This gesture startled Xu Zhi, leaving him stammering, unable to say anything else.
The gaunt Daoist at the head of the group before him, sporting a short goatee, was named Jiao Jizhong.
Before Xu Zhi fell from favor, their shared interest in alchemy and the transmutation of gold and silver had given them something of a friendship, and they had been on good terms.
But after rumors spread that Xu Zhi had fled from battle out of fear, causing the death of Elder Gu Jun's only son, his reputation had been ruined overnight. Those in the sect who trampled the lowly and flattered the powerful had all thrown stones at him as he lay at the bottom of the well.
It was then that Jiao Jizhong had quietly severed his friendship with Xu Zhi and stopped associating with him, afraid of catching his bad luck.
"I... I..."
Under the aggressive stares of Jiao Jizhong and the others, Xu Zhi felt that his present situation was probably dire. He was just forcing himself to speak.
But a youth in green suddenly sneered and interrupted:
"Senior Brother Xu, we respected your early entry into the sect and your seniority! That was why we protected you all along the way! But after taking such pains over you, asking for a little favor in return shouldn't be difficult, should it?"
"Of course, of course... Only, Junior Brother Zhang, which possession of mine have you taken a fancy to this time?"
Bracing himself, Xu Zhi cupped his hands and replied.
"I heard that, to enter the Earth Abyss, you specifically sold two Talisman Artifacts to buy a flying sword called Pulse Abode? Might you be willing to part with it?"
The youth in green gave the others a look.
At once, the surrounding Mysterious Truth