the records immediately paled, and he nearly stumbled over.

He was in charge of taking care of the bamboo, and he had been wiping it frequently in the past few days. The thought that it used to be the nest of a snake left him flustered and disgusted.

“As such, the excretions of the Withered Leaf Snake would stick onto the Verdant Bamboo, and over time, they would be absorbed and accumulate within the depths of the veins of the leaves!”

Ignoring the crowd’s discomfort, Zhang Xuan continued, “As it’s hidden very deeply within, it’s impossible to notice it under normal circumstances and it won’t have any adverse effects on individuals coming into contact with the bamboo either. However, as soon as the Verdant Bamboo comes into contact with intense heat, the poison will seep out, and all those who touches the poison will suffer greatly!

“If this Verdant Bamboo is only used as a formation core or a weapon, there wouldn’t be much of a problem with it. However, it’ll be disastrous if one were to use it to forge pills. Even a Transcendent Mortal 3-dan expert would die instantaneously if he were to accidentally consume it! That’s also the reason why I said that if you’re intending to use it to forge Verdant Crystalline Pills, the Verdant Bamboo you’re buying would be a fake!” Zhang Xuan explained.

“So that’s the case!”

Upon coming to a realization, the crowd turned to look at the young man in admiration.

To be able to notice the poison hidden deeply within the Verdant Bamboo just by looking at it, how deep must his understanding of the properties of plants, their habitats, and origins be!

“Incredible!”

The elder clenched his fists tightly together.

Putting all other things aside, just the other party’s eye of discernment was already far superior to his own.

“Gongzi is indeed formidable, you’ve truly taught me a valuable lesson today. Since you’re interested in the [Spirit Calming Grass], allow me to gift it to you as a token of my gratitude!” the elder gestured grandly and said.

“Teacher…”

Liu Chang was stunned.

Just a moment ago, when that fellow said that he was offering five hundred gold coins to purchase the Spirit Calming Grass, he thought that there was something wrong with the other party’s head. But thinking back on it now, the other party had probably already expected this sight then.

But still, the Spirit Calming Grass was something worth five hundred spirit stones! To give it away just like that… wasn’t his teacher being a little too generous?

Even though the other party had helped him by pointing out that there was venom within the Verdant Bamboo, there was no need for such a generous token of gratitude.

“Could it be that… But how is that possible! How could he have predicted this too?”

Suddenly, Liu Chang recalled something and his entire body stiffened. Then, he began to tremble violently.

He suddenly understood why his teacher was being so generous.

An appraiser could only make three appraising mistakes in his entire life. Exceed that amount and one’s qualifications would be revoked.

His teacher had appraised countless treasures, and he had already reached the limit of three mistakes. If he were to make another single error, he would be revoked of his license as an appraiser!

In other words, if the other party hadn’t interfered and his teacher were to have this Verdant Bamboo forged into a pill, even if no one were to die from this incident, his teacher would still lose his appraiser qualifications.

Being in a high position for many years, it was unavoidable that he would offend many people and have many enemies. If he lost the protection of his identity, his enemies could potentially come straight for him. In other words… the other party had saved his teacher’s life. Putting aside the Spirit Calming Grass, even if it was something even more valuable than that, his teacher would probably give it to him willingly.

But… the matter regarding his teacher reaching the limit of three appraising errors was only known among his teacher’s close friends and kin. How did this fellow find out about it? And if he didn’t know about it, how could he be so sure that his teacher would give the Spirit Calming Grass to him out of gratitude?

Recalling the encounter a moment ago on the first floor…

Could this young fellow be actually an incomparable expert appraiser?

As such a thought flashed across Liu Chang’s mind, he hurriedly turned to look at the young man in an attempt to confirm his evaluation, only to see the young man reply with a righteous look, “How can I accept such a valuable present as a gift? Sun Qiang, pass this senior five hundred gold coins. We have to pay the sum that we agreed on so that this elder doesn’t make a loss!”

Pu!

It was just a moment ago that Liu Chang thought that the other party was an expert, but upon hearing those words, Liu Chang’s body swayed violently and he nearly spurted a mouthful of blood.

The heck!

To speak such shameless words so brazenly, where is your dignity?

