Chapter 320: Ten Thousand Years Verdant Emptiness (Catch-up Update 12)
Chapter 320: Ten Thousand Years Verdant Emptiness (Catch-up Update 12)
"Green Leaf Merchant Guild? !"
Fang Xi looked up, gazing at the enormous merchant guild situated right in the center of the market.
Above the plaque, there were three verdant, dripping green leaf markings.
He chuckled once and walked into the guild.
"Welcome, Senior, to our humble guild. . . As per our rules, all Core Formation cultivators are distinguished guests of our guild. Please, proceed to the third floor!"
A maidservant, upon seeing Fang Xi, her pupils flickered slightly, and her smile became even more radiant as she invited Fang Xi to the third floor.
"Here, are the first and second floors for Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement cultivators?"
Fang Xi had just swept his Divine Consciousness; the grand hall was divided into numerous counters, appearing to sell pills, formations, talismans, and artifacts, with no shortage of cultivators coming and going.
The maidservant replied with a hint of pride, guiding Fang Xi to the third floor.
Outside the private room, a thick layer of restriction enveloped the wooden door, upon which various colorful runes flickered.
"Honored guest, please enter and rest. Our high-level shopkeeper will arrive shortly. . ."
The maidservant took out a token, opened the private room's restriction, and bowed.
Fang Xi nodded, entered, and found the decor quite elegant. His Divine Consciousness was surprisingly unable to penetrate the room's walls, indicating excellent privacy.
He did not wait long. A fragrant breeze heralded the graceful entrance of a female cultivator into the private room.
This female cultivator had her cloud-like hair piled high, adorned with numerous cinnabar hairpins and ornaments, giving her an impression of overwhelming opulence and dazzling splendor. More importantly, her cultivation had also reached the Core Formation stage!
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist. . . This concubine, Yan Ruyu, will be attending to you. If Fellow Daoist finds this concubine unsuitable, you may request a replacement."
Yan Ruyu curtsied gracefully and spoke with elegance.
"No need. . ."
Fang Xi smiled faintly, "This one is quite satisfied with Fellow Daoist."
"That's good then."
Yan Ruyu sat opposite Fang Xi and, with a wave of her hand,
restrictions automatically appeared on both sides, closing the private room door. "May I ask, Fellow Daoist, what business brings you to our guild today?"
"First, I'd like to have a few items appraised."
Fang Xi touched his storage ring, and several jade boxes instantly appeared on the table.
"It seems Fellow Daoist wishes to test this concubine's discerning eye first. " Yan Ruyu shed her alluring gaze, her jade countenance growing much more solemn as she opened the first jade box.
Inside the box was a verdant jade bottle, upon which were numerous patterns resembling leaves.
"Oh?"
Yan Ruyu let out a soft exclamation.
"What's wrong? Did Fellow Daoist notice anything amiss?"
Fang Xi asked calmly. The item within the jade box was naturally a treasure left by the Saint Son, a pill that even the outside market couldn't appraise.
"This concubine merely found this bottle quite interesting. It appears to be a replica of an 'Empty Verdant Bottle,' which suggests the pill contained within must also be exceedingly rare. " Yan Ruyu replied with a charming smile.
"'Empty Verdant Bottle'? " Fang Xi was initially bewildered, then his eyes lit up. "An 'Empty Verdant Bottle' that ancient cultivators specifically used to preserve valuable pills? Legend has it, it holds the reputation of 'Ten Thousand Years Verdant Emptiness,' said to perfectly preserve the medicinal properties of a pill for ten thousand years. . ."
"Fellow Daoist possesses remarkable insight. However, this 'Empty Verdant Bottle' should only be a replica. To be able to maintain a pill's efficacy for several hundred years is already quite impressive, and it can certainly be considered a decent spirit artifact. . ."
Yan Ruyu's expression grew much more solemn as she pulled out the stopper.
A stream of black and crimson light actually emanated directly from the bottle.
