Mysterious Jade Pendant

Chapter 41: The Mysterious Jade Pendant

Wood shavings scattered and slowly drifted to the floor, revealing a verdant green jade pendant. It hovered in mid-air, emitting a faint, fluorescent glow; one look was enough to tell it was an item of immense value.

How could there be a jade pendant inside? Could it be that the White Jade Ants stopped their feeding because of this pendant, rather than the wooden board? Looking at the floating object, Luo Mu did not rashly reach out to retrieve it. Instead, his face clouded with confusion as he speculated to himself.

He released his divine sense, but as the pendant's glow shimmered, Luo Mu's consciousness was blocked entirely, unable to penetrate even an inch. This gave him a slight jolt; if his divine sense could not enter, it meant the pendant was undoubtedly extraordinary.

Anything capable of repelling divine sense could hardly be an ordinary trinket.

He reached out and grasped the pendant, feeling a gentle warmth. Luo Mu examined it closely. A lotus flower was intricately carved onto its surface, appearing so lifelike it seemed ready to bloom. Beyond that, there were no other markings.

Although Luo Mu could not fathom what the pendant was or what purpose it served, he was certain it was a treasure. He had failed to find the female ghost, but had unearthed this instead. At this thought, joy surged within him. He had bought the shop for two hundred spirit stones and gained an unknown jade pendant on top of it—Luo Mu felt he had struck gold.

With a pleased expression, Luo Mu tucked the pendant into his storage bag, intending to deal with it later. He knew nothing of the item, not even its name or specific function; acting rashly might lead to a heavy loss. Luo Mu was never one to suffer a loss, so he certainly wouldn't do anything so foolish.

After stowing the pendant, Luo Mu ordered the White Jade Ants to continue devouring the wooden floor. While he was happy about his lucky find, he had not forgotten about the female ghost.

Receiving the order, the five White Jade Ants did not delay and resumed their feast...

An hour later, Luo Mu stood on the first floor, staring up at the ceiling with a dark, gloomy expression. An hour ago, there had been a second floor; now, there was no second floor left to speak of, and even the first floor was a tattered, gnawed-up mess.

"You win!" Looking at the dilapidated shop, Luo Mu's mouth twitched. His face was incredibly unsightly as he cursed viciously.

In his search for the female ghost, Luo Mu hadn't even slept, yet he hadn't found her and had ended up wrecking his own shop instead. Now the place was in ruins and the ghost was nowhere to be found. It was no wonder he was fuming; if not for the unknown jade pendant he had gained along the way, he might have felt like dying.

"I don't care where you're hiding, and I don't care what grudges you had with the previous owner. But this shop is mine now. If you come out to cause trouble again, don't blame me for being impolite." Luo Mu scanned his surroundings and spoke with murderous intent.

His voice echoed through the empty shop, but no one answered. Naturally, the female ghost did not appear either, as if she had vanished from this world entirely.

Luo Mu let out a cold snort and temporarily extinguished the idea of continuing his search. If he kept going like this, the entire shop would be dismantled. He had finally found a place to settle down, and he didn't want to ruin it so quickly.

"Looks like I'll have to hire someone to renovate the shop and buy new furniture. I didn't expect to be spending money again so soon after moving in." Luo Mu complained to himself while counting the few remaining spirit stones in his storage bag.

As he grumbled, he sat cross-legged on the floor, closed his eyes, and entered a state of cultivation. He kept his spirit insects released to protect him; since the ghost hadn't been found, this was the only way he could set his mind at ease.

Waking up the next day, Luo Mu sought out several mortals to renovate the shop, restoring the second floor to its original state before purchasing the necessary furniture.

Fortunately, common furniture was quite cheap. Buying everything cost him less than thirty spirit stones, and the renovation cost even less. Mortal labor was inexpensive; the entire job for both floors was completed in a day, costing Luo Mu a total of eighty spirit stones.

Combined, it was just a little over one low-grade spirit stone. For an ordinary person, one low-grade spirit stone was not a small sum. It was rare for a commoner to earn that much in a single day.

During the renovation, Luo Mu stayed in the shop, never leaving the workers' sight. He watched them closely—not because he feared they would steal anything, as he had nothing of value, but because he wanted to see if there were any hidden spots in the shop where the female ghost could be hiding.

However, after a full day, he still came up empty-handed. The shop was beautifully renovated, but he still hadn't found the ghost's hiding place.

Helpless, Luo Mu finally gave up, though he remained on high alert.