What was the difference between five hundred gold coins and not paying at all?

Was this how an expert should behave?

Hurriedly turning to look at his teacher, he saw his teacher wobbling unstably on his feet, and it seemed as though blood was welling up in his chest. His entire face steeled in frustration, “Gongzi, this is my heartfelt gratitude. There’s really no need… for money!”

“Elder, there’s no need to be so courteous with me!” The young man insisted. “Five hundred gold coins… is still within my means!”

“…” Liu Chang.

Any trash that you pick up from a battlefield would be worth that much money, of course it is within your means…

Knowing that he would definitely die of frustration if they were to continue quarreling on this matter, the elder chose to accept the gold coins. “I see that gongzi seems to be well-versed in appraising as well. May I know… who is your teacher? Could he be an appraiser as well?”

Liu Chang immediately became more attentive.

Given how the other party was able to discover a problem, which even his teacher couldn’t notice, his mastery in appraising had reached an incredible level.

Such a capable young individual must have a peerless expert behind him. He was curious to know which grandmaster Zhang Xuan’s teacher was.

“Our young master is Master Teacher Zhang Xuan, and his teacher is Master Teacher Yang Xuan.” Sun Qiang stepped forward and introduced proudly.

“Master teacher?”

The elder froze for a moment before coming to realization. His respect for the other party deepened.

On the other hand, Liu Chang leaped back in shock.

If only he knew that the other party had this kind of identity, he wouldn’t have dared to stand against him from the start.

Even though an appraiser was one of the most lucrative occupations, it still couldn’t match up to master teachers.

It was just like a government official and a nouveau riche; no matter how wealthy one was, the level of influence and prestige the two wielded were worlds apart.

On top of that, this appraising capability of this master teacher wasn’t inferior to even that of his teacher.

“I see, that explains your acute eye of discernment. Please do pardon me for my previous rudeness!”

After recovering from his momentary shock, the elder clasped his fist and said, “I am Sai Xiaoyu. I am unbefitting of the address ‘elder’ so feel free to call me Brother Sai instead!”

The other party’s appraising capability wasn’t beneath him, and on top of that, he was a master teacher as well. The elder immediately thought of befriending the other party.

“Sai Xiaoyu? Could you be… Hall Master Sai of the Appraiser Hall?”

Upon hearing that name, Zhao Feiwu couldn’t help but agitatedly ask.

As the princess of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance and an avid reader, she knew quite a bit about the experts at the peaks the various occupations within the alliance.

It was said that the head of the Appraiser Hall was a man by the name of Sai Xiaoyu, and he was a 4-star pinnacle appraiser. He had appraised countless treasures throughout his life, and it was said that the Alliance Head Residence had hosted him as one of their esteemed guests before.

She thought that it would be nigh impossible to meet such experts, and never in her dreams did she expect to find one being taught a lesson and scammed of a Spirit Calming Grass right before her…

“The position of a hall master is just a result of my old buddies’ flattery, it’s not worth mentioning!” Upon being recognized, Sai Xiaoyu shook his head with a smile.

“I see, so it’s Hall Master Sai. This is great, I just happen to have something that I require your help on.”

Upon learning of the other party’s identity, Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up and he asked, “I heard that… a Soulless Metal Humanoid has been found in Honghai City. May I know if the news is true, and if so, where it is?”

This was the main reason why he came to Honghai City.

Since this person was the head of the Appraiser Hall, if the news was real, he would definitely be aware of it.

“Soulless Metal Humanoid? I see, Brother Zhang is here for that!”

Hall Master Sai chuckled upon coming to a realization. “The rumors are true, and it is currently in the Appraiser Hall right now. The auction would be carried out tonight.”

“Tonight?”

Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly together, and a troubled look slowly crept onto his face.

It was already afternoon by the time the group arrived at Honghai City, and they spent quite a bit of time strolling around the Appraiser Hall as well. Judging from the current time, wasn’t the auction about to start already?

Yet… he didn’t even have a single spirit stone on him at the moment.

Without any money on him, he would probably be expelled right at the door, lest to say, participate in the auction.

One must know that it was a common procedure for larger auctions to demand an entrance fee so as to sieve out true buyers from the troublemakers. Otherwise, if everyone could enter freely, it might cause chaos in the auctioning.

