Chapter 22: Trading 5,000 Spirit Stones for a Talisman Treasure, Playing the Fool to Lure the Prey
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Having made up his mind, the cold glint in Yu Xian’s eyes was suppressed to its depths as he swiftly made his way back to the mine.
The next two days would be hard work!
Two days later, Yu Xian emerged from a new mining tunnel. He looked tired, but his eyes gleamed with energy.
This should be enough.
Four hundred pieces of Blazing Sun Essence Stone!
He returned to the miner’s lodging area and stepped into the teleportation array. Upon exiting, he headed straight for the Artifact Forging Workshop.
Xu Haoming wasn’t present. Instead, Li Youmao was on duty—and he had a bruised eye, looking like he’d taken a punch from someone.
Yu Xian walked up, and the moment Li Youmao saw him, he jumped up and yelled:
“Ah! Yu Xian! It’s you!? Why did you set me up!? When did I ever tell you Blazing Sun Essence Stones are worth 14 spirit stones each!?”
Yu Xian frowned and replied calmly:
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“Then why did Senior Brother Xu say I’m brain-damaged and accuse me of ruining business, then beat me up!? Look!”
Li Youmao pointed to his swollen eye, full of grievance.
Yu Xian said indifferently:
“I don’t know. Someone else told me the price.”
Li Youmao opened his mouth to ask who, but Yu Xian raised a hand to interrupt:
“Your misunderstanding has nothing to do with me. I’m here to sell Blazing Sun Essence Stones. If you’re not free to take them, I’ll go elsewhere.”
Li Youmao paused, eyes lighting up with interest. He quickly suppressed his anger and forced a smile:
“Ah, right, right, back to business. How many do you have, and at what price?”
“Thirteen spirit stones each. I’ll leave you some profit, but don’t be too greedy,” Yu Xian said calmly. “I have four hundred.”
“Four hundred!?”
Li Youmao’s face lit up with excitement and he nodded rapidly:
“Deal, deal! Thirteen per piece!”
The profit was a bit low, sure—but the volume made up for it. Four hundred stones could net him at least four hundred spirit stones in profit. A huge gain!
Looks like taking that beating from Senior Brother Xu wasn’t for nothing. Here’s the compensation!
Since there was no need for further words, Yu Xian nodded and began the transaction.
Soon, all 400 Blazing Sun Essence Stones were exchanged for a total of 5,200 lower-grade spirit stones.
However, Yu Xian didn’t take the money just yet. He asked calmly:
“Senior Brother Li, what’s the most powerful talisman treasure you have here?”
“The strongest talisman treasure?”
Li Youmao was still happily stowing away the spirit stones when he heard this. He looked up, surprised:
“What do you want a talisman treasure for?”
Yu Xian said nothing, simply stared at him calmly.
“Ah, ahaha…”
Feeling the pressure from that gaze, Li Youmao quickly composed himself and chuckled awkwardly:
“No offense, Junior Brother. I was just curious. The strongest talisman treasure here is Dark Heaven Finger, left by Elder Fang Tianhua, a powerful late-Golden Core cultivator!”
Yu Xian narrowed his eyes slightly:
“How much?”
“Thirty thousand.”
Yu Xian froze.
Li Youmao quickly explained:
“The stronger a talisman treasure, the harder it is to seal its power. Naturally, the price goes up. I’ve heard the inner sect even trades talismans left behind by Nascent Soul elders—those are terrifying weapons. Even Golden Core cultivators would fear a Foundation Establishment stage newbie holding one!”
“Too expensive. I can’t afford it.”
Yu Xian shook his head. “Pick one for me that matches the 5,200 spirit stones I just earned.”
“Alrighty!”
Li Youmao beamed. “Wait here, I’ll go pick something suitable.”
He disappeared into the inner chamber, and Yu Xian waited patiently.
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, Li Youmao returned. He carefully presented a purple talisman to Yu Xian and said solemnly:
“Junior Brother, I looked through everything. This one is the best fit—Void Splitting Technique, created by Elder Quan Dao, a Golden Core stage inner sect elder. It’s worth 5,500 spirit stones—just add another 300.”
The purple talisman gave off a chilling aura that made Yu Xian’s heart skip.
Quan Dao…
Yu Xian recalled that man—he was the one who had brought him to Baiyun Sect… who had sent him into the Hundred Mines… and who had given him the Immortal Ascension Platform!
In the past months, Yu Xian had learned more and more. He now realized that Immortal Ascension Platform was no ordinary object. It definitely signified something.
