Treasure Forest

After a brief meeting, Yue Wen accepted the commission.

The man's name was Guo Yang. He worked as a technician at a factory on the outskirts of the city. His wife had died young, leaving father and son with only each other to rely on, and they had barely scraped by as it was. Then disaster struck twice: not long after an accident cost him his arm, his son disappeared too.

That explained why he looked so haggard.

His meeting with the unscrupulous boss was set for seven that evening. Yue Wen agreed to arrive early and back him up. If the boss hadn't kidnapped the boy, he would help Guo Yang deal with the gangsters' threats and get the compensation he was owed.

After arranging the time for that evening, Yue Wen left Zhao Xing'er in charge of the office and headed out on his little electric scooter.

After arranging the time for that evening, Yue Wen left Zhao Xing'er in charge of the office and headed out on his little electric scooter.

City Seven had only three shops dealing in cultivation goods. Yue Wen chose the largest and most reputable of them, a place called Treasure Forest.

He rode downtown, hitting so many traffic lights along the way that he began to think living in the suburbs had its perks.

Among the rows of riverside high-rises stood a three-story building with a pointed roof, impressive even from a distance. The moment he entered the grounds surrounding it, ripples from a formation stirred around him. People outside could see the landscaping, but not the customers walking within. The grounds also had more than ten exits, offering customers as much privacy as possible when coming and going.

Aside from its size, Yue Wen had chosen Treasure Forest because it was a major chain with the best protection for its customers' privacy.

The identity of the black-clad man he had killed the night before was still being confirmed. But if he really was a demonic cultivator from Flame Ghost Hall, as Qi Dian had suggested, Yue Wen would have to be careful.

The identity of the black-clad man he had killed the night before was still being confirmed. But if he really was a demonic cultivator from Flame Ghost Hall, as Qi Dian had suggested, Yue Wen would have to be careful.

Flame Ghost Hall was one of the more active demonic cultivation sects in Tianbei Prefecture. Its practitioners cultivated sinister arts such as corpse control, puppet refinement, and ghost manipulation.

Although the Supernatural Affairs Bureau cracked down on them relentlessly, Flame Ghost Hall's methods allowed practitioners to unleash combat power among the best in their realm during the early stages. Even if that came at the cost of their future potential, plenty of people with mediocre talent and a thirst for quick success were still willing to join.

When Yue Wen reached the first-floor lobby and told the receptionist he wanted an appraisal, he was immediately given a mask and a numbered ticket, then directed to wait outside the designated room.

He went upstairs and waited for about half an hour before the screen by the door finally displayed his number.

"Hello." Wearing the silver mask, he stepped into the room.

"Hello, customer. I'm Ting Bo, appraiser number 116." Seeing Yue Wen enter, he introduced himself.

"Welcome. I'm appraiser number 116, Ting Bo." Seeing Yue Wen enter, he introduced himself.

"I'd like you to take a look at this."

Yue Wen wasted no time and took out the half skull of black gold. Every second in this room cost money, after all, and the rates weren't cheap.

"Oh?" Wearing white gloves, Ting Bo took the half skull and studied it intently for a while before saying slowly, "This is... half a black skull."

"I know what a skull is." Yue Wen was briefly speechless. "And I know it's half of one."

I also know you have the same surname as your dad.

Seriously?

I'm paying for this. At least tell me something I don't know.

"Heh, sorry. Let me explain." Ting Bo pushed the black-gold skull back toward Yue Wen. "From what I can see, there are no refining formation patterns on it, so it isn't a magical artifact. But it is made of genuine blackwater dragon-pattern gold, which is quite valuable. It appears to be some sort of token."

"I see."

After hearing that, Yue Wen guessed it might be an internal token of Flame Ghost Hall, which would make it of little use to him.

So he asked, "Would you buy it?"

"Sorry." Ting Bo waved a hand. "Judging by its design, this object may be connected to a demonic cultivation sect. We don't buy treasures whose origins are unclear."

Cultivation goods shops were always cautious about buying anything connected to demonic cultivators, so Yue Wen understood the refusal.

Lowering his voice, he asked, "Then how much could I get for it elsewhere?"