“Indeed, it’ll be conducted two hours later. If Brother Zhang is interested in the auction, I can reserve a suite for you!” Sai Xiaoyu said.

“I’ll be thanking Brother Sai in advance then!”

Nodding his head in agitation, Zhang Xuan continued, “May I know how many spirit stones will it require to win the Soulless Metal Humanoid?”

Only with sufficient information could he make thorough preparations.

“The Soulless Metal Humanoid is something left behind by the soul oracles so it’s rather difficult to estimate its price. Our primary evaluation has priced it at 1500 spirit stones, but considering the atmosphere in the auction, its final price will definitely be jacked up to at least three thousand spirit stones!”

Sai Xiaoyu explained before turning to look at Zhang Xuan with a smile, “Why? Is Brother Zhang interested in the matter?”

“I am. It’s just that… I’m a little short on funds…”

Zhang Xuan scratched his head awkwardly.

“Short on funds?” Sai Xiaoyu chuckled. “There’s no need for worry about that. I have some savings of my own so I can lend some of it to you to make up for the amount you are lacking. May I know how much money are you short of?”

“You’re willing to lend some money to me? Great!”

Zhang Xuan gazed at Sai Xiaoyu in gratitude, “I am still lacking three thousand spirit stones, can you… lend the money to me?”

“…” Sai Xiaoyu.

“…” Liu Chang.

“…” Everyone.

Chapter 456: Harmonious Stream of Flowing Goblets

Three thousand spirit stones should be sufficient for you to take down the Soulless Metal Humanoid. To borrow so much money… Does that mean that you don’t even have a single spirit stone on you…

A dark line streaked across Zhao Feiwu and Jin Conghai’s foreheads.

It was no wonder why this fellow offered gold coins each time he tried to buy something. They thought that it was an eccentric quirk of an expert… But to think that there would be such a practical reason to it!

To think of buying the Soulless Metal Humanoid without any money on hand…

Just the thought of it left them faint-headed.

“Cough cough!” Sai Xiaoyu coughed. He nearly choked to death on the other party’s words. “Brother Zhang Xuan, this… Do you not have even a single spirit stone on you?”

“That’s right!” Without any hesitation, Zhang Xuan nodded his head.

He had only started with a total of ten or so spirit stones, and he had used it all in the midst of the journey. As such, his pockets were completely empty at the moment.

Even though he had almost a hundred million gold coins in his storage ring, gold coins weren’t really in use here. In a sense, it wasn’t wrong to say that Zhang Xuan didn’t have even a single cent on him.

“This…”

Not expecting the other party to reply so candidly, Sai Xiaoyu’s face turned so red that it nearly oozed blood.

In truth, it was only out of politeness that he offered to lend the other party money. After all, given the other party’s capability, he was indeed a person worth befriending. Yet, the other party took it for real and asked for three thousand at a single go…

The heck!

Even though he was the head of the Appraiser Hall, he didn’t have that much money on him either. Furthermore, he had just spent two thousand spirit stones and given away a stalk of Spirit Calming Grass…

Even if you wanted to exploit the rich, you should at least show some restraint!

“You don’t have that much money? Never mind then. Is there any way to earn money swiftly in the Appraiser Hall?”

Seeing the other party’s expression, Zhang Xuan immediately knew that the other party was surely unable to fork out this sum, and he shook his head in disappointment.

In truth, he was only giving it a try. He didn’t really think that the other party would be able to loan him this massive sum of money.

Besides, the both of them had only just met. It would be bizarre if one was willing to lend such a huge sum to a stranger.

“A way to earn money swiftly? You wish to earn sufficient money now to join the auction two hours later to buy the Soulless Metal Humanoid?” Sai Xiaoyu and the crowd nearly spurted blood.

That fellow sure knew how to dream!

If it was that easy to earn spirit stones, he, as the head of the Appraiser Hall, wouldn’t have to come over here to browse through the various artifacts in hopes of earning a profit.

If there was truly such an easy way to earn spirit stones, he would have surely done it himself already. There was no reason to leave it for someone else.

