Chapter 574

Chapter 574

I Can See Through Everything

Lu Qing stood before the stall Xiao Li had pointed out, the one pulsing faintly with the aura of a rare treasure.

The stall owner was a lean middle-aged man at the Golden Core Realm, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, seemingly indifferent to everything around him.

Even as Lu Qing and his companions approached, he made no move to open his eyes, letting them browse through the items on his stall at will.

Lu Qing didn’t disturb him and instead began inspecting the items quietly.

After a while, he pointed at one item and asked, “Fellow Daoist, how much for this treasure?”

The lean man finally opened his eyes and glanced at the item Lu Qing had indicated.

“Fixed price. Three thousand lower-grade spirit stones,” he said blandly.

“What? Three thousand lower-grade spirit stones?”

Before Lu Qing could respond, Daoist Wubao couldn’t hold back his outburst.

“Fellow Daoist, that price is absurd! This is just a top-grade magical artifact, and you’re asking such a high price? At that rate, one could buy a decent artifact-level treasure!”

“Crafted by the Sacred Tianxu Mountain. Naturally, it’s not priced like ordinary magical artifacts.”

The middle-aged man remained calm, his tone unchanging.

“Even if it’s from Sacred Tianxu Mountain, it’s still just a top-grade magical artifact. It’s not worth that many spirit stones!” Daoist Wubao retorted, refusing to be swayed.

“If you think it’s expensive, don’t buy it.”

The lean man shot him a sideways glance, clearly impatient.

“Fellow Daoist, the price does seem a bit steep. Could you go any lower?” Lu Qing finally spoke.

“Oh? So you’re willing to believe some tale fabricated by another vendor and pay a high price for broken trash, but when it comes to something I risked my life to retrieve from the Sacred Tianxu Mountain, you call it expensive?

Buy it if you want. If you can’t afford it, then go play the fool at another stall. Don’t disturb my cultivation.”

Hearing this, the Foundation Establishment vendor nearby turned pale.

He quickly defended himself, “Senior, that’s unfair! I swear, I didn’t deceive this senior in any way. Every word I said was true!”

“You know whether that’s true or not.”

The lean man’s tone turned cold.

“You—!”

The Foundation Establishment vendor’s face flushed red with anger, but he dared not retaliate, knowing he was outmatched.

He looked anxiously at Lu Qing. “Senior, I swear I didn’t lie to you! I can make an oath!”

“If I paid for it, I clearly didn’t mind.”

Lu Qing smiled faintly, showing no intent to pursue the matter.

“But three thousand spirit stones really is a bit much. I can’t afford that price.”

“I told you, the price is fixed. My goods may not be the cheapest, but they all come from Sacred Tianxu Mountain. Each one is a genuine treasure.”

As he spoke, the lean man’s fingers twitched ever so slightly, but his expression remained composed.

“Chen Daoist, let’s go look somewhere else!” Daoist Wubao huffed. He’d had enough of this man’s attitude and turned to Lu Qing.

“No rush,” Lu Qing said, waving him off. “This fellow Daoist is quite confident in his treasures. Let’s take another look.”

He continued browsing the stall’s offerings.

Daoist Wubao had no choice but to stay, albeit reluctantly. He found it odd—Chen Daoist was usually so calm and composed. Yet after arriving at Tianji Peak, he seemed unusually lively.

Ah, youth. So easily tempted by shiny treasures.

Soon, Lu Qing found something else that caught his eye.

He pointed to an item and asked, “Fellow Daoist, what’s the price for this bead?”

Daoist Wubao looked over and saw a dull gray bead, completely unremarkable in appearance.

It emitted no aura typical of magical artifacts. Most likely, it was some unrefined object—perhaps a treasure, or perhaps not.

“That bead… also three thousand lower-grade spirit stones.”

The lean man glanced at it and, after a slight pause, quoted the price.

“Again with the three thousand spirit stones? The last item was at least a top-grade magical artifact. But this? It doesn’t even have the aura of a treasure! Isn’t that too much?” Daoist Wubao couldn’t help but complain again.

