Chapter 199 - 125: Cloud-Coiling Spear
Sixty-eight thousand taels of silver. The price was about what he had expected.
"That price is fine." Chen Qing nodded, not bothering to haggle.
"Excellent! Brother Chen is a straightforward man!"
Liu Chengzong clapped his hands and laughed heartily. He immediately ordered someone to bring a thick stack of silver notes in various denominations, totaling sixty-eight thousand taels, and counted them out for Chen Qing on the spot.
Chen Qing didn’t put the silver notes away. Instead, he untied the Yellow Springs Treasure Saber from his waist and placed it on the table.
The blade was long and narrow, exuding a chilling aura.
"Steward Liu, this saber is called ’Yellow Springs’. It’s a Middle-Grade Treasure Artifact. I wish to trade it to your esteemed pavilion for a long spear of equivalent quality."
Chen Qing stated the other important purpose of his visit.
His Cold Chiyi Spear had been damaged when it clashed with Zheng Da’s Treasure Saber. Although repaired, it was no longer what it once was.
Now that his Spear Technique had reached Perfection, he needed a more suitable weapon.
Liu Chengzong picked up the Yellow Springs Saber and flicked it with a finger. The blade let out a clear, long-lasting draconic hum as a cold light flowed across its surface.
"A fine saber! Truly a masterpiece among Middle-Grade Treasure Artifacts!"
He praised, "Steward Chen wishes to trade for a spear? The pavilion has several spear-type Treasure Artifacts, some of which are of excellent quality. Please, follow me to the vault to have a look."
Chen Qing followed Liu Chengzong to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion’s heavily guarded vault.
Liu Chengzong had his men bring out three long spears and display them on a special weapon rack.
Qiu Long Spear: Its entire body was dark red, the shaft bearing patterns like flowing lava. The spearhead was a three-edged, Armor-Piercing Awl.
Broken Wave Spear: The body was a deep blue, forged from Cold Iron mixed with other metals. It was heavy and icy to the touch, with a wide, wave-like spearhead.
Cloud-Coiling Spear: The shaft was bluish-black, covered in fine, dense scales, and possessed excellent resilience. The spearhead was long, thin, and sharp as a Flood Dragon’s tooth, promising agility and speed.
All three spears were extraordinary items, gleaming with a biting cold light and a menacing Evil Qi.
Chen Qing’s gaze swept over them, finally settling on the Cloud-Coiling Spear.
’This spear is quite heavy, weighing a full three hundred sixty-two jin, which happens to be a good match for my Mountain Prison-Suppression Spear Technique.’
He stepped forward and gripped the shaft. It felt weighty yet fit his hand perfectly. When he infused it with his True Qi, the spear’s body emitted a low hum, and a cold gleam flickered erratically at its tip, exuding a sharp, imposing presence.
Chen Qing spoke, "I’ll take this one."
"Steward Chen has a good eye! The head of this spear is mixed with Breaking Astral Gold Essence. Its value is higher, not lower, than the Yellow Springs Saber."
Liu Chengzong smiled. "However, since Steward Chen is making a direct trade, there’s no need to cover the difference. Consider it a token of our friendship."
"Then I thank Steward Liu."
Chen Qing didn’t refuse. He handed the Yellow Springs Saber over and accepted the Cloud-Coiling Spear.
As for the damaged Cold Chiyi Spear, he didn’t sell it, deciding to keep it as a spare.
With the transaction complete, Chen Qing did not leave immediately. Instead, he asked, "Steward Liu, I have one more question. Does your esteemed pavilion have any treasures that... improve one’s Root Bone aptitude?"
Hearing this, Liu Chengzong’s eyebrow shot up. "Improve Root Bone?"
He shook his head. "Steward Chen, such heaven-defying, fate-altering treasures are found by chance, not by searching! Their rarity far surpasses that of ordinary Treasure Medicines or Divine Weapons. To be frank, in my decades at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, I’ve only heard of treasures effective on a Six Forms Root Bone or higher being auctioned a handful of times. The final prices were always astronomical, and the items were invariably snatched up by those long-established Martial Arts Families or old Astral Force monsters. In the past year or two, the pavilion has had no news of such treasures."
Chen Qing’s heart sank slightly, but it was within his expectations.
’Improving my Root Bone won’t be easy, it seems.’
Liu Chengzong then changed the subject. "However, if we’re talking about items that improve a Root Bone below the Six Forms level, while still extremely rare, they do occasionally appear at large-scale auctions. In three months, our pavilion will be holding a grand auction. A treasure of that kind might just show up then. It’s just that..."
"It’s just that the price will undoubtedly be steep?" Chen Qing finished.
"Precisely!"
Liu Chengzong nodded. "Even for a treasure that only raises a Root Bone from Five Elements to Six Forms, or one that stabilizes and strengthens a Six Forms Root Bone, the starting bid will be no less than two hundred thousand taels of silver. As for the final price... three hundred thousand taels would likely be just the beginning. And there will certainly be numerous competitors."
Three hundred thousand taels!
Chen Qing’s heart jolted.
All the current silver he had on him, scraping everything together, was only around one hundred thousand taels.
He was still nearly two hundred thousand taels short of the three-hundred-thousand-tael threshold!
And that didn’t even account for the fierce bidding that would likely occur at the auction.
"Thank you for the information, Steward Liu."
Chen Qing said in a low voice, "When the time comes, if there is any news of such a treasure, I hope you will inform me in advance."
"Of course, of course!" Liu Chengzong readily agreed.
Before leaving, Chen Qing spent another several thousand taels of silver to purchase a few vials of Exotic Beast Essence Blood.
His Eight Extremes Vajra Body was just on the verge of breaking through to the Golden Body realm.
If he could cultivate this Superior Hard Skill to the Golden Body stage, he would have another trump card up his sleeve.
After leaving the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, Chen Qing made his way to the Cyan Wood Institute.
Today was the day of Li Baichuan’s assessment, and the Transmission Square was bustling with people.
The disciples who had not yet reached the Embracing Pill Force realm all showed a trace of nervousness, their gazes frequently darting toward the tightly shut courtyard gate.
Meanwhile, the disciples who had already advanced to the Embracing Pill Force realm were clearly divided into two groups. One faction clustered around Luo Xinyi’s imposing figure, while the other was centered on Xu Qi. Their gazes met, and undercurrents swirled between them.
The disciples murmured amongst themselves.
"Did you hear? The Liu Family has been searching the sea region for two months but haven’t found a trace of Liu Han. I’m afraid he’s really..."
"The Liu Family spent countless resources on him. They definitely won’t give up easily."
"The new Chief Disciple of the Li Fire Institute is Li Wang. He reached the Mid-stage of Embracing Pill Power at only twenty-one, and I hear he’s in closed-door cultivation at Langya Pavilion now."
"Langya Pavilion, now that’s a great place!"
"The Sect’s grand celebration is just around the corner! I heard the other three major sects will also send people to observe the ceremony. It’s going to be very lively."
"With all Five Institutes participating, it’s truly a grand event for our Wutai Sect."