"As an estimate, setting aside its uncertain value as a token, this half skull is essentially a sizable chunk of relatively pure blackwater dragon-pattern gold. I'd suggest a resale price of around a hundred thousand, or one thousand in talisman currency," Ting Bo said precisely.

Talisman currency was a form of money that circulated among cultivation sects.

Several major Immortal Sects joined forces and asked the Supernatural Affairs Bureau to lead the effort to introduce an impossible-to-counterfeit currency called "Talisman Currency," specifically for cultivators to use when trading for cultivation items. Talisman Currency could be exchanged at the leading Immortal Sects for talismans, pills, and other valuable commodities, thereby anchoring its value.

Several major sects had therefore joined forces and asked the Supernatural Affairs Bureau to take the lead in introducing an uncounterfeitable "talisman currency," specifically for cultivators to trade cultivation goods. It could be exchanged at the leading sects for hard assets such as talismans and pills, thereby anchoring its value.

However, talisman currency was fairly high-end and generally used only in transactions involving valuable cultivation goods.

Yue Wen had never dealt with it before.

The explanation gave him a rough idea of the skull's worth. He then asked, "Does Treasure Forest sell purple jade branches?"

Chaos dragon astral force required four materials. Naturally, Yue Wen couldn't ask about all four at once-wouldn't that amount to handing over the recipe? So this time, he only inquired about the first material, purple jade branches.

He planned to obtain the other materials through different channels.

"Sorry, our City Seven branch doesn't stock purple jade branches, which are consumable fuel for alchemical flames of the highest grade. I can check with our store in the main city," Ting Bo answered immediately. "If they have any, we can transfer them here for you."

"All right. Sorry for the trouble." Yue Wen nodded.

Ting Bo glanced at him, then added, "Consumables like these are generally used when refining astral force with intense flames. Unless you're practicing one of the finest cultivation methods in the world, there's really no need for materials of such exceptional quality. We stock top-grade immortal-welcoming willow and skyblue wood, which should meet your needs. You could consider those."

"I'll consider it. But if there are any purple jade branches in stock, please let me know first," Yue Wen said as he rose.

He had no doubt that the materials were necessary. Perhaps the appraiser simply assumed no one in this entire satellite city could be practicing a truly top-tier cultivation method.

But Yue Wen had the True Dragon Method.

It was only a little past four in the afternoon when he returned to the office.

Yue Wen left Zhao Xing'er to mind the place,

Close to six, the two of them set off for the place they had arranged to meet Guo Yang, preparing to go together to see his boss.

Close to six, the two of them set off for the place they had arranged to meet Guo Yang, before going together to see his boss.

"Want to ride on my scooter?" Yue Wen asked before they left. "If you'd rather not, you can take a taxi yourself."

"I'll sit on the back." Zhao Xing'er smiled gently. "I rarely take taxis."

In the gathering dusk, a handsome young man rode a little white electric scooter, with a beautiful girl sitting sidesaddle behind him, her long hair streaming in the wind. As they traveled along the overpass, the pair made a lovely sight amid the city traffic.

A middle-aged man passing in a luxury car saw them, gritted his teeth in frustration, and slammed a fist against his steering wheel.

Yet his voice remained sweet as he spoke on the phone. "Darling, I know it's your son's sixtieth birthday today. I'm on my way. I won't be late. Love you."

"Oh, my wife won't have a problem with it. He is her biological father, after all."

Meanwhile, at a factory on the outskirts of the city.

The potbellied boss opened the door and ushered in two burly men in black suits and sunglasses, their faces fleshy and brutish. He immediately greeted them with a smile. "Brothers, sorry to trouble you again today."

"You're an old friend of the Tiger Head Gang, Mr. Chen. It's only right that we sort things out when you need us," one of the men said coldly, revealing a row of gold teeth as he spoke.

"We're dealing with a cripple demanding compensation, right?" The other man rolled his neck. "We do this kind of job all the time."

"That's right." President Chen smiled. "But once you've gotten rid of that cripple, there's something else I'll need your help with... Someone smashed up my son's new car today!"