Lu Qing shook his head. “So you really do take me for a gullible fool. Let’s go, Daoist.”

He turned to leave.

Daoist Wubao snorted coldly and followed.

“Wait, Fellow Daoist!”

Seeing that Lu Qing was truly about to leave, the lean man finally grew anxious.

“If you really want the bead… how about two thousand five hundred lower-grade spirit stones?”

“I’ll only offer one thousand. If you’re willing to sell, then let’s trade. If not, we’ll forget it,” Lu Qing replied firmly.

The lean man hesitated once more.

The so-called top-grade magical artifact he’d claimed was from Sacred Tianxu Mountain? Only half true.

He had acquired it by ambushing and killing a few enemies in the mountain.

But this gray bead… this one truly came from a cave in Sacred Tianxu Mountain. He’d paid a heavy price for it during an expedition years ago.

Most of the treasures he’d collected from that trip had already been sold off over the years.

Only this gray bead remained. So dull, so unimpressive, no one had ever been interested.

He had even tried taking it to an auction house, but the appraisers there had outright refused to accept it.

Still, deep down, he always had the feeling that this bead wasn’t so simple.

But no matter how hard he tried over the years, he could never decipher its mystery.

From every angle, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary stone bead.

Now, there was news that this auction would feature pills capable of refining Golden Cores.

He was already at the Third Transformation of the Golden Core Realm. To reach the Fourth Transformation, he needed to refine his core and raise it to the superior grade.

So he had to obtain those pills.

Who knew how long he would have to wait if he missed this chance?

And for that, he needed more spirit stones.

Maybe the gray bead truly held some hidden power…

Or maybe, it really was just a common rock.

He’d tried every method over the years, but never unearthed anything special.

A treasure that couldn’t be used was no better than trash. Better to trade it for spirit stones and buy something that could truly strengthen him.

His expression shifted several times. Finally, he looked at Lu Qing.

“One thousand five hundred lower-grade spirit stones. No lower. If you’re not interested, so be it.”

Lu Qing saw the look on his face, thought for a moment, and nodded. “Deal. One thousand five hundred it is.”

He took out fifteen middle-grade spirit stones from his storage pouch and handed them over.

The lean man’s eyes flashed when he saw the middle-grade stones, but he quickly masked his reaction.

He took the spirit stones, picked up the gray bead, and handed it to Lu Qing.

“This treasure is now yours, Fellow Daoist.”

Lu Qing seemed unaware of the stall owner's unusual reaction. He casually took the bead and stored it away without so much as examining it.

But once the gray bead was no longer in Lu Qing’s hands, a sudden wave of loss surged within the lean middle-aged man’s heart.

It felt as if something important had just slipped through his fingers.

Unfortunately, even if he regretted it now, it was already too late.

Though this place appeared unregulated, with vendors trading freely, if any trouble were to break out, the powerhouses of Tianxu City would intervene immediately.

At that point, he might very well be expelled from the city—never to return again.

So he forced a smile. “Fellow Daoist, you’re truly straightforward. I’ve got other treasures as well. If anything else catches your eye, I can give you a discount.”

“No need. I’d like to browse other stalls,” Lu Qing replied, turning away with Daoist Wubao.

As the two of them disappeared into the crowd, the lean man’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Big Brother, what’s wrong?” came a Divine Soul Message.

“Nothing… Just felt like that kid is a bit unusual. And by the way, congratulations—you managed to sell a basic magical artifact for over a thousand spirit stones.”

The lean man retracted his gaze and responded via transmission.

“Haha! That kid really is a fool, believing my made-up story. And didn’t you do the same? That useless stone bead of yours finally found a buyer.”

The voice belonged to the Foundation Establishment vendor from the neighboring stall.

So the two had been working in tandem all along, pretending to be strangers.

“A useless stone bead…”

The lean man’s gaze dimmed slightly, recalling the odd sense of loss when the bead left his hand.

