That clerk had told him that the treasure had been acquired the evening before they arrived at the shop. The shopkeeper , knowing they would be there today, would not have wasted a precious Ten-Thousand-Li Voice Transmission Talisman .
A Ten-Thousand-Li Voice Transmission Talisman was only used when the value of a treasure was confirmed to be too precious.
This "Cloud-Floating Wind Pearl" was only a suspected item, with only about a forty percent certainty. Moreover, it was very precious to Golden Core cultivators, especially those who cultivated the wind attribute. It wasn't valuable enough to warrant a Ten-Thousand-Li Voice Transmission Talisman.
This was clearly that dog Yang Youxian trying to acquire it himself at a low price. Even if he couldn't use it, if he took it to an auction house later, it would definitely be highly sought after by wind-attribute cultivators.
The "Martial Uncle Liu" Yang Youxian mentioned was another Nascent Soul martial uncle. Cao Lang was ninety-nine percent sure that Martial Uncle Liu knew nothing about this, but was he supposed to go and ask a Nascent Soul cultivator? His excuse left him with no way to refute it.
However, Yang Youxian's actions could also lead to a great loss for him. After all, he was betting that the acquired treasure was real. Even if he bought it at a low price, it was still relative, and the spirit stones required would not be a small amount.
He wouldn't dare to take it for free. It was just a loss he could afford.
Seeing Yang Youxian agree this time, Cao Lang still cursed him inwardly. This method of his still worked occasionally. After all, Yang Youxian couldn't really push things too far.
Sometimes he would really let Cao Lang buy the treasure he had his eye on first. So, what needed to be said and done, Cao Lang still had to do. At least to let Yang Youxian remember the matter.
After flying out of the sea region, the two flew for several more hours and finally reached the "Immortal Treasure Market." The two of them, of course, went straight to the sect's shop first. Yang Youxian went because it was his duty, while Cao Lang went to first ask the clerk he had placed there to see if there were any good finds, and only then would he go to the market to purchase the items needed this time.
In the past, the two of them always did this. Yang Youxian had long known Cao Lang's ways, and he also knew which people in the shop were Cao Lang's men, but he didn't care. The two of them had a tacit understanding.
The two wound their way through the market, and a quarter of an hour later, they arrived in front of a shop called "Treasure Sea Mountain." Before they even entered, they saw many people coming and going. Their sect's shop had a good reputation in the market, and many cultivators were willing to trade here.
Just as the two approached the shop, they were spotted by two clerks standing outside the door.
"Greetings, Martial Uncle Yang, Martial Uncle Cao!" The two clerks were Foundation Establishment disciples of the sect. Many of these disciples had no backing in the sect at first and had relied on their own aptitude to cultivate to this level.
But after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, the spirit stones for cultivation were far from enough to support them. So, many of them formed teams to go out and hunt Wind Beasts to obtain more spirit stones.
But there were also disciples who, after spending almost all their savings, chose to come to the market to help. Although the spirit stones obtained here were not as much as from hunting Wind Beasts, it was safe.
They wanted to walk the Way of Eternal Life and didn't want to perish so early. And here, they could also get some benefits from being in a favorable position.
"Where is Junior Brother Wu?" Yang Youxian asked directly. He didn't want to waste any more time and of course went straight to the shopkeeper in charge here.
"Oh, Martial Uncle Wu is in Earth Character Room One, receiving a guest!" one of the clerks immediately replied.
"Oh, he's in Earth Character Room One?" Upon hearing this, Yang Youxian's eyes lit up, and he quickly confirmed in a low voice.
"Yes, Martial Uncle!" And Cao Lang, who was beside him, also had a glint in his eyes. He glanced at the other clerk out of the corner of his eye, and that clerk also gave him a barely perceptible nod.
The two clerks had deliberately been soliciting business at the door today. They both knew the two would be coming today and had taken the place of other clerks to wait here. These things were all tacitly understood.
Yang Youxian nodded at the clerk, then said no more and strode directly into the shop. Cao Lang also immediately followed.
The shop was very spacious, with three floors. The two of them went straight to the staircase in the corner.
The first floor generally sold raw materials and treasures used by Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment cultivators. The second floor was for Golden Core level treasures, and the third floor was a place only Nascent Soul cultivators were qualified to enter.
Besides the counters, each floor also had several separate private rooms, reserved for customers who wanted to trade treasures privately.
The third floor had Heaven Character Rooms One to Five, the second floor had Earth Character Rooms One to Five, and the first floor had Man Character Rooms One to Seven.
