Following the surging crowd, Yun Ze led Zi Ji to a stall selling metal.
To be precise, it was a street dedicated to selling metal.
All the stalls on this street sold this peculiar metal. Yun Ze glanced around and immediately sensed something was off about these metals.
In appearance, most of these metals had three colors: white, green, and blue. However, regardless of which of these three metals it was, they all seemed to be absorbing spiritual energy.
Yet, Yun Ze could not sense any spiritual energy fluctuations from them, having no idea where the spiritual energy was going.
When they reached the bustling stall, they couldn't push through the crowd and could only hear some shouts from within.
"Fellow Daoist, do you have any intention of selling this treasure? My Bogu Tower is willing to offer one hundred thousand second-grade spirit stones!"
One hundred thousand second-grade spirit stones!
Yun Ze was immediately startled!
When he had passed by the stall earlier, he had accidentally glimpsed the prices of those metals. Even the most expensive blue metal was only priced at one thousand first-grade spirit stones.
This... had just multiplied by a thousand times!?
"Only one hundred thousand?"
A clear voice rang out, "Fellow Daoist, this is a Jinbao. Although it is still wrapped in a spiritual barrier, anyone can tell it is a spiritual artifact! A complete third-grade spiritual artifact, and you only offer one hundred thousand spirit stones?"
A third-grade spiritual artifact?
Then one hundred thousand second-grade spirit stones were indeed not much.
Yun Ze's heart trembled again, and he asked a nearby Daoist, "Fellow Daoist, what exactly is this Jinbao? How can it produce a third-grade spiritual artifact?"
"Hmm?"
The person initially snorted, unwilling to answer. But upon seeing that Yun Ze was at least at the Foundation Establishment stage, his expression immediately changed, and he cupped his hands towards him.
"Esteemed Senior, you... don't know about Gu Jin?"
Yun Ze shook his head.
This was the first time he had heard this term. Since Yun Xiao had not mentioned this in his jade slip, it was estimated that even if Tu Sheng had heard of Gu Jin, he wouldn't know much about it.
It wouldn't hurt to ask.
"Then I shall explain to Senior."
The person then smiled and said, "This so-called Gu Jin is a mineral treasure excavated by gold prospectors deep within ancient ruins. Because the treasure itself contains spiritual energy and can resonate with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, as time passes and it remains buried underground, a covering will naturally form on its surface. This covering could be stone, wood, or metal, and the color of these coverings usually differs based on the length of time they have been formed. From shortest to longest, they are white, green, and blue. It is said there are higher levels like purple and other colors, but I haven't seen them. Just like the blue Gu Jin this person is selling, it can yield a third-grade spiritual artifact at most, and a second-grade spiritual artifact at the very least."
Yun Ze nodded thoughtfully and then asked, "Then this so-called Jinbao..."
"This is related to the grading of the treasure," the person continued. "Treasures buried underground will inevitably suffer some damage, such as to spiritual materials or ancient texts and cultivation methods. Therefore, gold prospectors have divided them into five grades based on their completeness: white, green, blue, purple, and gold. If the surface is broken and white light appears, it means the treasure within has been destroyed and has no use. Next is green light, indicating that at least twenty percent of the treasure remains. It has value, but not much. Then there is blue light, indicating that at least fifty percent of the treasure is preserved! It can be used after repair. Purple light is rarely seen even among a hundred Jinbao, indicating that at least seventy percent of the treasure remains and can be used directly, possessing great research value. Golden light, that is the Jinbao that just appeared. This signifies that the treasure within, after tens of thousands of years, is still intact and is a true ancient treasure! However, this Gu Jin is too peculiar. Even Nascent Soul stage ancestors cannot discern what is inside the lowest grade of white Jin, and what can be obtained from Gu Jin depends entirely on one's luck."
"So that's how it is..."
Yun Ze finally understood why everyone was so excited. He looked through the crowd towards the stall, but could only faintly glimpse a golden light, not knowing what was inside.
Gu Jin.
Nascent Soul stage ancestors couldn't investigate it, but Xin Jue could control all metals in the world. Perhaps...
A thought suddenly arose in Yun Ze's heart.
However, before that, he wanted to see what this Jinbao inside was. But there were too many people outside, making it impossible to see clearly what was happening inside, unless...
Yun Ze turned to Zi Ji and said, "Zi Ji, come closer."
Zi Ji leaned in, and Yun Ze whispered a few words to him.
"This... Mr. Tu, do we really have to do this?" Zi Ji seemed a bit confused. "Won't this be inappropriate?"
"Don't you want to see what this Jinbao is?" Yun Ze asked.
"...Alright."
Zi Ji sighed, then raised his voice and shouted, "I'll offer one million!"
With just one shout, the crowd instantly parted, and all eyes focused on Zi Ji who had spoken! Yun Ze smoothly led Zi Ji through the crowd and arrived in front of the stall.
He saw a middle-aged man smilingly sitting at the stall, and before him were an old man and a young girl in red. All three were at the Foundation Establishment stage. The girl had her arms crossed, appraising Zi Ji and Yun Ze, while the old man frowned, stroking the white beard beneath his chin. In the center between these two was a sphere wrapped in dense spiritual energy, and within the sphere was a long-handled item flashing with golden light, about the size of a palm. Below the sphere was a pile of blue metal powder.
