novelraw Chapter 314: Treasure Hunting
Chapter 314: Treasure Hunting
Today, the atmosphere on Tianxing Island was bustling. Countless ships, big and small, traveled back and forth at the port, and the number of Gu cultivators on the island had increased significantly compared to usual.
Rumor had it that the elusive Shui Juanyun appeared on a nearby deserted island carrying the Repair Insect. However, the Shui Juanyun perished, and the Repair Worm was lost in the area.
This news drew Gu cultivators from all directions to converge on the region, frantically searching for the whereabouts of the Repair Insect.
As a result, the surrounding islands capable of accommodating people saw a surge in traffic, with numerous unfamiliar faces arriving.
A plain-looking middle-aged man walked onto the island, his unfamiliar face drawing no special attention from the Gu cultivators there.
This man was none other than Fire clone, disguised to blend in. Meanwhile, Fire clone's true body was hidden in a secluded corner, focusing on refining Gu recipes. Naturally, the task of gathering Gu materials was handed over to the clone.
Unlike before, ever since Fire main body mastered the 'Heavenly Demon Soul-Splitting Divine Technique', his soul could partially reside within the clone.
In other words, everything the clone saw was synchronized with the main body.
Even though the main body was hundreds of miles away, it could perceive everything through the clone’s perspective.
This setup was almost identical to the main body being physically present, as it could control the clone's actions at any moment. On Tianxing Island, the streets were crowded, and shops lined both sides. After taking a stroll around the island, Long Xuan did not find the Qian Clan’s shop. Resigning himself, he opted for the next best choice—a shop named 'Treasure Hearing Pavilion', as indicated by the three large characters on its signboard.
The reason he chose this shop was simple: it was three stories high, the largest building, and had the highest foot traffic.
Long Xuan was unfamiliar with the island, so naturally, he chose the most popular establishment.
The ground floor of the 'Treasure Listening Pavilion' was spacious, with wooden shelves filled with a variety of treasures.
Many Gu cultivators roamed the floor, smiling as they browsed the displayed items. Some who had taken a liking to certain treasures were haggling with the shop attendants.
Most of the treasures here were spiritual tools, but none of them caught Long Xuan’s eye—except for a third-grade alchemy furnace.
This furnace was named the 'Devouring Demon Cauldron'. The name alone sounded imposing.
What drew his attention was a sign placed in front of the cauldron, which stated that the furnace had the ability to freely change its size.
While this feature might not be significant for other alchemists, it was of immense value to Long Xuan.
His 'Big Cauldron Alchemy Technique' required him to fill the furnace with a massive amount of spiritual herbs, making a larger furnace ideal.
However, no alchemy master would forge an excessively large alchemy furnace.
Thus, for years, he had been unable to find a furnace that met his needs.
The one he currently used could no longer meet his requirements; its size had become a bottleneck, severely limiting his production capacity. Acquiring a new furnace had become an urgent matter.
The Devouring Demon Cauldron, with its adjustable size, seemed tailor-made for him.
It could potentially allow him to produce as many pills in one batch as he desired.
Of course, he still wondered about the furnace's upper limit. Surely, it couldn’t expand indefinitely.
Regardless, Long Xuan was determined to acquire the Devouring Demon Cauldron at any cost.
He checked the price tag and was pleasantly surprised—it was only 8 million spirit stones.
To put this into perspective, alchemy furnaces were significantly more expensive than other spiritual tools. This price was considered very reasonable.
Clearly, what Long Xuan viewed as a priceless treasure was not seen the same way by others.
The ability to resize the furnace was not a necessity for most alchemists, merely a convenience at best.
Seeing the reasonable price, Long Xuan didn't bother to haggle. He immediately negotiated the purchase with the shop attendant and secured the Devouring Demon Cauldron.
After acquiring the furnace, Long Xuan felt invigorated and decided to continue browsing for other treasures, hoping for more surprises.
Collecting Gu recipe materials could wait—he needed far too many, so there was no urgency.
Before long, he stopped in front of a shelf dedicated to talismans. Various types of talismans were displayed there.
Among them, a half-damaged talisman, placed in the most prominent position, caught his eye. His intuition told him this might be another hidden gem.
A talisman missing half its structure was, by all conventional standards, unusable.
Even a talisman with just 1% of its structure damaged would become useless.
Talismans were fundamentally different from spiritual tools. In talismans, the intricate runes were all interconnected. Any damage to a rune would render the entire talisman ineffective.
Yet here was a visibly useless talisman being displayed in the most prominent spot for sale.
This was enough to prove one thing: the value of this talisman was exceedingly high. Even with half of its surface missing, there were still people who would want it.
However, for most, this talisman was entirely unusable, holding only significant research value.
But for him, it was different. He possessed the Repair Gu, which could completely restore this heavily damaged talisman.
A talisman this severely damaged would undoubtedly be priced very low. For him, wasn’t this essentially hitting the jackpot?
