The Reversed Cauldron

Zhu Jin's lips curled up slightly as he nodded. "Looks like you have a good eye. That's right, it was indeed forged with Heavenly Flames."

Zhu Jin's Dragon Flame was naturally not a Heavenly Flame. It merely carried a trace of a Heavenly Flame's might. But when traveling outside, one's identity was something one gave oneself. Zhu Jin had already integrated into magical beast society. Whether he had truly used Heavenly Flames or not did not matter; as long as it was advertised as having been forged with Heavenly Flames, it would certainly fetch a good price.

Hearing this, the old man revealed a smug expression and continued, "These four four-aperture pill cauldrons are flawlessly crafted and were forged with Heavenly Flames. Their price will be somewhat higher than that of ordinary fourth-grade pills."

After all, while pill cauldrons were also consumable items, they were still different from one-use pills, so they were naturally a little more expensive.

"These two four-aperture pill cauldrons can each sell for roughly five hundred thousand to one million gold coins. It mainly depends on whether any alchemists are willing to compete for them. Young friend, would you accept pills in exchange?" The Nine Nether Commerce Association had sold quite a few pill cauldrons before. There were only two kinds of people who bid on them: alchemists, and those buying them as gifts for alchemists. Alchemists often used pills as hard currency.

Zhu Jin nodded calmly. "As long as I'm not taking a loss, I can accept pills in exchange. The main ingredients for fifth-grade pills will do."

Generally speaking, the value of one fourth-grade pill was comparable to the main ingredient of a fifth-grade pill.

The pink little snake silently recorded this with a pen. Only then did the old man shift his gaze to the final pill cauldron—the four-aperture Black-Yellow Cauldron Zhu Jin had developed himself.

"This one... I cannot quite see through it. Could you leave this pill cauldron here overnight, young friend? I'll need to personally refine a batch of pills with it before I can discern anything." The old man gently stroked the pill cauldron, his eyes filled with gravity.

Zhu Jin nodded in agreement. After all, sometimes simply looking was not enough to inspect a pill cauldron's functions. A batch of pills had to be refined in it.

"Based on the value of the three four-aperture pill cauldrons you are putting up for auction, sir, you may participate in tomorrow afternoon's Supreme Auction Day. This is your seat number. Please take your assigned seat when the time comes. You will need this card to collect your auction proceeds from the Commerce Association." The pink little snake took out a black card patterned with snakes from her storage ring and handed it to Zhu Jin.

Zhu Jin accepted the identity card with a nod. "Mm, then that will be all."

"Hehe, thank you for your trust in the Nine Nether Commerce Association, young friend." The old man carefully put away the three pill cauldrons and smiled.

With that, the old turtle did not linger. He rose, slowly approached the door, opened it, and walked out.

Watching the door slowly close, the old man lightly tapped his fingers against the table. After a long while, he took out the final four-aperture Black-Yellow Cauldron. Lowering his head to look at it, a strange glint flashed through his clouded old eyes.

"A dragon clan member riding a sixth-tier magical beast, possessing Heavenly Flames, and capable of forging four-aperture pill cauldrons? No such figure has ever been heard of in the northern region of the Beast Domain." The old man stroked his beard, his expression incomparably solemn.

Zhu Jin had still underestimated the difficulty of crafting pill cauldrons. A cauldron was the king of all tools. In ancient times, cauldrons were symbols of supreme authority. Ordinary blacksmiths found them difficult to forge; only highly accomplished master smiths could occasionally forge a flawless pill cauldron.

"Elder Deng, is there something strange about this pill cauldron?" the pink little snake asked curiously in human speech.

The appraiser known as Elder Deng nodded lightly. "The first two pill cauldrons can be identified. They should be Black Iron Red Copper Cauldrons. Although they were forged with a special flame and contain a trace of power resembling Heavenly Flames, this sort of pill cauldron is not rare. But this final pill cauldron is somewhat peculiar. Judging from its craftsmanship, it should have been forged in imitation of a Black Iron Red Copper Cauldron, but I do not know what was added to give it the ability to seal flames."

Elder Deng was also an alchemist, though his talent was not high, and he was only a second-grade alchemist. With a flick of his finger, a wisp of beast flame flew into the pill cauldron. Yet unexpectedly, the flame was not amplified and strengthened by the cauldron. Instead, it was suppressed!

The moment the head-sized ball of fire entered the cauldron, the dragon pattern on the Black-Yellow Cauldron emitted light. The next second, the flames rapidly shrank until only a grain of rice remained. The fire had not vanished—it had been sealed!

Elder Deng waved his hand and withdrew his Dou Qi. Once the flame lost its Dou Qi supply, it gradually went out. Looking at the brand-new pill cauldron before him, Elder Deng said, "These pill cauldrons should all have been forged by that little dragon. A pill cauldron is meant to improve an alchemist's control over fire, raise the flame's temperature, and assist with pill refinement. But the pill cauldron he forged not only provides no assistance, it even seals the flames. And it seems that little dragon does not know about this."

"Go inform the Young Master. He may need this strange pill cauldron to help him complete that secret technique."

"Yes!"

The old man did not notice that when they finished speaking, rose, and left, an obscure soul mark flickered once within the eyes of the dragon pattern on the Black-Yellow Cauldron.

Meanwhile, the old turtle carrying Zhu Jin opened his eyes. "Master, you were right. That old bastard deliberately concealed some things."

Zhu Jin's lips curled upward, revealing the Dragon King's crooked, wicked smile. Zhu Jin and the old turtle had heard the conversation between the old man and the snake attendant just now. The soul mark had been planted to eavesdrop. Zhu Jin had lived two lives—how could he possibly leave himself no safeguard and place complete trust in the Nine Nether Commerce Association? This was the world of magical beasts, a place even more cruel and savage.

Why does my pill cauldron have a sealing effect? What exactly is going on...?

Zhu Jin could not help recalling the process of forging the Black-Yellow Cauldron. He had essentially copied the manufacturing blueprint of the Black Iron Red Copper Cauldron one-to-one, merely adding a strand of Black-Yellow Breath and inscribing it with his own blood essence.

Can carving a few things onto it change its function? A sharp glint flashed through Zhu Jin's eyes. He felt that the greatest issue likely lay in his own bloodline—not the Ancient Void Dragon bloodline, but the bloodline from his mother's side.

When I eat magic cores, I can actually seize others' bloodline Dou Techniques. No matter how I think about it, that doesn't sound like an ability an Ancient Void Dragon should possess. No, once I'm stronger, I need to return to North Dragon Island and investigate.

At that moment, the old turtle spoke. "Master, those people want to buy your treasured cauldron at a low price. Should we take it back?"

The old turtle had not thought that much about it. Instead, he had noticed that the people from the Nine Nether Commerce Association wanted the treasured cauldron Zhu Jin had forged and had even informed their Young Master.

"Don't rush. They want it, and we want to sell it. Isn't that perfect?"

At noon the next day, Zhu Jin and the others arrived at the Nine Nether Commerce Association as agreed. Since it was an auction held by magical beasts, most of the attendees were naturally magical beasts. The auction venue was not indoors but a spacious open-air area resembling an arena. After all, magical beasts came in all shapes and sizes, and some were especially tall, like giraffes.

This time, however, the old turtle did not accompany Zhu Jin. Only Xie Dong and Flame Wolf were at his side.