“Chen Daoist, why were you so drawn to that bead earlier? Don’t tell me it actually hides some kind of secret?” Daoist Wubao finally voiced his suspicion.

Lu Qing had been acting strangely. He hadn’t hesitated at all when forking over so many spirit stones for a seemingly worthless bead.

Now Daoist Wubao was convinced there had to be more to it.

“Just had a good feeling about it, that’s all,” Lu Qing replied with a smile, keeping the truth to himself.

But Daoist Wubao wasn’t fooled. In his heart, he was now certain that the gray bead must hold some kind of secret that neither he nor the stall owner could perceive.

Lu Qing continued to browse the marketplace afterward.

He visited each of the stalls where Xiao Li had sensed unusual treasures, but upon closer inspection, they turned out to be ordinary magical items with strong spiritual auras.

The stall owners were asking sky-high prices for them.

None were like the gray bead—its radiance so well-concealed that others couldn’t discern its true nature.

Lu Qing was momentarily surprised, then realized it was only natural.

After all, it wouldn’t make sense if such opportunities kept falling into his lap.

Being able to obtain even one hidden treasure at a modest price was already a stroke of luck.

Surely, not all fortunes in the world could belong to him alone.

He inquired further and discovered that the few items Xiao Li had identified were priced far beyond their actual worth.

Moreover, none were essential for his current cultivation.

So, Lu Qing quickly lost interest.

But this experience made him even more eager for the upcoming auction.

If these valuable yet flawed treasures weren’t qualified to enter the auction and had to be sold from street stalls…

Then what kind of wondrous items would appear at the auction itself?

After leaving the plaza, Lu Qing and Daoist Wubao strolled around Tianji Peak.

As evening approached, more and more cultivators descended from the skies, landing atop the mountain.

Each exuded powerful auras—at least Golden Core Realm cultivators, and some even stronger.

There were a few whose presence caused the hearts of those below to tremble.

Their auras were as deep as the sea, as majestic as a mountain, or as vast as the sky.

Clearly, these were Nascent Soul powerhouses, lofty beings who rarely showed themselves.

Most of them headed straight into the grand hall at the mountaintop, rarely lingering around Tianji Peak.

Lu Qing and Daoist Wubao continued their casual exploration. At one point, Lu Qing stopped in front of a particular shop, a spark of surprise in his eyes.

This shop didn’t sell the usual magical artifacts or pills.

Instead, row after row of jade slips and ancient scrolls filled the shelves.

According to the shopkeeper, the store specialized in selling cultivation techniques and secret arts.

“Dao Dian Ju—so there’s actually a shop that sells cultivation techniques?” Lu Qing was both delighted and astonished.

Cultivators were always extremely protective of their cultivation methods.

They would rarely reveal them to anyone except the closest of kin or disciples, let alone sell them to strangers.

After all, if someone discovered the secrets of your technique, they might develop a method specifically designed to counter you.

Because of this, Lu Qing had almost never seen shops openly selling cultivation manuals.

To find one here on Tianji Peak was truly unexpected.

Clearly, this shop had a powerful backing—possibly even operated under Tianxu City’s protection.

Lu Qing eagerly stepped inside.

But after browsing and listening to the shopkeeper’s explanations, his excitement faded.

Most of the techniques were for Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment stages.

Only about a dozen were Golden Core-level techniques.

And as for Nascent Soul-level techniques—there were none at all.

Lu Qing was slightly disappointed, but he understood why.

Nascent Soul-level cultivation methods were far too valuable to be openly sold.

The issue wasn’t whether someone would buy them, but whether the shop could even survive such a move.

Even if backed by Tianxu City, the greed of Golden Core cultivators might still overwhelm them.

The moment such techniques were displayed, they might be robbed the same night.

Realizing this, Lu Qing’s excitement finally settled.

He turned his attention to the dozen Golden Core techniques, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

His

Perfect Golden Core Technique

had recently reached a bottleneck in its development.

These new techniques came at just the right time.