A Question Worth Ten Thousand Gold

As Lu Feng walked along, casually displaying his lavish side, the two Shop Assistants exchanged glances, both left momentarily stunned.

The contempt in their eyes vanished in an instant, replaced once more by fawning smiles as they hurried after Lu Feng.

"Please, sir, choose whatever you like. I'll carry it for you..." One of the Shop Assistants eagerly took the materials from Lu Feng's hands, his face brimming with servility.

Lu Feng picked as he walked, moving from the hundred-price section all the way to the nine-hundred-price section. He appeared casual, but these crude, rough materials did not require close inspection. With the discerning eye he had cultivated over three years in Exquisite Valley, he could pick out the finest materials at a glance.

From crystal jade to flawed spirit beast Inner Cores, Lu Feng selected more than a dozen items in succession, yet kept the total price under a thousand Copper Soul Coins. The most expensive item he chose was merely an ordinary material worth two hundred; most were rough jade stones from the hundred-price section, worth only a few dozen coins.

It was not that Lu Feng did not want expensive goods. It was simply that his purse was thin at present. Including his original Soul Coins and those Jiang Ruoyun had given him, he had fewer than a thousand Copper Soul Coins left. That was why he selected only the lowest-grade items.

In the eyes of the two Shop Assistants, however, things were different. They had likely never seen someone who simply grabbed items without examining them. Although Lu Feng had mostly taken materials from the sections below one hundred, they no longer looked down on him. Instead, they instinctively regarded him as a newly initiated Array Soul Master who temporarily had no need for high-grade materials.

But only temporarily. One day, he would surely need them. Thus, they became even more enthusiastic in serving Lu Feng. To them, he was certain to become a long-term major customer—one who spent freely and casually.

Naturally, Lu Feng had no idea what the two Shop Assistants were thinking. After finishing his selections, he pointed toward the second floor, indicating for them to lead the way.

Thus, one shop assistant carried the pile of materials away to calculate the bill, while the other warmly led Lu Feng upstairs, hoping he would make further selections.

The second floor was somewhat smaller in layout. Upon coming up the stairs, the first thing one saw was a massive bagua hanging on each wall, faint Flowing Light shimmering across them. They were actually rather decent arrays.

Compared to the nine sections on the first floor, the second floor had only two: below ten thousand and above ten thousand. Yet there were far more types and varieties of goods than downstairs. Aside from high-grade spirit beast cores and natural crystals, there were even array diagrams for sale.

They could not be called precious, but array diagrams were scarce nonetheless. It was uncommon to see them sold so openly. Yet after reading their descriptions and discovering they were merely low-grade spirit arrays, Lu Feng was no longer surprised.

After glancing around, Lu Feng's attention was caught by an emerald green crystal in a corner.

He walked straight over, turned it over in his hand for a moment, and asked, "How much is this jade stone?"

The shop assistant stepped forward to inspect it and was just about to answer when an old man emerging from a side door interrupted him. The old man gestured for him to leave, then looked at Lu Feng and said, "Young man, do you recognize this jade stone?"

There was actually a side door on the second floor? It was behind the bagua on the wall. Without looking carefully, one would not have noticed it at all.

Lu Feng glanced at the old man and replied irritably, "What? If I recognize the jade, it's cheaper? If I don't, it's more expensive?"

There were countless people across the continent who cheated ignorant customers in this manner. If you lacked learning, if you were ignorant, then you had only yourself to blame for being deceived. Sometimes, people even spent tens of thousands in gold to buy a broken stone.

But this time was different.

The old man smiled at his words, hunched over as he stepped forward and took the jade stone from Lu Feng's hand. Recalling the past, he said, "This jade stone was not easily obtained. I found it several months ago in a strange barrier of mountain mist. It cost me no small amount of effort."

"So what? Having a treasure but not knowing how to use it is nothing but wasting it." Lu Feng smiled faintly. This jade stone was worth far more than ten thousand. If someone truly recognized its value, they would likely be willing to pay even a hundred thousand Copper Soul Coins for it.

Yet this jade stone had been tossed into the ten-thousand-and-below section. It was truly an insult to it.

The old man froze for a moment, then became somewhat excited. "Do you know what this jade stone is?"

Just as Lu Feng had said, after the old man unexpectedly acquired this jade stone, he found that he could not see through it at all. He did not know what sort of array it was suited for, nor even how it should be preserved. In the end, he had tossed it here and allowed dust to settle upon it.

"So what if I do?" Lu Feng answered calmly. Seeing the look of desire in the old man's eyes, Lu Feng knew that he would surely ask something of him. At once, he began playing hard to get.

"Tell me..." the old man said excitedly.

"We are strangers who met by chance. Why should I tell you?" A wicked smile curled at Lu Feng's lips. The old man had clearly taken the bait.

Hearing this, the old man looked at Lu Feng in surprise. The young man before him was only around twenty, yet his temperament was frighteningly mature.

"Speak. What conditions do you have? Let me hear them," the old man said seriously. Since Lu Feng knew he wanted information about the jade stone yet had not left, he must be seeking something.

"I can tell you, but I want to choose any one item from this section." Lu Feng pointed at the area before him containing goods below ten thousand. In truth, he had initially wanted to point to the section above ten thousand, but after noticing another item, he changed his mind.