"A pill with phenomena. . ."
She murmured, gazing at the pill within the Empty Verdant Bottle.
The pill itself was entirely dark black, yet its surface bore three dazzling golden patterns.
Light flickered repeatedly in the woman's eyes. Finally, she nodded, sealed the Empty Verdant Bottle, and said to Fang Xi, "Fellow Daoist, this pill of yours should be the 'Xuan Yuan Breaking Clarity Pill'. . . This pill was relatively common in ancient times, but it's exceedingly rare now. Its medicinal power is overbearing, and it should be greatly beneficial for early-stage Core Formation cultivators seeking to break through to the middle-stage bottleneck. . ."
"This pill, might Fellow Daoist be interested in selling it? To be honest. . . this concubine has also been trapped at the early-stage bottleneck for many years. . . To achieve a breakthrough in cultivation, I am willing to pay any price."
Yan Ruyu's eyes, like silken threads, licked her lips, filled with desire.
It seemed as if, should Fang Xi agree, he could indulge in wild abandon with this Core Formation beauty right there in the private room.
"Heh heh. . . Fellow Daoist, please appraise the next two items."
Fang Xi smiled faintly, retracted the replica Empty Verdant Bottle containing the 'Xuan Yuan Breaking Clarity Pill,' and received a resentful glance from the woman.
Yan Ruyu sighed with a hint of sorrow, yet surprisingly regained her dignified composure, as if everything before had merely been an illusion. She solemnly opened the second jade box.
Inside the jade box, astonishingly, was a crystal material the size of a fist.
"This item. . ."
A contemplative expression crossed her face. Suddenly, with a flick of her finger, a flame landed on the surface of the item.
Sizzle!
Upon the crystal, a plume of black light emerged, enveloping the flame within it and slowly grinding it away.
"If this concubine is not mistaken, this item should be 'Black Obscurity Crystal'. . . It is a rare third-order material, suitable for refining some demonic artifacts. . . The Red Blood Cult seems to have been acquiring this item, offering very high prices for it."
Yan Ruyu pondered for a moment before giving her appraisal.
"I see. . . " Fang Xi gave a noncommittal response.
Most of the materials he had obtained from the Saint Son's cave dwelling had already been identified, with only these few remaining.
Now that he knew the name of another material, he could use it for many purposes.
After all, he had indeed seen the name 'Black Obscurity Crystal' in several ancient texts.
It simply had no specific description, so he hadn't known this item was 'Black Obscurity Crystal. '
Yan Ruyu watched Fang Xi retrieve the second jade box, feeling somewhat depressed, yet with a hint of anticipation, she opened the third jade box.
Inside this jade box, astonishingly, was only a single spirit herb, entirely crimson, with peculiar silver runes on its surface.
"Oh?"
A trace of surprise appeared on Yan Ruyu's face.
"Is there something wrong with this item?"
Fang Xi asked casually.
"There aren't many problems, it's just that this spirit herb. . . appears to be a fourth-order spiritual item, and quite ancient as well. . ."
Yan Ruyu appraised it once more, then could only shake her head. "My apologies. . . this concubine does not recognize this item either. However, it is definitely a rare spirit medicine over seven hundred years old, and its grade has reached fourth-order. . ."
"I see, thank you. . ."
Fang Xi cupped his fists in gratitude.
With this, most of the gains he had acquired from the mystic realm were now clear.
"These several spiritual items are all qualified to be featured at the grand auction thirteen days from now, and can even serve as finale items. . ."
Yan Ruyu's gaze flowed, "May I ask how Fellow Daoist intends to dispose of them?"
"These spiritual items aren't of much use to me, so naturally, it's better to dispose of them. . . " Fang Xi replied with an air of composure. "However, for beings like us, spirit stones no longer hold much significance. What might Fellow Daoist possess that could move me?"
