"Does Mr. Lu really not know how capable Jubaozhai is?"
Manager Lin smiled. "Don't worry, it's already taken care of."
As he spoke, he gestured for Lu Yuan to come in.
He was indicating that they should sit down and talk.
Lu Yuan nodded, then chose a seat near the edge, where there was more privacy.
Manager Lin had someone prepare tea, then left first, evidently to fetch the item Lu Yuan wanted.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan wasn't in a hurry. He took a light sip of tea.
The tea was mild, with a lingering fragrance.
Though he didn't know much about tea, he knew this stuff was expensive—something an ordinary family could never afford.
That was only natural. Anyone who made it to the sixth floor was either rich or powerful, so Jubaozhai would naturally bring out the finest things to serve them.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Lu."
Before long, Manager Lin returned, carrying a tray covered in red cloth. "This is what you wanted. The seller was quite agreeable, too."
At this, Lu Yuan nodded without a word and lifted the red cloth.
A square jade seal sat on the tray.
It wasn't large, measuring roughly ten inches across.
It was jet-black all over, with an archaic air about it.
A fierce, unknown beast was carved on top, its gaze seeming to bore straight into whoever looked at it. There was something vaguely ominous about it.
"That's the one." Lu Yuan took one look and was very pleased.
This seal was almost exactly the same as the one he had seen in his previous life.
Even the details were flawless.
There could be no doubt.
"Good."
Manager Lin smiled. "Once the payment is settled, it'll belong to you, Mr. Lu."
"Don't worry." Lu Yuan took out his phone, made a few taps, and transferred the remaining ten million yuan straight into Jubaozhai's account.
Seeing this, Manager Lin poured him another cup of tea, then continued, "Mr. Lu, I hope you won't mind me saying this, but there's something sinister about this object. Ordinary collectors wouldn't have the slightest interest in it. Spending fifteen million on it seems like a poor deal."
Perhaps it wasn't quite right of him to say so, but anyone who could manage Jubaozhai's sixth floor was no ordinary person.
Everything Manager Lin had said came from the perspective of a friend.
That was the point.
He wanted to bring them closer.
After all, only friends would speak so frankly.
Sinister?
That was exactly what made it right.
This thing wasn't meant to be used by the living.
Lu Yuan smiled to himself. At present, he alone knew that the item was called the Ghost Seal. It looked unremarkable, like nothing more than an ordinary antique.
In truth, though, it had a remarkable origin and was deeply connected to the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. If he hadn't been fortunate enough to take part in it in his previous life, he never would have learned what the Ghost Seal really was.
If he had to describe it, it was one of the key objects needed to open the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.
Fifteen million.
Buying this Ghost Seal was a sure win. It only seemed like a bad deal to those who didn't know what it was.
As for the Mausoleum of the First Emperor, the legends surrounding it had never stopped.
It could almost be called one of the most mysterious places in all of China,
and yet no one had ever managed to explore it.
The reason was simple.
No outsider could get inside, not even with the blueprints. The only way was to gather all the keys.
Otherwise, anyone who forced their way in would meet certain death.
But now, counting the Ghost Seal, Lu Yuan had already obtained two of the keys. The other was the small family heirloom cauldron belonging to Chen Song.
Naturally, he had no intention of explaining any of this. He merely smiled, took another sip of tea, and continued, "Thank you for the advice, Manager Lin. Everyone has their own interests. By the way, has anything else unusual arrived on the sixth floor recently?"
Lu Yuan figured that Jubao Tower brought together all kinds of items from across the country that couldn't be traded openly.
He had found the Ghost Seal here, so he wanted to try his luck again.
Of course,
he wasn't expecting much.
Even after the global mutations began, items that could become divine treasures were exceedingly rare. Not every antique was anything special.
Otherwise, he could forget everything else and just spend his time collecting antiques.
"Of course."
Manager Lin's eyes lit up. Realizing he had another potential sale, he pulled a catalog he'd prepared earlier from his coat. "Everything is in here. Take your time, Mr. Lu. Just tell me if anything catches your eye, and I'll make sure to get it for you."
The manager received a commission for every deal made on the sixth floor.
Naturally, he was eager to help.
Lu Yuan nodded and opened the catalog.
As he'd expected, it was filled with all sorts of antiques.
Given the reputation of Jubaozhai's sixth floor, he could be sure they were all genuine.
But after flipping through the catalog for quite a while, nothing caught his eye.
A little later,
Lu Yuan paused and prepared to hand the catalog back.
But then his gaze shifted slightly. On the very last page, he spotted a small pagoda.
The pagoda had eleven stories. Though it had weathered the passage of time, the high-resolution photograph showed that it was exceptionally well preserved, without a scratch.
The moment Lu Yuan saw it, memories flooded back: a battle so fierce it could reshape mountains and rivers, which he had once watched from afar.
One of the fighters, when unleashing his power, had manifested an image inside his body that looked almost exactly like this pagoda.
It was worth remembering:
Even after the global mutations began, that fighter ranked among the very strongest.
And now, Lu Yuan was seeing this object again.
With that thought,
Lu Yuan looked up and asked outright, "Manager Lin, what is this?"
"This?" Manager Lin took a look and thought for a moment before answering. "It's called an Eleven-story Blood Futu. According to the seller, it was bloodred when it was unearthed. They say an ancient monk was buried nearby. Our appraisal suggests it's nearly two thousand years old. Are you interested?"
In Buddhist terminology, a pagoda was also called a futu.
Monks often said that saving one life was worth building a seven-story futu. They were referring to a seven-tiered pagoda.
"Yes."
Lu Yuan nodded. "Could you contact the seller for me? I'm willing to pay."
"I know you're good for it, but this seller's a difficult case. There's a bit of a problem."
Manager Lin furrowed his brow and explained, "He's in real estate. He was quite wealthy at first, but then he ran into financial trouble and his net worth plummeted, so he wanted to sell this thing to tide him over. He was asking twenty million, but a little while ago, he managed to get a loan from the bank."
"So yesterday, he called to say he'd changed his mind about selling the Eleven-story Blood Futu. He wants to keep it in his collection."
"Is that so?"
Lu Yuan's heart sank.
He looked at it again, confirming that it was indeed identical to the phenomenon manifested by that powerhouse.
After that battle, he'd specifically looked into it. He was eventually told that the phenomenon came from refining a divine treasure and merging it into the five viscera and six bowels. It could unlock the body's hidden treasures and unleash its potential, while also making the organs as indestructible as divine metal!
Besides, didn't the Eleven-story Blood Futu correspond to the five viscera and six bowels?
So it had to be that very object.
Back then, Lu Yuan had sighed for quite a while, wondering why he hadn't been blessed with the same fortune.
Now the treasure was right before his eyes.
Was he really going to let it slip away?
Before you continue