The moment Yang An said this, Pan Shi and Pan Yu beside him were both stunned.
Even the cultivator across from them froze, clearly not expecting Yang An to see through it so easily.
Fake?
Not a magic artifact?
How could that be? Hadn't the arc of a spiritual object already appeared just now? How could it be fake?
Pan Shi scratched his head in confusion. After all, he had been the one to pour Mana into it, and he had seen the spiritual object's arc with his own eyes. It did not look fake.
If anyone else had said this, he might have chosen to trust his own eyes and judgment.
But since it was Yang An who said it, he could not help but begin to doubt.
Deep down, he still instinctively sided with Yang An, so he turned his gaze toward the cultivator selling the item, wanting to see how he would explain himself.
"Fellow Daoist, do not speak nonsense. You all saw it with your own eyes just now—the spiritual object's arc on this magic artifact cannot be faked!"
The cultivator who had brought out the item immediately grew anxious and refuted Yang An, but Yang An saw the panic on his face with perfect clarity.
"Since I was able to name the Five-Colored Illusion Jade, I naturally know exactly how your spiritual object's arc appeared. Are you still going to argue?"
Yang An looked at him and said with an amused smile.
If he were in the other man's shoes, then since someone even knew about the Five-Colored Illusion Jade, it meant the details had naturally already been exposed.
Rather than argue, it would be better to find a way to smooth things over and avoid making a fuss. Though he could not deceive the people before him, perhaps he could still deceive other cultivators who did not understand.
But if the other party chose to deny it and keep arguing, then Yang An would have to thoroughly explain things to him.
Seeing that Yang An seemed utterly confident, the cultivator named Pang Shan began to feel uneasy, but he still did not believe Yang An could know the secret hidden within the Five-Colored Illusion Jade.
After all, the Five-Colored Illusion Jade could only be found in a deep mountain vein in the south, and very few people knew of it.
Including himself, those who knew that the Five-Colored Illusion Jade could stimulate five-colored arcs nearly identical to the arcs of magic artifacts could be counted on one hand.
It was precisely by exploiting this that he had dared to swindle people openly at the Communal Feast Convention, never once failing over several consecutive years.
He did not believe Yang An truly knew the secret of the Five-Colored Illusion Jade. Even if he knew of such a thing, it would still be useless if he did not know how to break it.
"Hmph! Fellow Daoist, you have no proof. Do not slander me out of thin air. Everything requires evidence—what makes you think my magic artifact is fake?"
The cultivator said in a deep voice, his tone quite agitated.
He was gambling—gambling that Yang An only knew of the Five-Colored Illusion Jade but did not know how to distinguish it from a magic artifact. In his eyes, that was highly likely.
But to Yang An, those words were utterly laughable.
Looks like this fellow would not shed tears until he saw the coffin.
He had not originally intended to expose the man. Since he knew the truth, his group had suffered no losses. If the man had admitted it openly, that would have been that. Even if he merely waved it off and accepted his loss, Yang An would not have spread the matter around. After all, whether others were deceived had not the slightest thing to do with him.
Yet this fellow showed not the slightest sign of yielding. Instead, his attitude was exceptionally hard, and he chose to meet force with force.
Since that was the case, there was nothing more to say. He wanted evidence, did he? Then Yang An would give it to him!
"Fine. Since Fellow Daoist wants evidence, I will give you some evidence. Fellow Daoist Pan, take this..."
Yang An nodded with a faint smile and handed the Exquisite Flower Illusion Jade in his hand to Pan Shi.
Because he was not a cultivator and had no Mana whatsoever, Pan Shi had to handle this matter.
Pan Shi immediately took the Exquisite Flower Illusion Jade. He also wanted to see what Yang An would do, and exactly how this Exquisite Flower Jade had been forged.
"Do as I say. Pour as much Mana into it as you have. The Five-Colored Illusion Jade is merely a spiritual object and has a limit to how much Mana it can withstand. Once it exceeds that limit, it will collapse on its own, generating a five-colored illusion that drags people into dreams until their energy is completely exhausted!
Let this Fellow Daoist see whether his so-called magic artifact is truly Five-Colored Illusion Jade!"
"Alright!"
Upon hearing Yang An's words, Pan Shi immediately nodded.
"Also, be careful. Throw it away when the Five-Colored Illusion Jade is about to collapse, so you do not get hurt."
Yang An added another reminder.
But just as his words fell, the cultivator across from them could no longer sit still. He sprang up from the ground and frantically waved his hands.
"Fellow Daoist, there is no need! There is truly no need!
It was I who failed to recognize a true master before me and offended you. It is all my fault.
I spent an entire year refining this Illusion Jade. If you destroy it, then that entire year of work will have been wasted. Please show mercy."
He had originally wanted to gamble that Yang An did not know how to break the Five-Colored Illusion Jade. Who would have thought that in the very next instant, Yang An would casually reveal the method to break it, and even knew more than he did? He panicked at once.
If this continued, his piece of Five-Colored Illusion Jade would definitely be destroyed.
He had spent a year's painstaking effort refining only this one piece. Though he could not deceive the people before him, as long as the Five-Colored Illusion Jade remained, he could continue swindling people. Someone would always fall for it.
The greater and lesser of the matter were obvious at a glance, so he immediately chose to admit defeat without the slightest hesitation.
Seeing the cultivator leap up and hurriedly stop them, it was clear that he had already conceded and yielded. The authenticity of this so-called magic artifact thus needed no further explanation.
Yang An chuckled. He had thought this fellow would hold out to the bitter end. He felt a little disappointed.
At this moment, Pan Shi and Pan Yu were both extremely surprised.
It really was Five-Colored Illusion Jade—could it even counterfeit the arc of a spiritual object?!
Although Pan Shi had been inclined to trust Yang An, he had never seen the arc of a spiritual object on a magic artifact forged before. He had not expected such a thing to truly exist in the world, something capable of imitating a spiritual object's arc.
This truly broadened their horizons. If Fellow Daoist Yang had not been beside them, they would likely have been deceived.
At that thought, veins bulged on Pan Shi's forehead. He clenched his fists and glared angrily at the cultivator across from them.
On the way here, he had even warned Fellow Daoist Yang and his junior sister that the Communal Feast Convention was a place where fish and dragons mingled, and they had to be careful. Yet he himself had nearly been the first to fall into someone else's trap.
This was truly humiliating!
Even Pan Yu beside him immediately puffed up her cheeks and glared angrily at the fellow before them.
After all, she had been the first to take a liking to this item. After hearing that Senior Brother had verified its authenticity, she had even been about to trade for it.
Fortunately, Yang An had exposed it first. She had not yet spoken, or she would have embarrassed herself as well.
Of course, aside from Yang An, no one present could see the other's expression. Still, merely from everyone's movements, they could all guess what sort of atmosphere there was now.
"Please show mercy, Fellow Daoists. I only did this because I needed to exchange it for some cultivation resources. I truly had no other choice. Offending you all was my fault, and I am willing to offer an apology."
Seeing that Yang An and the others remained silent, the cultivator gritted his teeth and fumbled around inside his robes. In the end, he took out a brown pill.
A pained expression immediately appeared on his face.
"This is a Substance Transformation Pill. With your extensive knowledge, you should know that the Substance Transformation Pill is also a rare and precious medicinal pill. Consider it my apology to you all. I hope you can be magnanimous and spare this insignificant man."
Before you continue