Yan Ruyu straightened her posture, already aware that Fang Xi was not a cultivator easily swayed by physical charms. "Our guild possesses numerous rare items, such as spirit pills suitable for Core Formation cultivators to refine their magic power. . . as well as powerful magical treasures."
"None of these hold much appeal to this one. . ."
Fang Xi sighed. "Might your esteemed guild have any Nascent Soul Condensing Spiritual Items or spiritual eye items?"
Yan Ruyu's expression froze. "This. . . naturally, we do not have any. . ."
"Then do you have any related whereabouts or clues? " Fang Xi added. "Of course. . . there's no need to mention what's common knowledge. . . I naturally know that Nascent Soul cultivators' cave dwellings surely contain spiritual eye items. And the 'Five Elements Mystic Realm' naturally also holds these two items. . ."
The renowned 'Five Elements Mystic Realm' was something Fang Xi had only heard about during a visit to a market town.
This mystic realm was set up by the Hunyuan Sect's Patriarch, specifically left as a foundation for the sect. It is said to even contain opportunities for forming a Nascent Soul!
Alas, such a mystic realm was naturally guarded tightly by the Hunyuan Sect. Not to mention outsiders, even disciples of the sect itself might not be able to enter and explore its depths.
"Both of these items are incredibly precious. If there were any definite clues. . . our guild would have already mobilized and acquired them."
Yan Ruyu replied with a bitter smile.
"That is indeed the case. . ."
Fang Xi put away the spiritual items. After some thought, he took out the bottle containing the 'Xuan Yuan Breaking Clarity Pill. ' "This item. . . I plan to put up for sale at the grand auction."
"No problem at all."
A flash of joy swiftly crossed Yan Ruyu's face. "Our guild will certainly fetch a good price for it. . ."
As someone privy to this information, she could specifically prepare many spirit stones, naturally gaining a great advantage.
"That's good. If it doesn't reach my psychological reserve price, I won't sell it."
Fang Xi smiled faintly.
He was already at the mid-stage of Core Formation; this pill was of no use to him whatsoever.
Yan Ruyu, on the other hand, felt somewhat anxious about gains and losses. After discussing the reserve price with Fang Xi, she handed him a blue token. "Since Fellow Daoist is a Core Formation cultivator and has entrusted such an important spiritual pill to our guild for sale, this VIP private room for the grand auction is this concubine's gift to Fellow Daoist."
"Oh?"
Fang Xi took the token and, after a brief examination, saw that it shimmered with fluorescence. The front was engraved with the three dazzling silver characters 'Yi Sixteen,' and internally, it contained a special restriction, making it extremely difficult to imitate or counterfeit.
"At that time, Fellow Daoist can directly enter the private room with this token and also receive a credit line of one hundred thousand spirit stones from our guild. . . If you find yourself short of spirit stones when purchasing spiritual items, you may borrow from our guild, simply repaying it afterward, without any interest."
Yan Ruyu explained with a smile.
"Many thanks. . ."
Fang Xi chatted with this fellow Core Formation cultivator for a few more moments before bidding farewell, walking out of the Green Leaf Merchant Guild, and sighing.
His main purpose in coming to the Yuan Kingdom was to seek opportunities for condensing a Nascent Soul and spiritual eye items.
After all, one of these was related to his future advancement to Nascent Soul, and the other was closely tied to the 'Eternal Evergreen Body. '
However, through his observations during this period, he knew that even in the Yuan Kingdom, these two items were quite rare.
'Compared to acquiring spiritual eye items, the opportunity to condense a Nascent Soul is even more difficult. After all, once one forms a Nascent Soul, they truly become a player on the chessboard. . . '
'However, perhaps I am already more fortunate than other Core Formation Perfected cultivators. . . '
Fang Xi, for some inexplicable reason, recalled what the old ghost from the Nine Leaves Sect had said: that the Wood Spirit Body, combined with the 'Withered Glory Chant,' could increase the chances of condensing a Nascent Soul.
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