Chapter 278 - 222: I Am a Barbarian

Hm?

Seeing the turn of events, Fang Qingyuan paused. ’A flicker of joy rose in his heart.’ He calmly sat back down, waiting to see what would follow.

Having been challenged, the auction’s Magistrate, Yuan Chujun, could no longer keep a straight face.

He said coldly:

"Sir, you can be careless with what you eat, but not with what you say. Jiuye Square has a well-known reputation. Why would we intentionally tarnish our own name for a mere hundred or so Top-grade Spirit Stones? I had an Elder from the Medicine King Pavilion personally inspect this Transparent Seven Orifice Spirit Turtle Shell. There’s no doubt it’s authentic. How can you claim its ’smell’ is off?"

After Yuan Chujun’s sharp retort, the Cultivator who had won the item suppressed his anger and replied:

"So what if he’s a Golden Core Cultivator from the Medicine King Pavilion? Don’t they ever make mistakes? To be honest, I don’t care about the Spirit Stones. If this thing were real, I’d pay another hundred for it. But if the smell is wrong, it’s a fake. I won’t pay a single Spirit Stone for a fake."

Yuan Chujun snorted coldly. He had a bad feeling. ’This man doesn’t seem like someone just trying to stir up trouble. Could our item really be fake?’

But this was no time to back down, so he continued:

"If you claim this item is fake, you must provide convincing evidence. You can’t just tarnish Jiuye Square’s reputation with a single sentence. And compared to the judgment of a Golden Core Elder from the Medicine King Pavilion, the word of a mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator like you carries much less weight. Unless you can produce evidence, this Transparent Seven Orifice Spirit Turtle Shell is genuine."

Cornered by Yuan Chujun’s words, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator said resentfully:

"You want evidence? Fine! Take a good look. This is a real Transparent Seven Orifice Spirit Turtle Shell."

The Foundation Establishment Cultivator immediately took a Spirit Turtle Shell made of a Seven-Colored Glaze material from his storage bag. Compared to the one in Yuan Chujun’s hands, it looked even more wondrous.

The moment he produced the item, the auction house erupted into a commotion.

’Who is this person? How can he so easily take out a Tier Three Middle Grade Spiritual Material worth a hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones? And if he already has one, why would he spend so much to buy the same thing?’

For a moment, all the Cultivators were murmuring amongst themselves. Fang Qingyuan, however, noticed that many Cultivators had already disappeared from their seats.

’They’ve probably gone to contact their people. For a hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones—or even more—many Cultivators wouldn’t mind risking their lives.’

’Never reveal your wealth’ was the first rule a Cultivator should remember when traveling. ’Why did this Foundation Establishment Cultivator expose himself so easily?’

Yuan Chujun paid no mind to the others’ reactions. He held his own Glazed Turtle Shell and carefully compared it to the one the other Cultivator had produced. To his dismay, he discovered that whether in terms of material or the concentration of Spiritual Qi within, his own seemed to be the real counterfeit.

In fact, the more he looked, the more his looked like a man-made imitation.

"Impossible. An Elder from the Medicine King Pavilion authenticated it personally. How could it be a fake?"

Yuan Chujun muttered to himself. Now it was the Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s turn to sneer.

"You sold a fake at auction. According to the rules of the trade, you must compensate three times the value for a counterfeit. I paid you one hundred and thirty-seven Top-grade Spirit Stones, so you need to compensate me with four hundred and eleven Top-grade Spirit Stones. So, tell me, how do you plan to pay?"

Yuan Chujun’s face was ashen. For a moment, he was speechless. He couldn’t bring himself to insist that the item in his hand was genuine.

"Hold on!"

The one who spoke was a bidder from the second floor. He stepped forward and said:

"This Transparent Seven Orifice Spirit Turtle Shell isn’t necessarily a fake. At most, yours is just more potent. And even if it is a fake, demanding over four hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones is far too greedy."

"Elder Yuan, no need to rush. Why don’t we call over a Judge from the Great Zhou Academy to adjudicate the matter for us, and then handle it impartially?"

Hearing the bidder who was speaking up for him, Yuan Chujun subconsciously said:

"We can’t call people from the Great Zhou Academy! We can resolve this privately."

Jiuye Square had long been colluding with Demon Cultivators from the Wilderness Forest. They were terrified of the Great Zhou Academy, so how could they possibly summon them here on purpose?

Besides, summoning a Cultivator from the Great Zhou Academy was not cheap. Without a Heaven-Reaching Token, a single summons started at ten Top-grade Spirit Stones.