“Senior, you have quite the discerning eye to immediately recognize the treasure of our pavilion. This item is considered the most valuable treasure in the Treasure Listening Pavilion,” a melodious voice, as pleasant as a yellow oriole’s song, suddenly sounded from behind him.
Long Xuan turned to see an absolutely stunning woman in a white dress, adorned with exquisite and expensive accessories. Her noble demeanor clearly showed her extraordinary origins.
Noticing the respectful gazes from the shop assistants around her, Long Xuan quickly realized that she must be the manager of the Treasure Listening Pavilion.
“A severely damaged talisman, and you claim it to be the most valuable treasure here? You even dare to call it the pavilion’s crowning jewel?”
“Are you perhaps raising the price because you noticed me staring at it for too long and assumed I had taken a liking to it?”
“If I had been staring at something else, would you have said the same about it being the pavilion’s treasure?” Long Xuan smirked as he spoke.
“Senior, you must be joking. The Treasure Listening Pavilion has always operated with transparent pricing and integrity, and we have never been accused of deceiving customers,” the woman, who introduced herself as Yun Shuiyao, replied with a gentle smile, her demeanor sincere.
“Don’t underestimate this talisman despite its severe damage. It is undoubtedly the most valuable treasure of the Treasure Listening Pavilion. Calling it the pavilion’s crowning jewel is no exaggeration.”
Hearing this, Long Xuan grew curious. Since he could repair the talisman, he hoped it was as valuable as she claimed.
“Are you sure this severely damaged talisman is worth that much?”
“No matter how valuable it was, it’s still damaged and unusable. Isn’t it a bit of a stretch to call it the pavilion’s crowning jewel?” Long Xuan questioned.
“Senior, it seems you don’t know the significance of this talisman,” Yun Shuiyao said, picking up the talisman with a smile. She began explaining:
“This talisman is called the 'Hundred-Mile Talisman'. a heaven-defying relic from ancient times. Its cost exceeded 1 billion spiritual stones to create, and its crafting methods have been long lost in the current era.
“The Hundred-Mile Talisman is a consumable talisman. It vanishes after a single use and is primarily used for emergency escapes. Upon activation, the user is instantly teleported a hundred miles away.
“To put it plainly, if you were being pursued by a Gu King, using this talisman would allow you to teleport a hundred miles away, completely escaping their pursuit.
“At such a distance, you would be far beyond the Gu King’s soul-sensing range. Even if they had incredible speed, they would never locate you again.
“This talisman is a heaven-defying escape tool that allows anyone, regardless of cultivation level, to evade even a Gu King. Doesn’t that qualify it as the pavilion’s crowning jewel?”
“Of course, this particular talisman is heavily damaged, which reduces its value by more than tenfold. Yet, it isn’t entirely unusable.
“This damaged Hundred-Mile Talisman can still teleport the user a hundred miles. However, the destination is no longer precise, turning from fixed to random.
“The user could be teleported a hundred miles into the sky and fall to their death, a hundred miles underground and suffocate, or even a hundred miles into the depths of the sea or molten magma.
“These unpredictable outcomes could very likely lead to the user’s death.
“It is precisely due to the talisman’s danger that it has remained unsold for so long.
“Of course, it’s also because my asking price is high, but it still draws considerable interest every day.
“Understand this: one only uses a Hundred-Mile Talisman in a life-or-death situation. Even with its risks, it offers a slim chance of survival, whereas without it, death at the hands of a Gu King is certain.
“Surely, senior, you can see my words are not exaggerated now?”
Hearing this, Long Xuan became even more intrigued by the damaged talisman.
If he could cut this talisman into a hundred pieces and use his Repair Gu to restore them into a hundred intact Hundred-Mile Talismans, wouldn’t even a Gu King be powerless to kill him?
Though a hundred talismans sounded ambitious, restoring a heaven-defying relic like this, which cost over billion spiritual stones, would surely take immense time.
It might take a year to repair just one talisman, let alone dozens or hundreds.
Still, even if the Repair Gu only managed to restore one talisman, it would be enough to save his life at a critical moment.
His Sou Gu also allowed for teleportation up to a hundred miles, but it wasn’t instantaneous.
During battle, his opponent would never give him the time to activate it, rendering the Sou Gu useless in emergencies.
The Hundred-Mile Talisman, on the other hand, completed the teleportation instantaneously.
Even if a Gu King attacked him, he could use the talisman to escape right under their nose—a feat his Sou Gu could never achieve.
Previously, Long Xuan had been worried about stealing the Earth Spirit Fruit from the Teng clan, deeming it too dangerous.
But now, he had no concerns. With this talisman in hand, even if a Gu King from the Teng clan attacked him, he could escape.
With this, what danger could the Teng clan pose? He could now confidently proceed with his plans.
At this moment, Long Xuan’s confidence soared. and he immediately decided to trade for the talisman at any cost.