Strange Stone

As the horse-faced youth was pondering this, he suddenly heard a voice coming from inside a shop.

"Sir, this extraordinary stone was specially dug out from a bottomless cave. That cave is extremely dangerous. This stone has been buried underground for who knows how many years. It feels warm to the touch and is definitely extraordinary! Whether it is refined into something or used for research, it will be extremely useful. But you are only giving me twenty low-grade Sarira. Isn't that a bit too little?"

Yi Yun was extremely familiar with that voice. He had a very good memory and immediately recognized it as the voice of the young man in his twenties among the three people he had encountered when he first entered Tianwu City.

Yi Yun raised an eyebrow and looked into the room.

He saw three figures standing outside the counter in the bright hall. On the counter was a fist-sized, dark gold stone. Inside the counter sat a plump shopkeeper in his forties.

The portly shopkeeper, dressed in a magnificent robe adorned with ingots, held a pristine white pipe crafted from barren bones and a large thumb ring made of icy jade, a stark contrast to the three shabby-looking guests.

At this moment, the shopkeeper was squinting. He wasn't looking at the stones on the counter, but rather at the girl named A'yu and the boy named A'niu.

He wasn't calculating the stone's intrinsic value, but rather curious about what had happened to these three people that allowed them to find such a stone.

This kind of stone is rare in Tianwu City, and in fact, he couldn't fully recognize it either.

However, Myriad Treasures Pavilion had a similar stone before, but that stone was as big as a millstone, while this one is only the size of a fist, and its color is slightly different.

Back then, Myriad Treasures Pavilion sold that millstone-shaped stone for an astronomical price, but this stone... he wasn't sure.

However, in any case, there are definitely more than twenty low-grade Sarira.

But the more attractive the stone, the less he should show any interest, as this would make the seller suspicious and think he'd been scammed.

Especially this talkative young man, whose eyes revealed greed; he had just whispered to me, asking to lower the price and take a kickback.

Such a person, who would stop at nothing for profit, thinks he's clever, but doesn't even know the value of a stone.

This person could be used effectively, but we mustn't appear impatient.

The right way is to put on a show with him and trick him into giving you the stone.

"Take a test."

The chubby shopkeeper raised his eyelids and said lazily.

His companion grabbed a stone and threw it onto a small golden tray. The girl felt a pang of pain at the sight of this rough action.

As soon as the dark golden stone was placed on the golden tray, the tray immediately lit up with a bright light, completely enveloping the stone. In this light, every Dao patterns of the stone could be clearly seen.

The dark gold color shimmered on the surface of the stone, like the finest gemstone in the mortal world. The patterns resembled runes, naturally formed and quite mysterious. The interior of the stone, however, was pitch black and impossible to see.

The young man in his twenties, however, kept his eyes glued to the tray used for analyzing stones, unable to look away. He knew this tray was called the Sky Eye Compass, a magical artifact capable of identifying treasures, and was incredibly valuable. The Lihuo Sect was so wealthy; it would be wonderful if he could join them!

The girl and the boy beside her, A'niu, watched the stone on the tray nervously, but soon the stone's luster dimmed.

The portly shopkeeper glanced at them and said casually, "The luster is dim, the value is average. Twenty-two low-grade Sarira, that's the highest price I can offer. Take it or leave it!"

Although the results of the Sky Eye Compass test were indeed mediocre, the fat shopkeeper knew that as a magical artifact, the Sky Eye Compass could only detect a limited number of things.

Upon hearing the price, A'yu frowned slightly. She didn't actually know the value of the stone, but she felt it must be very precious.

She was disappointed with the price of twenty-two low-grade Sarira, but after testing the magic weapon for a while, there was indeed no change.

"Why don't we try asking somewhere else?"

The girl shook her head. She would only be satisfied after visiting more places and hearing other people's quotes.

However, the girl's cousin became anxious upon hearing this, as the fat shopkeeper had already promised him a kickback of five low-grade Sarira via telepathy.

He naturally wanted to facilitate the deal. The stone had already been appraised and wasn't anything special; he'd be lucky to make a small profit.

He immediately transmitted his voice, saying, "A'yu, what your cousin said earlier was just to swindle the shopkeeper. Twenty-two relics are really not cheap! This is just an ordinary gemstone. It's precious to mortals, but for martial artists, it only has some ordinary uses. With your years of experience, how could I be wrong? Besides, I wouldn't lie to you. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

However, her cousin's telepathic message could not change the girl's mind.

She and her younger brother, A'niu, risked their lives to finally dig this stone back. To find it, A'niu climbed the dangerous and steep mountain wall and was injured, which made her heartbroken for a long time.

She originally planned to use the money from selling the stone to buy pills and relics for A'niu. If she hadn't discovered the stone and dug it out, she wouldn't have made up her mind to bring A'niu to Tianwu City with her cousin.

But if the stone can only be sold for the price of twenty-two low-grade Sarira, then all of this will be in vain, as they have already spent ten low-grade Sarira along the way.

Upon arriving in the city and checking into an inn, A'yu became acutely aware of just how expensive things were in Tianwu City. Martial artists from such remote areas simply couldn't survive there.

"Sister, let's go."

When A'niu saw his sister's expression and noticed that her calloused hands were trembling slightly, he immediately grabbed a stone, took his sister's hand, and tried to leave.

Seeing this, the chubby shopkeeper frowned slightly.

How can you let a cooked duck fly away?

He looked at the young man in his twenties.

The young man immediately gave a fawning smile, grabbed the stubborn boy, and said, "He's just a kid, he doesn't know any better. He thinks his stone is something special. I'll talk to them."

As he spoke, the young man pulled the siblings aside and said in a low voice, "A'niu, what are you doing! A'yu, aren't you going to do anything about him! What do you think this place is? A shop of the Lihuo Sect! The Lihuo Sect is a super sect, we can't afford to offend them."

A'niu disliked his cousin very much. He turned his head away and said, "I didn't offend them, I just won't sell anymore."

"A'yu ..." The young man looked at the girl again, his expression impatient. "You two siblings are both stubborn. Do you think you can get a better price elsewhere? Myriad Treasures Pavilion is big, but they don't even let country bumpkins like us in. They don't even look down on our stuff! The prices in the other shops in this Marketplace are all pretty much the same. Lihuo Sect has been doing business for so many years, and their reputation is well-established. Do you think they would cheat small fry like us!"

As the young man was trying to persuade him, a hearty laugh rang out, "Hahaha, young brother, how old are you?"

(To be continued~^~)