Usually, the seven rooms on the first floor were used the most, followed by the Earth Character rooms. The Heaven Character rooms were rarely used. Once used, it was possible that a Ten-Thousand-Li Voice Transmission Talisman would be used, requiring a Nascent Soul cultivator from the island to come over.
And these rooms were also of different quality. For example, Room One was the best on that level. If a cultivator wanted to trade a treasure, and the clerks or shopkeeper were at least thirty percent sure that the treasure was of considerable value, they would be led to the corresponding room.
And today, Shopkeeper Wu, who was in charge here, had actually led a guest directly to Earth Character Room One. What this meant, Yang Youxian and Cao Lang of course knew very well, and their hearts couldn't help but burn with excitement.
But the place they were going was not Earth Character Room One, but a secret room on the third floor. There, if you wanted, you could listen to the conversations in every private room through a formation.
This was a formation set up by the shopkeeper to quickly grasp the trading situation. It was impossible for him to receive every single trade, so most were handled by other deacons stationed here.
But he also had to reserve the trades in rooms one to three on the second floor and above, and might secretly instruct the deacons to lower the price or give them special trading privileges.
This way, he could directly transmit his voice through the secret room. But outsiders would never know about this, otherwise, they would surely turn against them.
Since they chose to trade privately, they of course didn't want more people to know. Even if the deacon would mention it to others later, it should at least be after they had left, to reduce the danger to themselves.
Yang Youxian and Cao Lang quickly reached the third floor. At this moment, apart from a Golden Core realm deacon sitting behind the counter, there was no one else on the entire third floor.
It was like this ninety-nine percent of the time. Nascent Soul cultivators didn't appear so easily. Usually, this place was like a decoration.
When the deacon saw the two, he immediately stood up. He of course recognized Yang Youxian and the others. So, Yang Youxian immediately went forward and whispered a few words. The deacon looked at Cao Lang with some difficulty.
Although Cao Lang had a smile on his face, he was furious inside.
"A bunch of snobbish dogs!" In the shop, the people here basically listened to Yang Youxian. Even though Cao Lang's master was also a Nascent Soul cultivator, he still had no right to order them around.
Even entering that secret room was only allowed for Shopkeeper Wu and Yang Youxian; no one else could.
Yang Youxian glanced sideways at Cao Lang. Since he had followed him all the way here, it was really not good for him to refuse him.
After all, Cao Lang's master was also a Nascent Soul cultivator, although he was the lowest-ranked initial-stage Nascent Soul on the island. But he couldn't completely disrespect him.
So, he quickly whispered a sentence to the deacon, then walked directly behind the counter, lifted the curtain, and went in. Cao Lang, seeing this, pretended not to have seen the two whispering and followed closely.
Behind the curtain was a row of shelves with glowing spheres on them. Inside the spheres were some magical treasures and raw materials.
Cao Lang knew that the things here were still quite precious to ordinary Golden Core cultivators, but the really good things would not be placed here. Although these spheres also had defenses, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator could still break them if they tried.
The two quickly wound their way between the rows of shelves and soon arrived at a corner of the room. Here was a cyan stone wall. Yang Youxian took a step forward and walked straight towards the cyan stone wall. The next moment, the amber-colored jade bracelet on his wrist under his wide sleeve flashed slightly, immediately emitting a halo of light. The cyan stone wall instantly turned into a pool of lake water.
Amidst the rippling water, his figure disappeared into the wall. Cao Lang did not dare to delay and followed him in.
But the moment he entered, a look of jealousy appeared in the depths of his eyes. This secret room was not only where Shopkeeper Wu controlled the private trading rooms, but also where Yang Youxian and the other party handed over spirit stones and treasures every time they came.
Therefore, he also had the method to open the restriction here.
…
Earth Character Room One. Shopkeeper Wu, who was slightly plump, looked at the black-robed man before him. The man was gaunt and thin, with a pair of triangular eyes that suggested he was very shrewd.
"Fellow Daoist Jiang, this treasure has been severely damaged. You say it's a magical treasure used by a Nascent Soul cultivator, and I don't deny that it might have been once, but now its rank is only mid-grade. The price you're asking is impossible to sell for in any market here. I am sincerely trying to complete this transaction with you. For Fellow Daoist Jiang to come here, you must have inquired about our shop's reputation. After all, our sect has many Golden Core cultivators who fight with Wind Beasts all year round, so we do need this magical treasure. That's why I offered the high price of four thousand spirit stones." Shopkeeper Wu had a helpless look on his face. Then, he glanced at the black inkstone on the table between them.
