Chapter 749

Chapter 749: The Mysterious Jade Box

An Daoren’s eyes brightened when he heard Fang Lie’s words. He smiled tentatively and asked, "Since you can produce spirit pills of this grade, surely this batch contains more than one pill?"

"Hehe!" Fang Lie chuckled without confirming, though his expression answered the question.

Fang Lie wasn’t concerned about An Daoren confronting him. When crafting eighth-rank or higher high-grade spirit pills, alchemists’ success rates were notoriously low. By tradition, providing one pill fulfilled the agreement—any extras remained the alchemist’s property.

Moreover, An Daoren hadn’t even completed gathering the materials, stripping him of any standing to demand additional pills.

An Daoren clearly understood this. He promptly added, "Master, keep the remaining pills. However, three of my junior brothers and a junior sister in this city also require these pills. Should you offer more, I vow they’ll present treasures worthy of your approval."

Fang Lie’s eyes sparkled. "In that case, I’ll gladly part with more. But heed this—my standards are exacting. Even typical eighth-rank top-grade treasures might disappoint me!"

"Worry not," An Daoren assured. "After millennia here, each possesses rare treasures certain to please you."

"Then summon them now," Fang Lie said. "Let’s appraise their offerings together."

"At once!" An Daoren sent three Flying Swords bearing messages.

Soon, three formidable late-stage Thunder Tribulation cultivators hurried in.

A bald armored man barged ahead, bellowing, "Eldest Brother! Where are these Ninth-Rank Enlightenment Pills?"

An Daoren ignored him, turning to Fang Lie. "Master, this impatient fellow is Dong Zhong, my second junior brother and Deputy City Lord."

He gestured to a refined swordsman. "My third junior brother, Deputy City Lord Qian Jian, Dao name ‘Thousand Swords.’"

Lastly, he indicated a crimson-gowned beauty. "My junior sister Shen Hong Yi, unmarried and fond of red attire."

After introductions, An Daoren declared sternly, "This Master is a peerless alchemist. Show proper respect!"

Though mighty cultivators, the trio instantly felt inferior before a master alchemist. Initially irked by An Daoren’s prioritization of Fang Lie, they now clasped fists in deference. "Greetings, Master!"

Yet doubt lingered. They murmured privately:

"Eldest Brother, can someone so young truly be a master alchemist?"

"Could this be an error?"

"Don’t embarrass us with a fraud!"

An Daoren wordlessly tossed his newly acquired pill to Dong Zhong. "Examine this recent work."

"Ninth-Rank Enlightenment Pills?!" Dong Zhong gasped.

"With pill patterns! Top-grade quality!" Qian Jian exclaimed.

"Marvelous! My thanks, Eldest Brother!" Shen Hong Yi promptly tucked the pill into her robe.

An Daoren froze. Though stronger, he couldn’t retrieve it without invading her modesty. "Treacherous girl!" he spluttered. "I labored to secure Master’s remaining pills, and this is your gratitude?"

"More are available?" Shen Hong Yi brightened. "Fear not, Eldest Brother! I’ll spare no effort to procure yours!"

An Daoren nearly choked. "I want that pill! It’s mine!"

"As senior brother, how can you rob your junior sister?" she retorted. "Have you no shame?"

"Who’s robbing whom?" An Daoren wailed.

He knew Fang Lie retained more pills, but likely inferior ones. His original pill—top-grade with potent markings—far surpassed common versions. Shen Hong Yi aimed to swap it for a lesser replacement, profiting if successful.

An Daoren also noticed this and didn’t want to make the exchange. Unfortunately, the Junior Sister was not willing to agree, and he had no way to change that.

At that moment, Dong Zhong couldn’t hold back any longer and quickly interrupted their argument, saying, "Alright, alright, why are you two arguing in front of the Master?"

"Exactly, isn’t this embarrassing us?" Qian Jian immediately added with a flattering smile, "Master, I wonder what you want in exchange for that Ninth-Rank Enlightenment Pill."

"Of course, it must be something good!" Fang Lie replied with a slight smile, "My standards are quite high. I don’t need spirit pearls, treasures below Seventh-Rank, materials below Eighth-Rank, or ordinary Immortal Crystals!"

"I understand!" Qian Jian immediately said, "I am willing to trade an Eighth-Rank Middle-Grade Flying Sword for a Ninth-Rank Enlightenment Pill!"

Considering the rarity of the Enlightenment Flower, the Ninth-Rank Enlightenment Pill usually takes a thousand years to produce, and at most, only three can be made at one time, showing just how precious it is.

