"Since you've become my disciple, you'll have to listen to my instructions. You mustn't defy me in the slightest!"
Zhang Xuan said grimly. "You mustn't impart the cultivation technique to anyone else, not even Elder Bai Ye. Can you do that?"
"Yes!" Bai Ruanqing nodded.
Her teacher's orders were as heavy as a mountain, and she couldn't defy them.
"Un. You should stay here to reinforce your cultivation for the time being. I'll be heading out for a while …"
Zhang Xuan knew that since the other party was willing to form the Book of Heaven's Path, it was likely that the other party was truly grateful to him. Thus, he left the room.
Now that he had the pill, he still had to look for True Immortal realm cultivation technique manuals. Perhaps, the Wuhai Trading Firm mentioned in the mission might have some for sale.
In any case, he didn't have to buy it. All he had to do was take a glance at it and store it in the Library of Heaven's Path to fix the remaining seven flaws.
He had taken a look at the map, and the Wuhai Trading Firm wasn't too far away. Without riding an aerial saint beast, it took him less than an hour to arrive at his destination.
As expected of one of the top cities in the High Heavens. Streams of people and carriages flowed everywhere. Even before reaching the main entrance, it was already crowded.
The first floor was filled with ordinary stalls selling medicinal herbs, rare ores, weapons, and the like. After walking around the area, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but shake his head.
There were simply too many fakes. Even without using the Library of Heaven's Path, he could still see through them with his Eye of Insight.
Furthermore, they were all beneath Pseudo Immortal realm, so they weren't of much use to him.
"May I know if there are any stalls that sell cultivation technique manuals here?"
Zhang Xuan found a stall owner and tipped him a Sword Pavilion Coin as a tip.
"Cultivation technique manuals are usually sold in auctions," the stall owner replied with eyes glowing in excitement.
A Sword Pavilion Coin was something that one might not even earn in half a month.
"Ordinary cultivation technique manuals will do. There's no need for them to be particularly valuable …" Zhang Xuan interjected.
Cultivation technique manuals that could be sold in auctions were bound to be extremely valuable.
The value of cultivation technique manuals didn't matter much to him. What he wanted was quantity, not quality.
Of course, high-quality cultivation technique manuals would have fewer flaws, and it would be easier for him to complete the Heaven's Path Divine Art. However, such cultivation technique manuals were simply too rare, and their prices were simply too high.
"Ordinary cultivation method? There are quite a few of them in the Chang Xuan Pavilion, and it only costs a single Ethereal Coin to spend an entire day studying there. However, the cultivation techniques and secret manuals there are extremely ordinary, such that even I don't know how to cultivate them. Whenever we go there, we would just browse through those books … "
The stall owner emphasized the word "those", and there was a hint of ambiguity in his smile.
The fact that the young man before him was able to tip him with a Sword Pavilion Coin meant that he was a talented disciple of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, perhaps even a core disciple!
Such an expert must have extremely high standards. If he couldn't even finish looking through all the cultivation techniques in the sect, how could he, a person who relied on selling fake medicine for a living, be interested in a cultivation technique that even he, who relied on selling fake medicine for a living, wouldn't be interested in?
"Bring me there!"
Paying no heed to the other party's ambiguous words, Zhang Xuan replied.
"Alright!"
The vendor chuckled softly before leading the way. Not too long later, they arrived before a bookstore. "This is the place …"
Zhang Xuan took a look at the bookstore, and there were indeed quite a few books on display. There were cultivation technique manuals, battle technique manuals, anecdotes of famous people, and so on … Of course, most of them were of the 'kind' that the vendor was referring to. There were even covers and illustrations of the books.
Zhang Xuan passed a Sword Pavilion Coin over to the vendor before making his way into the bookstore.
Sweeping his gaze across the bookstore, he swiftly collected all of the cultivation technique manuals into the Library of Heaven's Path.
A moment later, a bitter smile crept onto his face.
There were indeed quite a few cultivation technique manuals, but they were simply too low-tier. Pseudo Immortal realm cultivation technique manuals were already the highest, but there was not a single True Immortal realm cultivation technique manuals to be found, let alone erasing the flaws in the simplified Heaven's Path Divine Art.
Zhang Xuan walked out of the bookstore helplessly.
"How is it? You don't like them, do you? These cultivation technique manuals are simply too inferior …"
The vendor from before had yet to leave. Seeing that Zhang Xuan had just walked into the bookstore, he shook his head and said, "If you really want to get your hands on more profound cultivation technique manuals, I do have an idea!"
"Oh?"
"Some time ago, the Wuhai Auction House obtained an artifact, but no one was able to appraise it. If you can identify what it is, you'll be granted the right to enter the Wuhai Auction House's library and choose a cultivation technique manual of your choice!"
The vendor said with a hushed voice.
"Appraise an artifact?"
Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
What the vendor was talking about seemed to be the reason why he had come to Wuhai City.
If only he had known that there would be such an opportunity, he would have come long ago.
However, it was still better to ask the vendor about it first. After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Xuan asked, "There are quite a few cultivation technique manuals in the Wuhai Auction House. Do you know if there are any True Immortal realm cultivation technique manuals here? "
It was better to ask the vendor about it first, or else he would end up like before.
"There must be a lot of cultivation technique manuals here. The Wuhai Auction House has more than five hundred years of history, and the strongest experts who guard the treasures are at Half-High Immortal realm. Thus, there should be quite a few True Immortal realm cultivation technique manuals here!"
The vendor nodded. "Every year, the Wuhai Auction House auctions many cultivation technique manuals. Based on my deduction, they have been secretly making copies of them …"
Under normal circumstances, the Wuhai Auction House wouldn't allow anyone to make copies of cultivation technique manuals, but there were exceptions as well.