One question, ten thousand Copper Soul Coins!

"Young man, what a huge appetite," the old man said with some disdain. The price of this question was too high. Although at his age he had long taken wealth and money rather lightly, the price of ten thousand gold for one question was still more than he could readily bear.

Lu Feng looked at the old man's slightly hunched body and had already discerned some clues. "Your body was likely harmed by miasma from the mountain forest not long ago, wasn't it?"

It would have been better had he said nothing. The moment he spoke, the old man's expression abruptly changed. He stared at Lu Feng in uncertainty, then grew even more excited.

"Yes, yes, yes." The old man nodded repeatedly and urgently asked, "Could it be that this jade stone can cure it?"

"I cannot say whether it can cure you, but it can lessen some of your pain," Lu Feng explained. He understood something of the pain caused by miasma entering the body. Whenever rainy or overcast weather came, the miasma inside one's body felt as though it wanted to burst through the flesh, causing unbearable pain while leaving one utterly helpless.

"Good, good, good! If it truly helps me, what is the harm in letting you choose an item?" The old man waved his hand, completely yielding, though a thread of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

"A deal," Lu Feng said with a smile. Rather than immediately explaining the jade stone's use, he walked toward a spot not far away and picked up a carving knife that had already gathered some dust. The knife looked dull and lusterless, as if it had never been sharpened.

Lu Feng said to the old man, "Once I explain the use of this jade stone, this little knife will be mine. How about it?"

"You're an Array Master?" The old man examined Lu Feng in surprise. Seeing that Lu Feng had not selected anything else and had instead chosen a carving knife, he could not help being astonished.

Lu Feng smiled faintly without explaining. Nor was there any need to explain much.

After putting away the carving knife right beneath the old man's eyes and seeing that he did not stop him, Lu Feng explained, "The jade stone in your hand is a type of Cloud Mist Stone called Mystic Cloud Cold Stone. It can draw in and absorb the miasma, Nether Qi, and all kinds of harmful gases between heaven and earth."

After a pause, Lu Feng continued, "The miasma within your body can be completely drawn out with this jade stone."

With that, Lu Feng turned and prepared to head downstairs.

Seeing this, the old man shifted in a flash and blocked Lu Feng's path. His speed was remarkable, revealing an impressive movement technique.

"What? Regretting it?" Lu Feng asked calmly. His eyes held a trace of surprise at the old man's speed of movement. The footwork the old man had used just now surfaced in his mind; it seemed to follow a unique trajectory.

But Lu Feng was not afraid in the slightest. At this moment, he had no concerns. If he truly wished to leave, no one could stop him.

"Of course not, of course not. You have explained the jade stone's type and effects, but you have yet to explain how to use it," the old man said awkwardly.

"Simply set up a Qi Gathering Spirit Drawing Array and place this jade stone atop the array core," Lu Feng explained, though he could not help feeling suspicious. Could the owner of this shop truly not know such an obvious method?

"That works too?" The old man smiled awkwardly. Clearly, he had overthought things earlier. How could he have imagined that such a valuable jade stone could be paired with the most basic spirit array?

After learning that the miasma inside his body could be dispelled, the old man's expression became much gentler. In that instant, he even seemed several years younger.

"Where does little brother live? If the miasma in this old man's body improves, I will certainly come to your door and offer my thanks," the old man asked.

Lu Feng understood. The man feared that Lu Feng might be talking nonsense and leave without a trace. If he was truly cured, then asking for his address was one thing—but if not, was it not also a way to find him for revenge?

"Jiang Manor. Lu Feng." Lu Feng spoke with some displeasure. Why should he be polite to someone who did not trust him?

Seeing Lu Feng's unhappy expression, the old man felt somewhat guilty. As he saw Lu Feng off, he did him a favor and gave the materials Lu Feng had purchased downstairs a fifty-percent discount, charging only half the price.

Watching Lu Feng's retreating figure, the old man could not help muttering to himself, "Since when did Jiang Manor gain such an extraordinary Array Master?"

Lu Feng was extremely satisfied with the gains from this trip. Not only had he bought enough arrow shafts, he had also acquired plenty of array-setting materials. Most delightful of all was that free carving knife.

With Lu Feng's discerning eye, how could he fail to see the extraordinary qualities of that carving knife? It was merely a pity that no one in the mundane world recognized Void Spirit Refined Iron, allowing this peerless spirit blade to remain buried.

Back in Exquisite Valley, Lu Feng had possessed quite a few supreme-grade carving knives. Yet when he left the valley, the two elders had taken them all back. In the elders' words, they feared that Lu Feng would bring disaster upon himself by possessing a treasure, attracting covetous eyes and stirring up trouble.

Though the blade he had unexpectedly obtained this time was far from comparable to the carving knives stored in Exquisite Valley, it was more than sufficient as a temporary tool given his current cultivation and strength.

After leaving the array shop and returning to Gathering Fragrance Garden, Lu Feng discovered that Jiang Ruoyun and Qiao Xue'er had already finished eating and left.

Helplessly, Lu Feng could only head back toward Jiang Manor alone.

Suddenly, as he passed a jewelry shop on his way back, a familiar voice drifted over from the distance.

Lu Feng recognized Jiang Ruoyun's voice and immediately hurried over.