Chapter 974: The Possessed One
All the alchemists put their storage bags in full view after coming out, except for Ning Cheng’s storage bag, which had a restriction on it. They quickly split the harvest with the City Lord’s Mansion before setting themselves up for the upcoming exchange. In any case, as agreed before entering, they had to give a portion of their harvest to the City Lord’s Mansion as ‘tax’.
This time, five people had entered the third level of the Illusionary Fruit Orchard, and three had even entered the fourth level. As such, Le Jiesheng managed to get a significant harvest. However, everyone understood that Le Jiesheng still had suffered a stifling loss this time.
A total of eleven alchemists had entered the Illusionary Fruit Orchard. But two of them didn’t need to hand over any spirit herbs to him. This was not to mention that one of them, Ning Cheng, had even opened the thirteenth gate of the Illusionary Fruit Orchard. To be able to open the thirteenth gate, even if Ning Cheng had come out very early, he must have obtained quite a few extraordinary things.
As such, Le Jeisheng, as the City Lord, decided to sit down for the spirit herb exchange after collecting his share from the others.
After Le Jiesheng sat down, he spoke up with a smile, “Let’s start with the spirit herb exchange. Since Pill Deity Ning has reaped a huge harvest this time and has even obtained some rare spirit herbs, let’s open with Pill Deity Ning today.”
Ning Cheng understood what Le Jiesheng wanted to do, but he didn’t care about it at all. He directly took out two jade boxes and placed them on top of the table, “I have a Thunder Sound Heavenly Fruit here, as well as a Karmic Destruction Flower……”
“Surprisingly, it’s a dao fruit and a rare spirit gra.s.s……” As soon as Ning Cheng brought out the two items, someone spoke up in surprise.
The Thunder Sound Heavenly Fruit was quite a precious dao fruit. Mainly because it was a law-containing dao fruit. But more importantly, it was beneficial for perceiving and comprehending lightning and thunder related spirit techniques. The Thunder Sound Heavenly Fruit also went by another name, the Lesser Thunder Sound Fruit. Although less precious than the legendary Great Thunder Sound Fruit, it was still rare.
As for the Karmic Destruction Flower, although not extinct, it was still a spirit gra.s.s almost impossible to find. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that it was on the verge of extinction. But more importantly, Karmic Destruction Flower was the main ingredient required to refine the Solemn Dust Pill. A pill that improved a cultivator’s perception of the Dao Raising Realm.
The exchange had only begun, but Ning Cheng had already brought out such precious items. It indicated that he had better things prepared for the later stages of the exchange.
“Pill Deity Ning, please state your price.” A Dao Raising Holy Emperor who cultivated thunder-attributed spirit techniques immediately spoke up. If he could obtain the Thunder Sound Heavenly Fruit, his spirit techniques could go one step further. He might even be able to directly reach the Dao Transformation Realm.
No one could resist this kind of temptation. Even if the chances of trading for it were meagre, this holy emperor still wanted to compete for it.
Ning Cheng clasped his fists, “My first choice for this exchange is the Exquisite Star Golden Concealed Leaf. As long as you have it, even if you don’t want the other spirit herbs I take out later, you can make other requests from me.”
A brief silence fell in the guest hall. Although the Exquisite Star Golden Concealed Leaf wasn’t extinct, its preciousness and rarity were no less than the Karmic Destruction Flower.
Seeing that no one in the guest hall spoke even after some time, Ning Cheng’s heart sank slightly. In truth, he didn’t care too much about these extinct spirit herbs; instead, he cared more about the Exquisite Star Golden Concealed Leaf.
It was also the primary reason he had entered the Illusionary Fruit Orchard. And although he entered the thirteenth gate and found many precious and extinct spirit herbs inside, he couldn’t locate the Exquisite Star Golden Concealed Leaf. As such, he hoped that some other alchemist who entered the Illusionary Fruit Orchard could take it out. But the response from the hall left Ning Cheng disappointed. From the looks of it, no one here possessed the Exquisite Star Golden Concealed Leaf. Otherwise, these two items, coupled with his words, would have been more than enough for someone to come forward.