No one could be certain whether the other party had left a copy of the cultivation technique manuals with them or not.
In truth, copying cultivation technique manuals was an unspoken rule of the Wuhai Auction House. Most people knew about it, but no one was willing to expose it.
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
It was good that there were True Immortal realm cultivation technique manuals here. In any case, he was going to accept the appraisal mission anyway.
After confirming the location of the Wuhai Auction House, Zhang Xuan bade farewell to the vendor and headed over.
However, before he could even enter the auction house, a young man suddenly stopped him and asked, "Do you have an invitation letter?"
"I am a disciple of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion. I have accepted the appraisal mission from the Wuhai Auction House, so I'm here to appraise your treasures!"
With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Xuan took out the token that he had received from the Wuhai Auction House.
"This way please," the young man said respectfully as he took a look at the token.
The Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion was one of the Six Sects, and Wuhai City was under its jurisdiction. Those who could become a disciple of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion were all geniuses among geniuses.
Following behind the young man, Zhang Xuan arrived at a room, where an elder was standing before an artifact, examining it carefully.
"Elder He, this is a disciple of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion. He has accepted the appraisal mission and is here," the young man said.
"Have him wait a moment …"
Without even turning his head, Elder He continued examining the artifact before him. He stroked it lightly with his fingers in agitation.
Seeing that the elder was ignoring him, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze over.
Elder He appeared to be in his sixties, and his cultivation was powerful and pure. Surprisingly, he was a True Immortal realm expert!
Before him was a one-chi tall sculpture. It was impossible to discern the appearance of the sculpture, but there was an ethereal aura emanating from it. With just a glance, one would find it soothing and calming.
The sculpture was colorful, and it seemed like it was a work of art that required one to be at least a Nine Star painter on the Master Teacher Continent.
"Good! Good!"
After examining the sculpture for a moment, Elder He stroked his beard and nodded in approval.
Not too far away, a middle-aged man noticed Elder He's reaction, and his eyes lit up in excitement. He turned to Elder He and asked respectfully, "Elder He, may I know if this is real?"
"Based on my appraisal, this sculpture was left behind by High Immortal Du He. It was carved using a Calming Heart Stone, and it serves as the heart of a formation. If one were to set up a formation using it, it would be able to calm one's mind and spirit, thus freeing one from inner demons."
Elder He nodded with a smile.
"Thank you, Elder He!"
Hearing that it was real, the middle-aged man waved his hand excitedly, and a subordinate behind him quickly walked up and passed a bag of Ethereal Coins over.
"Auction Master Wang, you're too polite!"
Elder He waved his hand.
"It's only right for me to trouble you to appraise it, Elder He. This is the price that I have to pay!"
The middle-aged man known as Auction Master Wang quickly nodded. He walked up to the sculpture and carefully carried the bag of Ethereal Coins back to his residence.
Upon seeing this sight, Zhang Xuan could not help but shake his head. However, he did not say anything at all.
After appraising the Ethereal Coins, Elder He turned around and saw that it was a young man. With a frown, he asked, "Are you the disciple who accepted the mission from the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion?"
Zhang Xuan nodded. "May I know what treasure the auction house is looking for?"
He could not be bothered to waste his breath on the matter. He wanted to finish appraising the Ethereal Coins so that he could focus on reading his books.
"There's no hurry."
Elder He turned around and sat down on a stool not too far away. He picked up his teacup and looked at Zhang Xuan calmly. "The disciples of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion are skilled in swordsmanship, but they're nothing much when it comes to appraising. There were two of them who came the last time, but I chased them away before they could tell anything at all. You wish to give it a try as well? May I know what you're capable of? Do you mind displaying it to me? "
Zhang Xuan frowned.
Appraising isn't a monkey show. I can't just display it to you!
More importantly, the other party's attitude was filled with disdain. It was clear that he did not think highly of Zhang Xuan.
"My words might sound harsh, but I'm speaking the truth. Even though Wuhai City is under the jurisdiction of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, the disciples there only know how to practice swordsmanship every day.
Shaking his head, Elder He raised his hand and said, "Yuanqing, take out two Sword Pavilion Coins and give them to this genius swordsman. I don't need anyone to cause trouble for me. "
"Yes!"
The young man who had led Zhang Xuan into the auction house hurriedly bowed and passed two Sword Pavilion Coins over. "Please!"
"Cause trouble for me?"
Zhang Xuan frowned.
He didn't want to say it out loud, but why did Ke have to stick his face in front of him?
Could it be that he felt uncomfortable if he didn't get beaten up?
Paying no heed to the young man, Zhang Xuan turned around and walked up to the middle-aged man who was in the midst of cleaning up the sculpture. "Friend over there, I advise you not to take this away just yet!"
"Oh?"
Auction Master Wang halted his movements and frowned.
He had heard the conversation earlier. Elder He might not be afraid of offending the disciples of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, but the same couldn't be said for him.
"It's nothing much. I just wanted to tell you that this artifact of yours isn't something left behind by Immortal Du He, nor is it a Calming Heart Stone. If you set it up as a formation, it won't take long for your cultivation to go berserk, and you won't even know how you died!"
Zhang Xuan said with a smile.
"I have just appraised it, and there's no doubt that it's left behind by Immortal Du He. Do you think that my appraisal is incorrect?"
Elder He's face darkened.
He had been appraising for more than a hundred years, and he had never made a single mistake. How could a twenty-year-old brat dare to cause trouble for him?
"It's not just incorrect!"
Zhang Xuan's eyelids shot up as his lips curled up. "What nonsense! If Auction Master Wang really believes your words, I can guarantee that he'll die within three days!"
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