Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Sword

Jiang Zhu's main objective was that naturally formed Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Sword!

He was very curious: was dragon-patterned black gold connected to dragons?

Without wasting words, Jiang Zhu headed straight for the Heaven-Class Stone Garden and selected the two stones containing the Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Sword and the roots of the Immortal Medicine.

One was a large stone worth only three thousand catties of source, while the other was a Nine-Aperture Stone Man.

When the old men following him saw that Jiang Zhu had chosen the Nine-Aperture Stone Man, they immediately exclaimed, "Many Source Arts grandmasters wouldn't dare touch this Nine-Aperture Stone Man!"

"I've had my eye on this stone for a long time too. Unfortunately, it's too expensive!"

"Yes, I took a fancy to it as well, but none of the Source Arts clans think much of this stone, so I didn't dare make a move."

"It seems those Source Arts clans misjudged it. This young friend might be a successor to a Source Heavenly Master! I think this Nine-Aperture Stone Man contains a priceless treasure!"

"Young friend, cut open the Nine-Aperture Stone Man first!"

"Exactly, you're sure to cut out a priceless treasure."

"Yes..."

The onlookers were even more impatient than Jiang Zhu, eager to see what lay inside the Nine-Aperture Stone Man.

Jiang Zhu readily accepted their suggestion. There were only two stones anyway, so either could be opened first.

As the stone shell peeled away, a dark golden cocoon appeared in Jiang Zhu's hand.

"A cocoon actually formed inside the Nine-Aperture Stone Man's brow? This cocoon must be extraordinary!"

"Hurry and open it!"

Seeing that he really had cut something out, the spectators cried out excitedly.

Jiang Zhu lightly tapped the dark golden cocoon.

Crack!

With a soft crack, the dark golden cocoon broke like an eggshell. A terrifying killing intent emanated from the metallic cocoon, accompanied by towering resentment.

An icy killing aura shot into the sky, shattering the dark golden cocoon. A small sword as black as ink appeared where it had been, ringing sharply as it shot straight at Jiang Zhu, as fast as lightning.

A large, crystalline hand instantly reached out and caught the small sword, brimming with resentment and killing intent.

The one who intervened was the old Daoist nun from the Dao Yi Stone Workshop. Guests could not be allowed to suffer injuries within the workshop.

Even pinched between the old Daoist nun's fingers, the small sword continued to ring and tremble, while dark red mist rose from it.

That was the Nine-Aperture Stone Man Saint Spirit's resentment at his fate!

Saint Spirits were born of heaven and nurtured by earth. Most were gestated by natural forces such as the essence of heaven and earth, the contours of mountains and rivers, and the sun and moon, usually requiring an immense span of time to develop and emerge into the world.

Yet after this lengthy gestation, Saint Spirits possessed extremely high cultivation from the moment of their birth. Many were already close to Great Emperors when they emerged, and some perfect beings could even rival Great Emperors from the instant they were born.

But this powerful race, born of heaven and nurtured by earth, also had a fatal weakness: they were extremely fragile during gestation. Any interference or damage could leave them incomplete at best, or cause them to perish before birth at worst.

The Saint Spirit before them had suffered damage during gestation and been brought into the stone workshop. An Immortal Metal Saint Spirit with limitless prospects had thus perished before birth, leaving behind seething resentment.

Black and red resentment flowed over the sword, but a gentle pinch of the old Daoist nun's fingers suppressed it, revealing the small sword within.

The little black sword was only an inch long, with subtle dragon-shaped patterns on its black surface.

Besides those dragon-shaped patterns, the little sword also bore naturally interwoven Dao and principles-the Dao Marks bestowed upon the Saint Spirit Race by heaven and earth.

"Dragon-patterned black gold! This is dragon-patterned black gold!"

The onlookers cried out in shock. After all, it was one of the nine great immortal metals, something most cultivators had only heard of in legends.