“I don’t have the Exquisite Star Golden Concealed Leaf, but I’ve heard that Pill Deity Ning is an expert in the Dao of Spears. I have a piece of Cold Void Iron, which I believe Pill Deity Ning could definitely refine into a supreme spear. If Pill Deity Ning wants it, I can part with it for ten dao fruits that help comprehend the intricacies of the Dao Sculpting Realm. Other dao fruits can also work, but the grade must not be inferior to the Thunder Sound Heavenly Fruit. In addition to these, I also need two Reincarnation Tears.”
A long-bearded man who looked elegant and refined stood up, and with a wave of his hand, brought out a piece of fine iron emitting a greenish glow. The ‘piece’ was actually the size of a small mountain and quickly dropped to the ground with a heavy ‘clang’.
Although no one had refined this metal yet and had layers of restrictions sealing it, one could still feel an icy coldness coming from it that seeped into one’s bones.
Everyone in the hall stared at Ning Cheng with wide eyes. Everyone knew the preciousness of the Cold Void Iron. However, none thought the deal would go through, especially when it involved this many supreme spirit herbs. What’s more, Mo Wenshang asked for too much, as he even added two Reincarnation Tears.
Reincarnation Tears, also known as the Reincarnation Tears Flower, wasn’t half as valuable as the Bodhisattva Dust Lotus. However, it was an extinct spirit gra.s.s. Even if it hasn’t gone extinct, it was still much higher in value than most ordinary dao fruits.
Not waiting for Ning Cheng to speak, Jian Sanshan, who sat beside him, quickly sent Ning Cheng a sound transmission. “Brother Ning, that man is Great Bear Seven Peaks’ Mo Wenshang. That chunk of Cold Void Iron is also quite famous and has often appeared in the past but is without much use. I didn’t expect it to fall into Mo Wenshang’s hands. But more importantly, even the best artificers in the Grand Essence Realm can’t melt this Cold Void Iron. As such, no one in the entire Grand Essence Realm can refine an artefact from it.”
Jian Sanshan’s meant that this item wasn’t worth the price because of its reputation. He sent a sound transmission to tell Ning Cheng to not exchange it.
According to logic, using so many dao fruits, plus two Reincarnation Tears, in exchange for a piece of unusable material wasn’t worth it. Even if the raw material was more precious, most people wouldn’t agree to the deal as no one could even refine it.
“I’ll take it.” Ning Cheng actually agreed to the exchange without hesitation outside everyone’s expectations.
The truth was, Ning Cheng had already taken a liking to this piece of iron the moment he saw it. He currently lacked a suitable spear. He obviously couldn’t refine the Good Fortune Spirit Spear with his current abilities. So, now that someone came up with the raw material to refine a proper spear, it felt like the blessing of snow in scorching summer.
He also knew about the reputation of Cold Void Iron, a raw material for refining treasures beyond spirit artefacts. Unfortunately, it was almost impossible to find it. But more importantly, he had also sensed something quite familiar from the piece of metal in front of him. More specifically, this Cold Void Iron actually contained a unique aura. An aura that he had only felt from the Bestowing Lawless Fruit.
Just like he had previously never heard of that dao fruit, he had also never heard of any raw materials with such an aura.
How could he not feel moved by such a thing, especially when Mo Wenshang took out such a huge chunk? A raw material that had something to do with the laws of heaven and earth, just how precious should it be?
After Ning Cheng finished speaking, he waved his hand, and a large and small jade box flew out of his storage bag. Ning Cheng then opened the large jade box, revealing ten Falling Scar Fruits neatly arranged inside. He then opened the small jade box, showing two Reincarnation Tear Flowers.
Under ordinary circ.u.mstances, Ning Cheng would have never taken out the extinct spirit herbs. But the Cold Void Iron wasn’t a normal circ.u.mstance. He wanted it no matter the cost. Not only did he need it for refining a spear for himself, but he also planned to refine a suitable weapon for Luofei. Luofei had a pure water-attributed primary spirit root. Thus, using the Cold Void Iron to refine an artefact would best help her.
Moreover, Ning Cheng knew that Mo Wenshang wanted him to refuse the offer or counter it. But the reason Ning Cheng didn’t do so was because he saw the excitement in Dou Jiangshi’s eyes as he stared at the Cold Void Iron.