The surface of the black inkstone was somewhat dim, and it even exuded a certain bloody smell, as if it had been corroded before. But one could still sense a trace of Confucian Righteous Qi .
The thin man with triangular eyes opposite Shopkeeper Wu rolled his strange eyes, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
"Shopkeeper Wu, I really did inquire before coming. And I've had this magical treasure appraised. It's a magical treasure nurtured by a Confucian Nascent Soul cultivator. You yourself can sense the Righteous Qi on it. Just for this point alone, the ten thousand spirit stones I'm asking for is not an exaggeration. Righteous Qi, Buddhist Power of Will , these are not things just anyone can cultivate. Yet you cut the price in half and then knocked off another thousand spirit stones. Hehehe, your way of doing business is a bit…" The thin man with triangular eyes was none other than Li Yan, and at this moment, Gong Shanhe was nowhere to be seen. Li Yan once again gave the name of Jiang Hai, who had already been thoroughly screwed over by him.
As for whether Shopkeeper Wu believed him, he couldn't care less. He had come here, of course, to wait for his target to appear. So he had casually taken out a magical treasure, the inkstone magical treasure from Qi Jinghong.
Back then in the swamp, it had been corroded by the blood qi of the man in the red scholar's robe. Li Yan hadn't had time to repair it in these past few years, but the inkstone was still slowly recovering on its own.
After all, the bloody and cold power was now rootless water, while the magical treasure itself still had spirituality. Listening to the words of the fat shopkeeper opposite him, Li Yan sneered inwardly. Truly, no merchant was without deceit. This magical treasure was clearly still a high-grade magical treasure.
And he didn't want to take out a better magical treasure for the trade to cover his tracks, lest it not match his identity. This corroded magical treasure was just right.
If he said he had obtained it by accident, the other party wouldn't suspect him. But the other party was really ruthless. A high-grade Confucian magical treasure was given a price of four thousand low-grade spirit stones.
Li Yan was certain that this inkstone magical treasure, even in its damaged state, could be sold for at least nearly thirty thousand.
But he had to pretend that he wasn't too sure of the magical treasure's value. After all, this magical treasure looked quite damaged, and he was only a Golden Core realm cultivator.
"Fellow Daoist Jiang, you've hit the nail on the head. You're clearly an expert. There is indeed Righteous Qi here. But for this very reason, after our shop acquires this magical treasure, its sale will be restricted. We might acquire it today and not be able to sell it for ten or even fifty years. There aren't many Confucian cultivators traveling outside, especially on our Wind God Continent . The Confucian cultivators have all been invited away to deal with some special Wind Beasts. After we acquire this magical treasure, our shop will have to spend a lot of money to repair it. If we can't sell it for decades, it will tie up too many spirit stones. After all, business is about the flow of goods, not keeping them in hand…" Shopkeeper Wu immediately began to talk endlessly. And as he spoke, he didn't notice at all that amidst the disbelief on Li Yan's face, a sharp glint quietly flashed in the depths of his eyes.
Because in his mind, Gong Shanhe's voice had sounded.
"They're here. They've entered the shop!"
He listened to Shopkeeper Wu for another dozen or so breaths before Li Yan interrupted him.
"Shopkeeper Wu, I only came to your shop because I am in urgent need of selling. Now I feel that we may not be able to reach an agreement. This magical treasure, as you said, is for a specific type of cultivator. In that case, I think it's better to let an auction house handle it. They are much more convenient for finding Confucian cultivators. I will definitely get the price I want. At worst, I'll just wait for a while."
As Li Yan said this, he reached for the black inkstone on the table. Shopkeeper Wu just smiled faintly and said nothing more, letting Li Yan take the item back.
Li Yan then also said nothing more. He stood up directly and walked towards the door. Behind him, a sharp glint flashed in Shopkeeper Wu's eyes, and his mind raced.
"Hmm? Is he really leaving? He's not planning to sell anymore, or is he…" He was all too familiar with this tactic of playing hard to get. Many customers were often like this.
So, he counted silently in his heart. But until Li Yan pushed open the door and left, the other party did not look back.
"Fellow Daoist Jiang, Fellow Daoist Jiang, why are you in such a hurry! How about this, your coming to our shop is fate. And if you have other treasures in the future, could you consider our shop first? I can offer seven thousand spirit stones, how about it?" Shopkeeper Wu's voice came faintly from behind. Li Yan, who had already stepped out, paused slightly. He turned his head, and his pair of triangular eyes slanted back.
"Ten thousand. Otherwise, Your Excellency need not speak!"