After waiting for a full two hours, Pan Shi finally finished his meditation. By then, Pan Yu was so bored she was about to fall asleep, and Hei Mei had already left to wander around outside. Only Yang An and the two siblings remained in the cave.
Outside the cave, a steady stream of Cultivators had arrived, and the area was gradually growing bustling.
Yang An stood up and glanced outside. Quite a few people had already gathered in the more open areas, and it was clear many had already begun trading.
"Fellow Daoist Yang, shall we go take a look together?"
"Alright!"
Pan Shi had asked for Yang An's opinion, and with Yang An's ready agreement, Pan Yu was already on her feet. Unable to wait any longer, she headed cheerfully out of the cave.
The trio quickly made their way outside and merged into the flow of people.
If not for the bizarre location, Yang An would have thought he was in some mortal marketplace. Aside from the lack of merchants hawking their wares, it was practically identical.
What surprised Yang An even more was that among the Cultivators who continued to arrive, there were not only normal-looking humans but also plenty of beings like Hei Mei—mountain spirits who had attained the Dao but had not yet fully taken on a human form.
There were some with weasel-like faces and beady eyes, some with sharp beaks and monkey-like cheeks, and others with hawkish jaws and tiger whiskers. The variety of bizarre forms was endless.
Some wore human robes, concealing their figures so that only their faces were visible.
Others were completely naked, utterly unconcerned with the stares of those around them.
To everyone else, who had consumed the Illusion Mimic Insect Corpse, the true appearances of these beings were completely hidden.
But to Yang An's eyes, they were perfectly clear, with nothing concealed.
If he hadn't already accepted that in this world both humans and other creatures could cultivate the Dao, Yang An would have thought this was less a gathering of Cultivators and more a chaotic revel of demons intent on causing trouble.
'Who knows if any true Demon Fiends have mingled in the crowd? And who would be able to tell?'
Yang An felt a faint sense of unease and subconsciously kept his distance from the ones who looked particularly menacing.
The trio browsed with great interest for a while before stopping at a less crowded spot where something had apparently caught Pan Yu's eye.
"What is this? Is it a Magical Artifact?"
she asked, pointing to a palm-sized piece of white jade shaped like a carved flower.
The item was being displayed by an ordinary-looking, older Cultivator. Seeing her interest, he immediately began his pitch.
"Fellow Daoist, you have a keen eye! This item is called the Exquisite Flower Holding Jade. It is indeed a Magical Artifact, and a rare Middle-grade Magical Artifact at that. When worn, it can manifest the Exquisite Flower Dharma Aspect to empower its user.
If you are interested, Fellow Daoist, you can trade another Middle-grade Magical Artifact for it, or Elixirs of equivalent value."
Magical Artifacts were naturally divided into different grades and tiers. For instance, the Small Sumeru Bag that Pan Yu carried was a High-grade Magical Artifact.
Without knowing the accompanying Spell, the only way to appraise a Magical Artifact's grade was to infuse it with a small amount of Mana and observe the Spiritual Object Arc Light it manifested.
The more numerous and distinct the arcs of light, the higher the grade; the fewer and fainter, the lower the grade.
Of course, there were exceptions. Not all Magical Artifacts produced a Spiritual Object Arc Light; it was simply the most common and reasonably effective method of appraisal.
This, however, created an opening for cunning individuals to exploit, as even the Spiritual Object Arc Light could be faked.
Take the man before them, for example. As he was describing the item to Pan Yu, a smug, unconcealed smile spread across his face, like a fisherman watching a fish take the bait.
Perhaps all the Cultivators here assumed that under the cover of the Water-Resistant Lotus Seed, no one could see their expressions. Little did they know, Yang An, standing right beside them, could see everything perfectly clearly and had already made his judgment.
'This guy is almost certainly a scammer!'
"Oh? A Middle-grade Magical Artifact, you say? Would you mind if I take a look, Fellow Daoist?"
Hearing the man's claims, Pan Shi decided to inspect the item for his junior sister, so he posed the question.
"Please, be my guest," the Cultivator said.
The Cultivator's casual demeanor gave him an air of credibility, but the smile on his face only grew more cunning.
Pan Shi picked up the Magical Artifact from in front of the man. He examined it for a moment before infusing it with a faint stream of Mana.
The next moment, several faint arcs of light flickered into existence on the palm-sized Jade Carved Flower, which indeed seemed to be the sign of a Middle-grade Magical Artifact.
The moment he saw the Spiritual Object Arc Light, a look of delight spread across Pan Shi's face, as if he had stumbled upon a great treasure.
"So? Did you get a clear look, Fellow Daoist?"
"Yes, it's quite good. This is definitely a Middle-grade Magical Artifact. The quality is superb—smooth and substantial. A fine item indeed!"
Pan Shi spoke with such conviction that an outsider might have mistaken him for an expert appraiser.
Hearing Pan Shi's words, the other Cultivator let out a hearty laugh and praised Pan Shi once more for his discerning eye.
Witnessing this, Yang An couldn't help but sigh internally.
On the way here, he had heard Pan Shi repeatedly warn Pan Yu to be extra cautious at this gathering, to not let her eyes deceive her, and to be wary of anyone with ill intentions.
And yet, here they were, at the very start of things, and the pair of them had already walked right into a trap—a pair of naive lambs delivering themselves right to the slaughter.
If it had been anyone else, Yang An would have gladly stayed on the sidelines and enjoyed the show.
But after spending the last few days with the siblings, he had come to know their characters and considered them friends. He couldn't just stand by and watch them get cheated.
"Fellow Daoist Pan, how about letting me take a look as well?"
he offered, speaking to Pan Shi.
Seeing that it was Yang An speaking, Pan Shi readily agreed.
'Fellow Daoist Yang is a disciple from a Hidden Sect, so his eye for things is bound to be sharp. He recognized the Blood Tumor Pills from Sansong Mountain at a single glance, which just goes to show how experienced he is.'
So, naturally, Pan Shi was happy to have Yang An take a look. Although he was confident in his own judgment that the Jade Carved Flower was a Middle-grade Magical Artifact, getting confirmation from Yang An would give him more assurance.
The merchant glanced at Yang An but merely chuckled, making no move to stop him. He was clearly confident that none of them could see through his trick.
Yang An shot the man a look and took the Jade Carved Flower from Pan Shi.
The instant the jade touched his hand, an information box popped up in his vision.
[Exquisite Flower Illusion Jade]: Created by the Cultivator Pang Shan. A Spiritual Object crafted from Five-Colored Illusion Jade. Infusing it with Mana can produce five-colored arc lights and illusory phantoms that resemble a Dharma Aspect, but it possesses none of a Dharma Aspect's power.
Cost of Use: An excessive accumulation of infused Mana will cause this item to disintegrate, creating a five-colored illusion and pulling the user into the Glazed Dream Realm, where their energy will be completely depleted.
Status: Purification possible!
Seeing the contents of the information box, Yang An instantly understood.
'It's just as I thought. This Cultivator is nothing but a fraud!'
The merchant, meanwhile, still wore a smug smile, completely unaware that his brazen expression was under Yang An's full scrutiny.
A cold smirk touched Yang An's lips.
"If I'm not mistaken," Yang An began, "this is clearly a Spiritual Object made from Five-Colored Illusion Jade. And yet you claim it's a Magical Artifact, attempting to pass off a fake as the real thing to deceive us. What a clever scheme!"