Then, depending on the cultivation level of the arriving Cultivator from the Great Zhou Academy, there would be additional fees. For someone without deep pockets, calling the Great Zhou Academy to uphold justice would lead to bankruptcy, even if they won the case.

This was just a financial dispute. If someone from the Great Zhou Academy came and dug up something else, it would be a death sentence.

Hearing Yuan Chujun’s objection, the bidder shook his head and said no more. After a moment of thought, Yuan Chujun said:

"We definitely don’t have four hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones. How about we compensate you with something else?"

Seeing Yuan Chujun taking the bait, Fang Qingyuan couldn’t help but interject from the side:

"Fellow Daoist, is that Transparent Seven Orifice Spirit Turtle Shell in your hands for sale?"

When Fang Qingyuan spoke, everyone turned to look at him. In response, Fang Qingyuan stood up and walked toward them. At the same time, a crowd of Cultivators stood up behind him with a great RUSTLE.

This display made the two men who had been speaking exchange a subtle glance. Then, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator said:

"My apologies, Fellow Daoist. This Transparent Seven Orifice Spirit Turtle Shell is not for sale."

"And what if I insist on buying it?"

At these words, all of them were stunned for a moment. The expressions on the faces of Yuan Chujun and the other bidder were priceless.

"How can you act like this? You’re being completely unreasonable!"

The Foundation Establishment Cultivator holding the Transparent Seven Orifice Spirit Turtle Shell couldn’t help but rebuke Fang Qingyuan loudly. In response, Fang Qingyuan just smirked and said:

"I’m a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect. We don’t usually bother with reason."

Watching Fang Qingyuan approach with his large group of Cultivators, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s expression grew dark and uncertain. Just as Fang Qingyuan was about to make a move, the man’s face broke into a smile.

"It seems this item is fated to be yours. In that case, I will sell it to you, Fellow Daoist. How many Spirit Stones are you prepared to offer?"

"Eighty Top-grade Spirit Stones. I don’t have any more."

Fang Qingyuan knew he had the man cornered. He directly offered the low price of eighty Top-grade Spirit Stones, and then had the Bee Queen send a message directly into the man’s mind:

"Take the money and get the hell out of the Southern Border. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you stay here forever."

Fang Qingyuan wore a smile, but this method of directly pouring his thoughts into someone’s mind horrified the man.

The man gave Fang Qingyuan a deep look, then nodded and said:

"Eighty it is. I, Jia Changqing, will consider you a friend."

After saying this, Jia Changqing handed the Transparent Seven Orifice Spirit Turtle Shell toward Fang Qingyuan. However, Fang Qingyuan did not reach out to take it. Instead, a Late-stage Qi Refining disciple from behind him stepped forward and accepted the spiritual material.

Seeing Fang Qingyuan’s caution, a look of contempt flashed across Jia Changqing’s face for an instant. He then sullenly caught the Spirit Stone Storage Bag Fang Qingyuan tossed over and tucked it into his robes.

Seeing that the item was in hand and the transaction complete, Fang Qingyuan let out a hearty laugh. He tossed the Transparent Seven Orifice Spirit Turtle Shell into his Immortal Mansion, where it landed in a pool of water inside.

With a splash, a dopey-looking Black Tortoise Divine Statue poked its head out of the water. It stared at the Transparent Seven Orifice Spirit Turtle Shell that had fallen into the water for a long moment before finally swimming over and taking a tentative bite.

After one bite, the Black Tortoise Divine Statue’s small eyes went wide, and it began to devour the shell with gusto.

Fang Qingyuan was naturally aware of the situation inside his Immortal Mansion. ’It seems the Transparent Seven Orifice Spirit Turtle Shell from Jia Changqing was the real one after all. It’s even earned the Black Tortoise Divine Statue’s approval.’

Having obtained the Transparent Seven Orifice Spirit Turtle Shell, Fang Qingyuan had achieved his goal for this trip. He led his entourage out of the auction house, leaving Jia Changqing, Yuan Chujun, and the other bidder behind.

"Back to Celestial Gate Mountain!"

Arriving at the ferry point, Fang Qingyuan had his people retrieve their stabled Thorn-tailed Rays. He then gave the order to return immediately. Seven or eight Thorn-tailed Rays turned around and set off toward Celestial Gate Mountain.

They had been traveling for only two days and were still over a thousand li from Celestial Gate Mountain when Fang Qingyuan’s brows furrowed. He sighed and said:

"I gave you a chance, Fellow Daoist Jia."