And he… was the one who had activated it.
Keeping his thoughts hidden, Yu Xian nodded:
“Alright.”
He took out the 300 spirit stones to make up the difference, ignored Li Youmao’s wide grin, and stowed the Void Splitting Technique talisman away before turning to leave.
Now, he had two talisman treasures in hand:
One from a late Foundation Establishment cultivator: Golden Light Slash.
One from an early Golden Core cultivator: Void Splitting Technique.
With these two, taking down those three enemies should be quick and easy.
No time to delay. The longer I wait, the more things can go wrong.
Yu Xian returned to the Blazing Sun Mine, the cold gleam in his eyes hidden away. He lowered his head and, upon lifting it again, wore an anxious yet excited expression.
He ran all the way to the residence of Liu Xue and Sun Bingcheng.
“Manager sir! Is the manager in!?”
He knocked while lowering his voice.
“Who is it?”
The door opened. Liu Xue frowned upon seeing Yu Xian:
“What are you doing here?”
Yu Xian looked around cautiously, eyes wide with urgency:
“Manager sir, I think I’ve found something big—Blazing Sun Essence Jade!”
“What!?”
Liu Xue was stunned.
“What did you say!?”
At the same time, Sun Bingcheng’s voice cried out from inside. He rushed to the door, full of shock:
“You found Essence Jade!?”
Yu Xian nodded excitedly:
“Yes! Just like the description in the Hundred Mine Records! Blazing Sun Essence Jade!”
“Where!? Show it to us!”
Sun Bingcheng’s eyes gleamed with greed and excitement as he stretched his hand out eagerly.
Blazing Sun Essence Jade… worth four to five thousand spirit stones each! This is a fortune!
“Still in the mine—I was afraid to damage it, so I left it untouched!”
Yu Xian said quickly, “Manager sirs, please inform the chief manager! Let him excavate it personally—it’s the safest way!”
“Call the chief manager?”
Liu Xue and Sun Bingcheng frowned simultaneously.
This kind of treasure… how could they possibly want to share?
If Huang Hanxiao found out, they might not even get 50 spirit stones out of it!
“We’ll go dig it up first, then inform Huang Hanxiao!”
Liu Xue’s eyes shifted as he said urgently:
“This kind of treasure moves on its own—if we delay, it might vanish into the depths!”
“Yes, yes, get it first!”
Sun Bingcheng nodded hurriedly.
“No!”
Yu Xian spoke firmly:
“This must be reported to the chief manager. If anything happens, I can’t take the responsibility. If you won’t report it, I will!”
He turned around, heading straight for the teleportation array.
“Hey hey hey! Kid, what’s the rush!? Come on, come in!”
Liu Xue quickly pulled Yu Xian back into the house and said in a low voice:
“Essence Jade is extremely valuable. If you tell Huang Hanxiao, he’ll take everything. Keep it quiet—we’ll dig it up and sell it. I’ll give you 500 spirit stones!”
“No.”
Yu Xian said solemnly:
“If the chief manager finds out, I’ll be done for in Baiyun Sect. I advise you not to try anything either—or you’ll not only lose your positions but may not survive in the sect!”
“This…”
Both Liu Xue and Sun Bingcheng froze, staring at Yu Xian.
He looked completely sincere—even foolish.
After a long pause, Liu Xue narrowed his eyes at Yu Xian and asked:
“Trying to win favor with Huang Hanxiao, huh?”
There was no other explanation for this behavior—Yu Xian clearly wanted to gain security through Huang’s protection.
Yu Xian replied calmly:
“I’m just following protocol. A rare mineral must be reported.”
“Heh…”
Liu Xue sneered, cold light flickering in his eyes. He finally gritted his teeth and said:
“Fine. Go. Tell Senior Brother Huang.”
“What!? That’s Essence Jade! Our entire year’s earnings can’t compare! If he comes, we’ll get nothing!”
Sun Bingcheng roared.
“We must follow the rules!”
Liu Xue shouted back. “Go get Senior Brother Huang!”
“You’re both idiots! Absolute idiots!”
Sun Bingcheng stormed out with a furious glare at Yu Xian, heading off to fetch Huang Hanxiao.
Liu Xue looked at Yu Xian coldly and muttered:
“You’ll regret today’s decision.”
Then he sat down, closed his eyes, and waited. Though outwardly calm, the heaving of his chest showed just how angry he was.
Yu Xian remained composed, gaze tranquil—quietly waiting for Huang Hanxiao to arrive.