"It even has naturally formed Dao Marks. What a shame it was cut out too early!"

"A Saint Spirit nurtures its weapon. This Nine-Aperture Stone Man Saint Spirit's cultivation was too shallow, so the weapon is tiny as well. What a pity!"

"Exactly. If that Saint Spirit had grown for a few more years, we'd definitely have cut out a bigger sword!"

At those words, the people around him gave him strange looks. Others raised Saint Spirits to protect their path of cultivation, but he raised Saint Spirits like pigs for slaughter?

Nine-Aperture Stone Man Saint Spirit: Is that any way to behave?

The old Daoist nun carefully examined the little sword between her fingers before reluctantly returning it to Jiang Zhu.

"What a pity. Dragon-patterned black gold doesn't have much of a connection to true dragons!"

After carefully sensing it and confirming this, Jiang Zhu put the inch-long sword into the Demon-Refining Pot. The old Daoist nun from the Dao Yi Holy Land had merely suppressed the Saint Spirit's resentment; now he intended to cleanse it completely.

The elderly onlookers did not offer to buy it. It was not that they disdained dragon-patterned black gold, but that they were already buried up to their necks in yellow earth. What they wanted most were things that could prolong their lives.

"There's still one more stone!"

The remaining stone grew smaller and smaller beneath Jiang Zhu's blade, until a piece of its shell peeled away.

Dazzling divine light shot into the sky. The scattered radiance lent the entire stone workshop an air of incomparable sanctity, and just then, a figure flew out of the stone.

"He's cut out a treasure!"

"I think I saw a figure!"

"That's right, a figure flew out! It's an immortal flying out of the stone!"

The elderly onlookers grew excited, fixing burning gazes on the stone in Jiang Zhu's hand.

The old Daoist nun guarding the stone garden acted again. Surging divine power poured forth, forming an immense hand that sought to stop the figure.

But the figure was merely an illusion. Reacting swiftly, the old Daoist nun swept her outstretched hand across the air, instantly raising a curtain of light that enveloped the entire Heaven-Class Stone Garden to prevent any divine object from escaping.

After all, with a phenomenon like an immortal flying out of stone, there ought to be something good inside.

"Go ahead and cut without worry. I've sealed the entire stone garden. Even if a divine object emerges, it won't be able to escape," the old Daoist nun's voice rang out.

Jiang Zhu nodded and continued cutting. As the stone shell peeled away layer by layer, a chill surged out, freezing and cracking the shell itself.

Crack!

The sound of shattering stone rang out repeatedly. The chill in the air intensified, coating the surrounding plants in white frost.

"A special source-ice-snow source!" Someone immediately recognized what lay inside the stone.

"No, ice-snow source may be valuable, but it would never produce a flying immortal phenomenon!" an old cultivator nearby argued.

"Exactly. There must be something else inside the ice-snow source!"

The onlookers wished they could take his place and cut it open themselves.

Jiang Zhu's hands kept moving, and soon the entire stone shell fell away, revealing a palm-sized piece of ice-snow source.

The ice-snow source was exceedingly cold and emitted a pure silver radiance, but neither excited the people around him as much as its rich fragrance.

They were no strangers to this scent. It belonged to a treasure that could extend their lives, and they had all consumed such things more than once.

"A spirit herb! The immortal flying out of the stone was a manifestation of this spirit herb's phenomenon!"

These old cultivators nearing the end of their lifespans all stared excitedly at the ice-snow source. To them, a life-prolonging spirit herb like this was a rare treasure, one they would not hesitate to exchange their entire fortunes for.

As the silver radiance receded, the treasure inside the ice-snow source revealed its form.

It was a pale blue plant root shaped like a human foot, as translucent and crystalline as a blue diamond. But it was only a root, without leaves or fruit, and that rich fragrance came from it.

"What a pity. It's only a root. Even if it has a human shape, it isn't worth much anymore!" someone said in utter disappointment, shaking his head repeatedly.