“Un, I have to earn three thousand spirit stones before the auction!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

If he didn’t earn this sum of money within the next two hours, he would be unable to buy the Soulless Metal Humanoid and thus miss the opportunity to wake Lu Chong up.

“There’s truly no way around it. You also know it yourself, three thousand spirit stones is a huge sum…”

Seeing that the other party was serious, Sai Xiaoyu shook his head helplessly.

Appraisers mainly earned their money through the price difference from buying and selling treasures. Even for Sai Xiaoyu, it would take several years before he could save three thousand spirit stones. Furthermore, it was assuming that he was lucky enough to stumble upon cheap treasures and find suitable buyers.

Without meeting these two conditions, it would be impossible for him to earn money. In fact, it was often that he wasn’t able to find any suitable buyers for the treasure that he bought.

To earn three thousand spirit stones in two hours… No one would dare to even dream of it!

“Teacher…”

But halfway through his words, Liu Chang abruptly interjected.

Turning around, he saw his student looking at him hesitantly, “I think that maybe ‘that’… can earn one that much money within two hours!”

“That? Do you mean… [Harmonious Stream of Flowing Goblets]?”

Sai Xiaoyu’s body jolted, but he eventually shook his head with a bitter smile on his face, “It’s impossible for anyone to succeed in it! It has been many years since the establishment of the Appraiser Hall, but there hasn’t been a single person who passed it yet…”

“But that’s the only way for one to earn three thousand spirit stones within two hours. I don’t think that there’s any other plausible way other than that!” Liu Chang shook his head.

Even though being an appraiser was a lucrative occupation, spirit stones still weren’t that easy to earn.

Usually, they would earn a commission determined by the value of the item. However, putting aside how there were very few valuable treasures to be appraised, there weren’t many customers in the first place. After all, no one would be willing to spend their spirit stones if they could avoid it.

Thus, even if Zhang Xuan were to offer his service as an appraiser at this moment, it was impossible for him to gather three thousand spirit stones in just two hours.

“This…”

Sai Xiaoyu hesitated.

He knew that what his student said was true.

“Why? Do you have an idea in mind? What does Harmonious Stream of Flowing Goblets mean?” Zhang Xuan asked, having heard the conversation of the duo.

“Harmonious Stream of Flowing Goblets is actually a trial for the 5-star appraiser examination. Once one passes the examination, one will be entitled to a massive reward accumulated within the Appraiser Hall over a long period of time. If I’m not wrong, it’s worth… around five thousand spirit stones now…”

Since the other party asked about it, Sai Xiaoyu could only explain the matter.

“Trial?” Zhang Xuan was bewildered. “There are rewards to taking high-tiered appraiser examinations?”

He had taken on the master teacher examination, beast tamer examination, painter examination, physician examination… But he had never heard of one earning rewards from taking on the examination.

If that was true, then he should indeed try taking on the appraiser examination.

“There’s indeed a reward, but it is actually… prize money accumulated over time.” Seeing through Zhang Xuan’s thoughts, Sai Xiaoyu shook his head helplessly.

“Prize money?” Zhang Xuan blinked his eyes in confusion.

Zhao Feiwu had read many books, but even she was unaware of the internal rules within the Appraiser Hall.

“Un, there are many appraisers in the Appraiser Hall, but… there’s a limit to the knowledge an individual can wield. As such, appraisers often stumble upon treasures that they were unable to identify. Some of these treasures had been discussed by innumerable appraisers throughout generations, but no one was able to accurately identify what they were.

“Thus, in order to dispel their doubts, some of our predecessors chose to offer monetary incentives out of their own pocket to attract others to come forward, examine, and identify these treasures, as well as to encourage their juniors to study hard and solve these mysteries. However… even to this day, no one has succeeded yet. As time passed, the reward grew larger and larger, and to date, it has already reached five thousand spirit stones!” Sai Xiaoyu said.

While the reward was indeed tempting, how could it be easy to identify the treasures that countless predecessors had failed to successfully appraise!

“There’s such a matter?” Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in shock.

This seemed somewhat similar to the Wall of Dilemma of the Physician Guild. No matter how impressive a guild was, there would always be problems that would stump them.

“Indeed! It has been long since the founding of the Appraiser Hall, and many talented appraisers have given it a try. However, no one has yet to succeed!” Sai Xiaoyu shook his head.

