Chapter 740

Chapter 740: Journey to Qingqiu (Continued)

At this stall, there were twenty to thirty pieces of ancient sealed jade, each lightly shimmering with a faint spiritual glow.

Due to the nature of sealed jade, it was said that even a True Spirit Master could not directly discern the items concealed within. Thus, whether one could uncover something valuable largely depended on luck.

Opening sealed jade was the ultimate test to distinguish the fortunate from the unlucky!

The stallholder had a unique rule: he required all cultivators interested in purchasing ancient sealed jade to write their bids on a talisman and submit them to him. After comparing the offers, he would sell to the highest bidder.

This was a sealed bid.

A total of twenty-eight pieces of ancient sealed jade were available, and anyone was free to place a bid!

Wang Chen found this auction method quite intriguing, so he purchased five talismans from the stallholder.

He carefully examined all the pieces of ancient sealed jade on display and placed his bids based on intuition.

As for the bid amounts, Wang Chen wrote one thousand spirit stones on each talisman.

Wang Chen suspected that with his modest offer, he might not secure even a single piece of sealed jade.

But he had no intention of overpaying.

He was merely playing along for fun.

"Number one sealed jade, highest bid of three thousand seven hundred spirit stones!"

"Congratulations to this fellow traveler!"

As the first bid was announced, the surrounding crowd buzzed with excitement—this price was exceptionally high.

With sealed jade, the odds were heavily stacked against the bidders; the risks were immense.

In an open auction, some might impulsively shout out high prices in a burst of enthusiasm.

But this was a sealed bid, and the participating cultivators remained composed.

All eyes turned to the cultivator who had won the first bid. After handing over the spirit stones and receiving the sealed jade, he quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Clearly, he had no intention of opening the jade on the spot.

"Number two sealed jade, highest bid of two thousand five hundred spirit stones."

"Number three sealed jade…"

One piece after another was auctioned off, with prices generally hovering around two thousand spirit stones, and no bids exceeding three thousand.

Even so, with Wang Chen’s uniform bid of one thousand spirit stones, he could only watch the proceedings from the sidelines.

The gap was significant.

"Number twenty-seven sealed jade, highest bid… um, one thousand spirit stones!"

Huh?

Just as Wang Chen was about to leave, he was surprised to hear that the second-to-last piece of sealed jade had a winning bid of only one thousand spirit stones.

And among Wang Chen’s five talismans, one had been used to bid on number twenty-seven!

Had he actually won?

At that moment, the stallholder, beaming with a wide grin, turned to him and said, "Congratulations to this fellow traveler!"

The stallholder had an impeccable memory; he clearly remembered who had placed each bid and the exact order in which they were made, never once making a mistake.

Wang Chen responded, "Thank you."

He had no intention of reneging and promptly paid one thousand spirit stones to acquire the sealed jade.

Once it was in his hands, Wang Chen understood why no one had outbid him.

This piece of ancient sealed jade was chipped and cracked, appearing poorly preserved, with a dull glow and no outward signs of being a treasure.

For seasoned "players," the gamble on such sealed jade was too risky.

Thus, it ended up being picked up by Wang Chen.

The stallholder eagerly inquired, "Fellow traveler, will you open it now or take it home to open?"

Previous buyers had simply taken their items and left, showing no interest in opening the jade, which left him feeling unfulfilled.

It also deprived the onlookers of any excitement.

So, even though Wang Chen’s chosen sealed jade wasn’t of the best quality, the stallholder hoped for a bit of spectacle.

However, Wang Chen had no intention of indulging him and took the jade without a second thought, just like everyone else!

By then, it was already past the hour of Chen, and Wang Chen didn’t linger on the streets any longer.

He found a nearby inn that looked decent and booked a room for three days.

After settling in, Wang Chen took out the ancient sealed jade he had just acquired.

He held the sealed jade in his hand and infused it with a hint of magical power.

With a crisp "crack," the jade box shattered into pieces, and the contents immediately appeared before Wang Chen’s eyes.

It was a book.

The book was only as thick as a finger, but it felt substantial in his hands. The cover and pages were made of a material that resembled neither gold nor silk, presenting a light golden hue and appearing very sturdy.

Three curved characters, resembling ancient script, were printed on the cover, while the pages inside were densely filled with black characters that looked remarkably similar, emanating an ancient and wild aura.

Wang Chen didn’t recognize a single word!

He tried to infuse more power, but the book showed no reaction and didn’t seem to be a spirit tool or treasure.

He inspected it closely, turning it over and over, but couldn’t find anything unusual.

It was probably just an ancient book of unknown origin!

He had lost big by spending one thousand spirit stones.

Even if this book recorded some kind of secret technique, it might just be an introductory textbook today.

For example, the Five Element Technique, which Wang Chen practiced, used to be a well-guarded secret of major sects.

It seemed like his luck hadn’t been great lately!

Wang Chen shook his head and stored the ancient book in his Xumi Ring, considering it just a way to fill up his storage.

The next morning, Wang Chen left the inn to have breakfast.

At the entrance of a teahouse, he saw a bounty notice affixed to the door, and the person’s portrait on the notice unmistakably resembled him from yesterday.

In other words, Wang Chen was wanted!

The content of this bounty notice was straightforward: anyone who discovered a clue and promptly reported it would be rewarded with five thousand spirit stones.

Capturing or killing Wang Chen would earn a reward of fifty thousand spirit stones!

Changsheng Immortal City was not as bustling as Qianxing Immortal City; here, the cost of living was lower, and there were many loose cultivators. Fifty thousand spirit stones was already a substantial sum.

Consequently, a crowd had gathered around the notice.

Wang Chen lingered on the outskirts for a moment, then quietly entered the teahouse, ordering a pot of spiritual tea and two plates of breakfast.

He ate while eavesdropping on the conversations around him.

This was an effective way to gather information.

Unsurprisingly, everyone was discussing the bounty outside.

"Did you hear? This person killed Black Old Biao?"

"Exactly, with just one strike!"

"That’s impressive! Could he be a Golden Core true master?"

"Most likely, yes!"

"I heard from a fellow traveler who was there at the time; they confirmed that it was a Golden Core who killed Black Old Biao."

"No wonder the bounty is so low!"

"Who can argue? Black Old Biao had such a bad reputation that it even lowered the bounty on his killer!"

The cultivators, engrossed in their heated discussion, would never have imagined that the subject of their conversation was sitting right beside them!

Wang Chen listened with keen interest until he suddenly sensed something amiss.

【Heavenly Merit -10】

A notification flashed across his vision.

Good heavens!

Wang Chen realized that someone was attempting to use the Heavenly Merit technique to track his location.

But the attempt was thwarted by the Cultivation Panel.

Ten points of Heavenly Merit; it had to be a true master, no doubt about it!

But why would a mere thug warrant the attention of a Golden Core true master, who would expend their lifespan and Qi and blood to investigate?

Wang Chen was utterly baffled.

In truth, the reason a Golden Core true master was using the Heavenly Merit technique to divine his location had nothing to do with Black Old Biao.

It was because of the first person Wang Chen had killed.

That beggar-like Child!