Du Jinpeng's face was filled with astonishment and surprise. He turned his gaze to Lin Xiaotian. "What do you mean?"
"I don't understand what you're trying to say. I've already brought you to our family's treasure vault. What you want is right here. You can take it now if you wish, and I can even let you choose any three items from here."
Lin Xiaotian sneered sarcastically. "Old Du, you must have heard of my antique appraisal skills."
"You should know how strong my abilities are. Now you're presenting me with a fake here. Do you think your life is too boring and you want to add some interesting additives?"
"From the beginning, I made it very clear. I came here for the Medicine King Cauldron."
"Now you've brought such a fake here, and you want me to pick anything? Do you think I'm interested in a replica?"
His expression turned completely cold. He had already noticed that Du Jinpeng's demeanor was off. He hadn't thought much of it before, but now he realized this guy was trying to fool him with a fake.
This made him feel a flicker of displeasure.
He even began to suspect that Du Jinpeng might have been deliberately deceiving people when he first acquired the Medicine King Cauldron.
The dripping of medicinal liquid from the large cauldron suggested it had been prepared in advance.
Du Jinpeng's pupils contracted slightly. A hint of panic appeared in his eyes. "Mr. Lin, I truly don't know what's going on. The Medicine King Cauldron here is indeed genuine, and it was appraised by a renowned master."
"You are an appraisal master, but I am not. I might have been fooled myself."
"As for the dripping medicinal liquid, the appraisal master said that to maintain the cauldron's miraculous effects, it needs to be constantly dripped with a special medicinal herb. He said it was to protect the bronze from the ravages of time."
Lin Xiaotian raised his hand and slapped him.
"Slap!"
The crisp sound of the slap was exceptionally loud.
When had Du Jinpeng ever been treated like this? Especially being slapped directly in the face in front of him, it was an insult that trampled his dignity.
An immense rage surged within him, but it was extinguished in an instant, replaced by a chilling glint in his eyes.
He felt as if Lin Xiaotian's gaze was like a basin of cold water poured over him, instantly dousing his anger.
"Mr. Lin, please believe me. I am not deliberately trying to deceive you. As I said earlier, I offered any item from our treasure vault as compensation."
"At the time, it wasn't specified that it was the Medicine King Cauldron. The information you have about the Medicine King Cauldron was entirely passed to you by someone else, and I was unaware that this Medicine King Cauldron was a fake."
Lin Xiaotian sneered with a half-smile. "Are you playing games with me?"
"I made myself very clear from the start, and you already knew that item wasn't genuine. Don't pretend with me. We are both intelligent people; there's no need for useless chatter."
"Now, I'll ask you, where is the Medicine King Cauldron?"
His gaze turned icy, and his imposing aura erupted like a volcanic explosion, surging outward.
Du Jinpeng felt an immense pressure bearing down on his nerves, as if Mount Tai were crushing him.
Terror filled his eyes. He knew that if he couldn't give Lin Xiaotian a satisfactory answer today, he was finished.
Lin Xiaotian said with a cold smile, "I'm giving you a chance; make sure you cherish it."
"If you continue to push your luck, don't blame me for being ruthless. You might end up wishing you were dead. Think carefully before you answer me. I need the true whereabouts of the Medicine King Cauldron, not a replica."
At this point, he had made up his mind and decided how to deal with Du Jinpeng. He wouldn't even need to act himself, nor would he need Bai Shaoxuan to do it.
His smile gradually became more pronounced, but this smile made Du Jinpeng tremble uncontrollably, and his eyes were filled with extreme fear.
"Mr. Lin, I truly don't know the exact whereabouts of the Medicine King Cauldron, but I can assure you, it's not as you say."
"When I purchased the Medicine King Cauldron, I had the receipt and invoice. I bought it from an auction house. If you don't believe me, I can show you."
"If anyone knows the true whereabouts of the Medicine King Cauldron, it would be that auction house. If they possessed the real Medicine King Cauldron, they could easily create replicas."
"The appraisal master at the time also stated it was genuine and provided numerous pieces of evidence."
"He even took out an ancient book and compared it with mine, pointing out many similarities. I didn't doubt the exquisite craftsmanship of the carvings. I was also deceived."
Lin Xiaotian let out a cold laugh. "Since you can be fooled even in such matters, what use is that brain of yours?"
"Perhaps I should turn your head into a chamber pot and leave it for your Du family."
After saying this, Lin Xiaotian took a step forward, and his aura became even more ferocious.
He felt like a prehistoric beast.
Du Jinpeng was so terrified that he fell to the ground. Even though his strength had reached the peak of the Grandmaster realm, he still felt like a lone boat in a storm before Lin Xiaotian, on the verge of capsizing and perishing at any moment.
The terror in his eyes intensified, and his voice trembled violently. "Mr. Lin, I promise you, I will immediately investigate the true whereabouts of the Medicine King Cauldron. Please give me a little more time. I guarantee I will bring the Medicine King Cauldron back."
Lin Xiaotian said with a cold smile, "I'm afraid you won't have that time. Even if you wanted to search for it, you wouldn't have the opportunity."
"After all, you're not the only one looking for the Medicine King Cauldron. There's also the Heavenly Net."
The words "Heavenly Net" caused Du Jinpeng's pupils to constrict violently. He had never imagined that...
that organization was also looking for the Medicine King Cauldron. Then, as if he had thought of something, his gaze suddenly shifted to Lin Xiaotian.
"Are you from the Heavenly Net?"