Moreover, this item could increase the chances of the Thunder Tribulation Immortal advancing by thirty percent. It’s important to know that ordinary cultivators in the late-stage Thunder Tribulation have only a one in ten chance of becoming a Semi-Immortal, but with that thirty percent boost, it becomes a four in ten chance—almost half!

Once they become a Semi-Immortal, not only does their strength greatly increase, but their lifespan also increases by three thousand years. This is an enormous benefit!

This leads to the conclusion that when the Ninth-Rank Enlightenment Pill is available, it is worth its weight in gold, at least enough to trade for an Eighth-Rank Middle-Grade Treasure.

Therefore, while Qian Jian’s offer seemed generous, it didn’t really exceed the average price. Naturally, this did not satisfy Fang Lie, as he wasn’t a sword cultivator and didn’t care for Eighth-Rank Middle-Grade treasures, so he couldn’t possibly trade such a precious spirit pill for something ordinary!

Fang Lie immediately frowned and said flatly, "Sorry, I’m not a sword cultivator and I don’t like Flying Swords!"

Qian Jian was stunned upon hearing this, and immediately broke into a bitter smile.

However, Dong Zhong’s eyes lit up with the thought of an opportunity, so he quickly said, "I have an Eighth-Rank Middle-Grade treasure named Purple River Infant, a rare item for controlling tools. It not only has strong offense and defense but also powerful Teleportation techniques, its value is not lower than an ordinary Eighth-Rank High-Grade treasure!"

Yet Fang Lie still looked down with disdain, saying lightly, "My treasure ship is an Eighth-Rank High-Grade warship!"

At this point, the three began to realize how frighteningly valuable the Master was. An Eighth-Rank High-Grade large warship was worth close to a Ninth-Rank Treasure; how could someone like him be interested in a mere Eighth-Rank Middle-Grade item?

Qian Jian and Dong Zhong immediately felt embarrassed. An Daoren frowned and said, "Don’t waste everyone’s time with trash! What kind of person do you think the Master is? He doesn’t need an Eighth-Rank treasure! If you truly want a Ninth-Rank Enlightenment Pill, bring out a treasured item from the Land of Star Fragments, or please just leave!"

"Wait~" Qian Jian quickly called out, "Can’t I bring out something good?"

As he spoke, he took out a jade box, three feet long, seven inches thick, and about a foot and two inches wide, with a special seal on its surface.

When Fang Lie looked at it, he instantly realized this item was extraordinary because his divine sense couldn’t penetrate it at all, and it caused a faint pain when he tried. The sealing power was evidently very strong, far beyond what he could sense.

So, Fang Lie curiously asked, "What is this item?"

"I don’t know~" Qian Jian shrugged.

"You don’t know, and yet you bring it to trade?" Fang Lie exclaimed in shock.

"Even though I don’t know what it is, I know it’s definitely something good!" Qian Jian replied confidently, "Because not only can I not open this box, but even my Master cannot. I’ve had more than ten Semi-Immortals inspect it, and none could open it, nor could they even find out a hint about the seal’s origin. This clearly demonstrates that it must be an extremely profound Immortal Seal. An item sealed with such a powerful Immortal Seal cannot possibly be trash!"

At this time, An Daoren spoke up, "My Master once said that this box must contain some kind of treasured item. It’s just that no one in the mortal world can open it, but once one ascends to the Immortal Realm, it can definitely be opened. For us, this item is completely useless, as Semi-Immortal is our limit, and ascending is far beyond us. But you, Master, are different. With your age and such terrifying cultivation, passing through the tribulations to become an Immortal shouldn’t be too difficult for you, right?"

"Hehe~" Fang Lie smiled slightly and remained silent but secretly contacted the old bird for advice.

The old bird scanned with its divine sense and quickly said, "I don’t know what it is, but I can tell that the treasure inside is definitely extraordinary, even more valuable than a Ninth-Rank treasure. Since you have plenty of Ninth-Rank Enlightenment Pills, why not buy it? You won’t be at a loss!"

Since the old bird said so, Fang Lie hesitated no longer. He immediately stored the jade box away and tossed Qian Jian a small jade box in return.

Qian Jian took it, inspected it, and nodded satisfactorily, saying, "Thank you, Master, for your generosity!"

"It’s merely a mutually beneficial arrangement!" Fang Lie replied before turning his gaze to the other two and saying nonchalantly, "If you two don’t have anything good, then please, I must ask you to leave!"