If Dou Jiangshi was indeed the Immortal Corpse Sect’s Pill Sage, he shouldn’t care about this chunk of Cold Void Iron. Especially since he wouldn’t be able to come up with the Reincarnation Tears. However, Ning Cheng intuitively held some suspicions that Dou Jiangshi got taken over by that spirit soul from the Illusionary Fruit Orchard.
Ning Cheng had paid particular attention to Dou Jiangshi and Jing Han from the moment they came out, along with the third Lei Shamu, who came out last. With what he did inside the Illusionary Fruit Orchard, it wasn’t out of bounds that the spirit soul would have the patience to wait any longer. It was very likely that he chose to take over one of those three pill sages who entered the Illusionary Fruit Orchard’s fourth level.
If Dou Jiangshi indeed got taken over and wanted the Cold Void Iron, Ning Cheng would have to spend more to get it. But whether it was the truth or not, Ning Cheng didn’t want to risk it and decided to exchange the Cold Void Iron before anyone else asked for it.
Ning Cheng didn’t think that the spirit soul that wanted to take over his body didn’t have Reincarnation Tears. One had to know, Ning Cheng had s.n.a.t.c.hed these Reincarnation Tears from that spirit soul’s home.
Seeing Ning Cheng not even trying to put up a counteroffer and even taking out so many precious things, some people in the main hall stood up in shock. Some even have a fierce look in their eyes. Since Ning Cheng took out Reincarnation Tears, he must carry more extinct spirit gra.s.ses.
Just this act alone made everyone realise that Ning Cheng had obtained a lot of precious things after entering the Illusionary Fruit Garden’s thirteenth gate. Otherwise, who would even think about taking out eleven supreme dao fruits at once and even using the Karmic Destruction Flower and Reincarnation Tears for the exchange? Especially without any negotiation?
In the eyes of others, this kind of wealth was already more than enough to invoke something much more profound than jealousy. Sheng Houtian sighed; he felt that Ning Cheng acted too recklessly. Even if he wanted the Cold Void Iron, he should have waited to trade for it later.
The Great Bear Seven Peak’s Mo Wenshang also felt surprised. In terms of pure monetary value, the chunk of Cold Void Iron was on the same level as the combination of things Ning Cheng had taken out. But in terms of actual value, it was just as Jian Sanshan said, not even worth a thing. He honestly never expected Ning Cheng to agree. In fact, if Ning Cheng had put up a counteroffer that was just one-tenth of what he asked, he would have agreed to it immediately. As long as the counteroffer wasn’t too low, he would have even added a few more things.
He never expected that Ning Cheng would not only not put up a counteroffer, he even took out what he needed.
“Okay, I agree.” Before Mo Wenshan’s words ended, Ning Cheng had already rushed over to take that piece away.
However, before Ning Cheng could reach it, a cold shout emerged, “Hold on, I’ll offer double the price you asked in exchange for that piece of Cold Void Iron……”
Ning Cheng pretended to not hear Dou Jiangshi’s words and quickly put Mo Wenshang’s Cold Void Iron into his ring. In the same motion, he swept the jade boxes he had taken out towards Mo Wenshang.
Dou Jiangshi’s words made him even more confident that this fellow from the Immortal Corpse Sect had been taken over. Looks like that spirit soul’s vision had grown worse, ultimately deciding to settle for a zombie for body possession. But wouldn’t Jing Han or Lei Shamu be more suitable candidates than that zombie-faced Dou Jiangshi?
“You said you were willing to pay double the price?” Mo Wenshan finally reacted, staring at Dou Jiangshi in a daze.
Dou Jiangshi gave a cold snort, “You better bring that item back, and I’ll give you three times the price.”
As he spoke, Dou Jiangshi raised his hand and brought out a pile of Falling Scar Dao Fruits. At the same time, six Reincarnation Tear Flowers appeared on the table. He felt a bit annoyed in his heart that he was only a breath slower than Ning Cheng’s hand. If Ning Cheng hadn’t put away the item, he could have easily obtained it from Mo Wenshan. But now, he couldn’t do much as that idiot had already accepted the offer publicly. He already felt disgusted with Ning Cheng, so now he wanted to draw everyone’s hatred towards Ning Cheng.