As the sky began to darken and the workers departed, Luo Mu stepped outside, locked the door, and headed into the distance.

It wasn't that he was afraid to enter the house because of the ghost; he simply wanted to visit the night market. He had been in Jinxiu City for a while now, but had been too busy to check it out. It was a prime spot for low-level cultivators to hunt for treasures, and since he had time today, he decided to wander around and see if he could find anything he needed.

Even if it wasn't something he needed, as long as there was a profit to be made, Luo Mu would buy it.

Jinxiu City was vast. Although divided into four smaller districts—North, South, East, and West—each was quite large. The night markets were one of the city's most distinctive features. Every district had several streets dedicated to night markets, located in different areas.

Luo Mu arrived at a night market street in the North District.

This market was the closest to his shop and the largest in the entire North District. The foot traffic was heavy, and there were many cultivators setting up stalls. Naturally, the goods on sale were a motley collection of everything imaginable. Familiar items, unknown artifacts—you could find it all here. If you were lucky, you could really unearth a treasure.

The cultivation world was so vast that there were countless rare treasures. There were simply too many for low-level cultivators to recognize, and it was not uncommon for someone with a poor eye to sell a treasure as scrap. From time to time, such treasures were sold off by the ignorant.

It was precisely for this reason that Luo Mu came to the market, hoping to try his luck. Who knew? He might just stumble upon something.

Luo Mu's cultivation base was not high; he was merely a low-level cultivator. However, he had read quite a few books. Though they were mostly entry-level texts, they had broadened his horizons significantly.

Of course, this knowledge was still limited. For instance, regarding the jade pendant he had obtained last night, he knew it was a treasure, but he had no other information about it.

All in all, visiting the night market had only benefits and no drawbacks. Even if the chance of finding a treasure was low, it was better than nothing.

Once he reached the market, Luo Mu felt a surge of excitement. He wandered around, looking left and right, in high spirits. He truly discovered quite a few things he had never seen or heard of before.

"Fellow Daoists passing by, come take a look! A first-grade high-tier spirit herb for only ten low-grade spirit stones! Only one left, don't miss out!" A bearded man, looking to be in his thirties with a cultivation of only the fourth level of Qi Refining, held up a spirit herb and shouted loudly.

Sure enough, as soon as he shouted, several cultivators gathered around. Within a short time, the herb was bought by a young woman. She left with an excited expression, clearly feeling she had gotten a great deal.

"One mid-tier Ice Arrow Technique talisman, only five spirit stones! Any interested Daoists, hurry up!"

"Low-tier magical tool, Lingfeng Awl! It comes without a shadow and goes without a trace, fast as lightning! An absolute necessity for brawls and duels, only fifteen spirit stones..."

The hawking continued. Luo Mu was in no rush, checking each stall one by one. He had already looked at several, but the goods were all common items he recognized—and useless to him at that. They had little value, and Luo Mu was not foolish enough to buy them.

"One Qi Gathering Pill, thirty spirit stones!" As he approached this stall, Luo Mu heard the vendor's cold voice.

Several cultivators had surrounded the stall, clearly drawn by the pill. Hearing the price, Luo Mu was startled. Thirty spirit stones for one pill—that was no small sum.

Although he had inquired about the price of Qi Gathering Pills before, seeing the high price in the night market made his heart bloom with joy. He had been eyeing the six bottles of Qi Gathering Pills in his storage bag for a long time.

A bottle contained ten pills; six bottles meant sixty pills. By his calculations, this was a significant fortune that would allow him to make a killing.

Excited as he was, he didn't show it on his face. With a secret smile, he walked away from the stall. Since the vendor was only selling one pill and had no other goods, and there were so many cultivators crowding around, it was clear how high the demand for the pills was.

He didn't even need to think to know the outcome: that pill would be snatched up instantly by the Qi Refining cultivators.

In the pill shops, a single Qi Gathering Pill sold for thirty-five spirit stones. This vendor was asking for thirty—a full five stones cheaper. For an ordinary low-level cultivator, five spirit stones was a massive amount.

"Cultivation techniques! Top-tier techniques on sale!" Just as the secretly delighted Luo Mu walked a few steps away, he heard the shout from a stall ahead.

Cultivation techniques? Isn't that exactly what I need right now? But what kind of good techniques could there be in this night market? Driven by curiosity, Luo Mu walked over.

(This chapter is for today. It's a bit late, but I managed to finish it. I hope you all don't mind.)