Before Yun Ze could speak, the old man said, "Fellow Daoist, a million spirit stones is no trivial matter. Even if this is a Jinbao, it is absolutely not worth this price."
"Hey! Old man, how much others are willing to pay is their freedom. Can you control it?" The red-clothed girl retorted to the old man, picked up the Jinbao, and turned to Yun Ze, "One million second-grade spirit stones. Pay the money and it's yours!"
"Hmm..."
Yun Ze pondered for a few moments, then suddenly looked at the old man, "Fellow Daoist is right, a million spirit stones is not a trivial matter. I need to consider it for a moment."
"You!"
The red-clothed girl, upon hearing this, immediately knew this guy was joking. Although this Jinbao might yield a complete spiritual artifact, The old man also smiled at this and cupped his hands towards Yun Ze. He then looked at the red-clothed girl, "Girl, you won't be able to sell these million spirit stones. How about I offer two hundred thousand spirit stones?"
"No! At least fifty thousand!" The red-clothed girl continued to raise the price.
"This..."
The old man shook his head helplessly, "Girl, although the spiritual artifact inside is indeed third-grade, no one knows its function, nor whether it will backfire. It's even possible for the spiritual barrier to shatter upon opening! Moreover, if you hand this spiritual artifact over to my Bogu Tower, perhaps it can contribute to the progress of our human race!"
"Alright, alright."
Before the girl could speak, another voice came from afar. The crowd instantly parted, and a man even fatter than Zi Ji appeared, with his hands resting on his belly, revealing the storage rings on his ten fingers!
"Old Yi, when will you ever change your bad habit? Buy and sell, why talk so much nonsense?"
A group of blue-robed cultivators followed behind him. They walked through the crowd and came to their side, directly taking a purple token from a storage ring and handing it to the girl, "Fifty thousand second-grade spirit stones. My Wanbao Pavilion will take it."
"Deal!"
The girl took the token and casually handed the sphere to the other party. He crushed it with a casual squeeze, easily breaking through the spiritual barrier. This was not difficult in itself, as it was merely a dense mist of spiritual energy. Even a Qi Refining stage cultivator could break it. But the moment the spiritual barrier was broken, the Jinbao inside fell from the air!
*Crack!*
With a crisp sound, it shattered into three pieces, instantly losing the luster that covered its surface, leaving only a dark blackness. From its appearance, it should have been a dagger, but unfortunately, it seemed to be废... Hmm?
No! This feeling is... Wait! This spiritual artifact isn't废!
Just as Yun Ze was about to step forward to examine the metal closely, he noticed the fat merchant frown and put the three pieces of metal into his storage ring.
"Let's go!"
The fat merchant said no more and directly led his group away from the spot. The red-clothed girl glanced at Yun Ze and quickly left with the spiritual token. Only the white-haired old man remained, shaking his head and sighing, "A pity, a pity. Another ancient treasure lost to the world."
As the old man shook his head and left, about half of the crowd gathered around the stall dispersed. The other half surged towards the Gu Jin stalls, beginning to haggle with the boss to buy Gu Jin. Yun Ze then realized that the price of Gu Jin was not per piece, but per cubic meter. The larger the volume of Gu Jin, the more expensive it was. He also wanted to go up and take a look, but there were too many people. If he used Xin Jue and caused any reaction, it would be difficult to escape. Perhaps he should just buy a piece and look at it in a safe place?
Just as Yun Ze was pondering, a familiar voice sounded in his ear.
"Senior."
Yun Ze turned his head and saw the person who had just introduced him to Gu Jin. He couldn't help but feel a bit confused, "Do you need something else?"
"If Senior wishes to purchase Gu Jin, why not come to my shop and take a look? I happen to have a new batch of Gu Jin that is suitable for Senior to practice with!"
"Hmm?"
Yun Ze appraised him up and down, "Are you... also a gold prospector?"
"Senior is joking," the person cupped his hands and smiled. "How can I be a gold prospector? I am just a shopkeeper of the Shangguan family, responsible for selling Gu Jin for the family. Why doesn't Senior come and take a look?"
"...Alright."
Yun Ze didn't know what the Shangguan family was, but he assumed it was some cultivation family, otherwise, how could they go to ancient ruins to prospect for gold?
"Hey! Senior, please follow me!"
The person led the way, and Yun Ze and Zi Ji followed behind, soon arriving at a stall. The stall was filled with a dazzling array of three-colored metals. However, there were only three pieces of blue Gu Jin, ten pieces of green Gu Jin, and more of white Gu Jin. The prices were the same as other stalls: white Gu Jin ten spirit stones per cubic meter, green Gu Jin one hundred spirit stones per cubic meter.
"Come, come, please feel free to choose."
As soon as the person sat back at the stall, his demeanor instantly changed. While greeting Yun Ze, he leaned into his ear and said, "Senior, I feel an immediate connection with you. For the first piece of Gu Jin, I'll give you a 10% discount. Just pick whatever you like!"
Yun Ze nodded, but his gaze had already fallen on the Gu Jin. He squatted down, picked up a piece of white Gu Jin, and activated Xin Jue within him.
*Buzz!*
A tremor emanated from the Gu Jin, and Yun Ze's eyes widened instantly!
This is... purple light!?
Yun Ze then looked up and scanned all the Gu Jin on the stall before him. Four-colored radiance instantly entered his eyes!