Golden Jade Pavilion

"Clang!"

A rusty, broad-backed short saber struck the mountain wall beneath the Ice Mist Fruit, causing several pieces of rock of varying sizes to fall.

Ye Xiaozheng was the one wielding it. This rusty saber was found in the cave, likely dropped by some unlucky soul who became a meal for an Ice Silk Spider. He wasn't using his greatsword because while it would be faster at clearing rock, he feared accidentally shattering the Cold Jade within, which would be a great loss.

Although this was an extremely ordinary steel knife, Ye Xiaozheng used the Great Strength Technique with it, making the rock-cutting quite efficient. Each strike almost chipped off a piece the size of two fists, and this was with Ye Xiaozheng deliberately controlling his force.

Wei Suo watched Ye Xiaozheng chip away at the rock without blinking. It was more thrilling than fighting a demonic beast. When you fight a demonic beast, win or lose, you at least know what you're fighting. But now, no one knew how large the Cold Jade inside was.

"It's coming out."

Suddenly, Wei Suo and Nangong Yuqing's brows twitched involuntarily. As Ye Xiaozheng's saber struck, a trace of white light flowed out along with a surge of intense cold.

From the crack in the gray-black rock, a very smooth, white piece of Cold Jade was revealed.

"Mid-grade Cold Jade!"

Everyone's eyes lit up with joy. High-grade Cold Jade was like glacial ice, almost completely transparent. The part of the Cold Jade revealed before them was white, and the white was very pure, appearing without any impurities. The flowing cold air was like needles of ice. It was clearly of good quality, and it was Mid-grade Cold Jade, suitable for refining magic talismans and Magic Treasures.

Now, the crucial part was how large this piece of Mid-grade Cold Jade was.

Ye Xiaozheng tentatively followed the edge of the revealed Cold Jade and carefully chipped away a bit more below.

With this strike, the rock revealed entirely smooth, lustrous white. The exposed Cold Jade was already a piece about a foot wide and two feet long.

The more Ye Xiaozheng continued to carefully chip away, the wider Wei Suo's grin became. Soon, his mouth was practically splitting from grinning.

As Ye Xiaozheng continued to cut, the three-foot square of rock beneath the Ice Mist Fruit was completely removed. Inside was pure, Mid-grade white Cold Jade. Even then, the edges of the Cold Jade hadn't been seen.

This piece alone was worth at least nearly a hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. Wei Suo increasingly felt that Lin Daoyi was a truly good brother.

Seeing the exposed Cold Jade getting larger and larger, even Nangong Yuqing's face flushed with excitement.

"Still no edge?"

Four feet... five feet. Under everyone's excited gazes, the horizontal length exceeded five feet before an edge was finally seen.

Once the sides were revealed, Ye Xiaozheng carefully began excavating upwards from above the Ice Mist Fruit. In just a moment, Wei Suo almost burst with joy again. The width of the Cold Jade above the Ice Mist Fruit also exceeded two feet. By the time Ye Xiaozheng had completely dug the piece of Cold Jade out of the mountain wall, the entire large piece of Cold Jade was five feet square and nearly a foot thick.

"Seven Marvels Pavilion"

"Treasure Gathering Tower"

"Golden Jade Pavilion"

South of Lingyue City, a bustling market formed around over a dozen distinctive large shops. Among these shops, the Golden Jade Pavilion was known for having the most complete and abundant raw materials for artifact refining.

The entrance to the Golden Jade Pavilion led into a bright hall capable of holding dozens of people without feeling crowded. Counters crafted from rosewood displayed samples of many types of materials. Those receiving the visiting cultivators were all young men dressed in exquisite brocade robes. Behind the Golden Jade Pavilion's main hall stood a three-story building. The first and second floors were VIP lounges, while the third floor contained a private room. The room was furnished with antique tables and chairs, cushioned with white fox fur. A small table against the wall held an incense burner, filling the room with a faint, pleasant aroma, making the entire room feel comfortable and elegant.

Shopkeeper Tian of the Golden Jade Pavilion was a middle-aged man dressed in a green robe, appearing scholarly with a long beard, exuding an air of refined elegance.

At this moment, a brocade-robed youth responsible for reception stood respectfully before him, seemingly having just reported something. The Shopkeeper of the Golden Jade Pavilion, with a stern face, was reprimanding the youth who dared not even breathe loudly, "What? A piece of Mid-grade Cold Jade? You want me to come down and look at just a piece of Mid-grade Cold Jade? How many Spirit Stones does our Golden Jade Pavilion earn every minute? You want me, the Shopkeeper of the Golden Jade Pavilion, to come down and look at a piece of Mid-grade Cold Jade? Has your head been squeezed by a door?"