The reason why he didn’t bring it up was simply because it was way too hard. He was the most impressive appraiser in the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, but even he was helpless before it, needless to say, a youngster like Zhang Xuan.

“Yet to succeed? But since no one knows what those treasures are, how do you ascertain whether someone has succeeded or not?” Zhang Xuan asked in puzzlement.

Since even the predecessors were unable to identify those treasures, then who could confirm if one’s answer was right or not? After all, if no one could identify those treasures, no one could say for sure whether one’s evaluation was right or not.

“When a treasure reaches Sprit rank, it’ll gain wisdom. As long as there’s no mistake in one’s description, one will be acknowledged by the treasure. Besides, we’re all official appraisers. Even though we might not be able to identify the treasure, we’re still more than capable of assessing and testing whether one’s answer is correct or not!” Sai Xiaoyu explained helplessly.

These were basic facts that an appraiser should know, yet this fellow didn’t even know about it at all? Was this fellow truly an appraiser who was more than capable than him?

“That’s true…” Zhang Xuan came to a realization.

Even if a formidable appraiser was unable to identify the specifics of a treasure, they should still have a way to determine whether a person’s evaluation was correct or not.

If they didn’t even have this much skill, they would be unqualified as an appraiser.

“Alright, bring me over to take a look. I would like to give it a try!” Knowing that this method could bring him easy money, Zhang Xuan swiftly made up his mind.

“Brother Zhang, hold it for a moment. Allow me to finish my words first before you make your decision!” Seeing the other party deciding on the matter recklessly, Sai Xiaoyu hurriedly stopped him.

“Un!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

“Even though there’s a reward for this trial, there’s actually stake involved. Every challenge requires one to put a hundred spirit stones as deposit! But of course, I can pay the deposit for you, so there’s no need for you to worry about it.” Sai Xiaoyu said.

“A hundred spirit stones?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

It seemed like there was no free lunch in the world.

He thought that he could join for free, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

But thinking about it, it was to be expected. Without this restriction, all appraisers would be rushing to give it a try whenever they had the time, and the Appraiser Hall wouldn’t be able to function normally anymore.

“Not only so, there’s also a strict time limit to the challenge!”

Sai Xiaoyu continued, “Just as the name, Harmonious Stream of Flowing Goblets, suggests, the treasures will be sent down to one via water, and one will be given ten breaths to assess and identify it at a river bend. After which, one’ll have to point out the name and origin of the treasure immediately!”

“Point out the name and origin of the treasure within ten breaths? How is that possible?” Before Zhang Xuan could say anything, Zhao Feiwu had already exclaimed in shock.

To identify something, an appraiser usually had to do all kinds of assessment on the artifact, such as using a magnifying crystal, studying the patterns on it, and knocking on it to determine its constituents.

The identification of any treasure was a lengthy and troublesome process; even if one was familiar with the item, one would have to confirm it multiple times before coming to an evaluation.

Yet, to have to offer a correct answer in just ten breaths, that was outright impossible!

On top of that, one was supposed to identify a treasure that even the predecessors were unable to identify?

“Before the identification process, is there any tip or information available to one?” Zhao Feiwu asked.

If there was some information, one could at least prepare oneself and focus on the key points of the treasure immediately.

“There isn’t! The main reason why we’re reluctant to give out prior information is so as to not mislead the challengers!” Sai Xiaoyu said.

If anyone knew what the treasure was for sure, they would have long passed the trial. Since no one was able to identify the treasure, the information was bound to be incomplete. If so, there was a high chance it could influence the challenger’s evaluation and impede them from coming up with the correct answer.

“That’s true…”

Zhao Feiwu frowned deeply.

While the Harmonious Stream of Flowing Goblets sounded like easy money, it was simply way too difficult. Putting aside 4-star appraisers, even 5-star appraisers would probably be stumped by it.

Just as Zhao Feiwu was about to turn to Zhang Xuan and advise him against it, the latter smiled lightly and replied, “Alright then, I wish to challenge this Harmonious Stream of Flowing Goblets. I’ll borrow a hundred spirit stones from you first, and after I’m done with it, I’ll return you the sum multiple folds!”