"No, sir." The brocade-robed youth tried to explain. "This piece of Mid-grade Cold Jade is truly quite large."

"Quite large? How large? Is it as big as my desk?" Shopkeeper Tian became even angrier upon hearing this, slamming his hand forcefully on the desk before him.

The brocade-robed youth glanced at the desk Shopkeeper Tian had hit and said with a wry smile, "It seems... it seems to be a bit larger than this."

"What?" Shopkeeper Tian's eyes bulged.

"There's actually such a large piece of Mid-grade Cold Jade?"

In the VIP lounge on the first floor of the Golden Jade Pavilion, Shopkeeper Tian stared incredulously at the white Cold Jade placed before Wei Suo and Nangong Yuqing.

It was still early summer, but the temperature in this VIP lounge felt like an ice cellar. Even the breaths exhaled by Wei Suo and the others were visible as white mist.

Shopkeeper Tian had seen plenty of Mid-grade and High-grade Cold Jade, but he had never seen such a large piece of Cold Jade, especially one with so few flaws.

After carefully examining it for a while and confirming that the Cold Jade was not fake, Shopkeeper Tian's expression turned solemn. He looked at Wei Suo and the others and said, "Do you four wish for us to cut this Cold Jade for you, or would you like us to auction it on your behalf?"

"Auction it on our behalf?"

Wei Suo blinked, unable to help but exchange glances with Nangong Yuqing and the others. They had agreed to split this piece of Cold Jade equally among the four of them. All of them felt that if Ye Xiaozheng cut such a large piece of Cold Jade, there would definitely be some waste. Therefore, the four of them had brought the Cold Jade directly to the Golden Jade Pavilion. However, they had originally only intended to sell it directly to the Golden Jade Pavilion and hadn't expected Shopkeeper Tian to say this. Everyone knew that auctions could fetch better prices, but even Wei Suo knew that only items considered rare treasures participated in these market auctions. Could this piece of Cold Jade already meet the standard of a treasure?

But items considered treasures should cost at least five to six hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. They were also quite clear about the price of Mid-grade Cold Jade. A piece of Mid-grade Cold Jade as large as a whole ham would only cost a few dozen Low-grade Spirit Stones at most.

After exchanging glances, to Wei Suo's dismay, the straightforward Ye Xiaozheng honestly spoke up again, "Shopkeeper Tian, we originally intended to sell this piece of Cold Jade directly. But you said it could be auctioned on our behalf. Does this mean this piece of Cold Jade can reach the standard of a treasure?"

Shopkeeper Tian also clearly paused, but he seemed to know that after saying that, even if he changed his mind and said the Cold Jade wasn't qualified, Wei Suo and the others wouldn't believe him and would likely ask other shops. So, after a moment of hesitation, he honestly nodded and explained, "Cold Jade of this size is already extremely rare. And the most crucial point is that this piece of Cold Jade only has a single crack about two feet long horizontally, and this crack is not deep. The rest is at most uneven, but there are no cracks, not even small ones. Some Cold Jade, although larger than this, might have many cracks. With more cracks, there will be more waste. If there are fine cracks everywhere, perhaps a large piece of Cold Jade can only yield enough material for a few talismans. But this piece of Cold Jade... if cut directly along that crack, there is almost no waste. If that crack is polished away, the entire piece would be astonishing. This size is completely suitable for refining the body of a Magic Treasure. If it were to be auctioned, the reserve price could be set at six hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. I won't deceive you. If you are in urgent need of Spirit Stones, our Golden Jade Pavilion can purchase it for six hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones upfront. If you are not in a hurry, we can auction it on your behalf. In about ten days, there will be another small auction held in our nearby markets. Even after deducting our ten percent fee, your profit would likely be better. The choice is yours."

"A reserve price of six hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones?"

With a clang, Wei Suo almost fell off his chair.

(Accepting the proposal, I will try to update regularly starting tomorrow. Today, I will prepare. Starting tomorrow, the fixed update times will be one chapter at 8:30 AM, one chapter at 4:30 PM, and one chapter at 10:00 PM. I will try to post three chapters a day. If there are extra chapters, they will be at 12:00 AM. Students, please cast more red votes and favorites. I will really give my all.)