Xuanzhenzi squinted and looked around, then lowered his voice and said, “Most of the stalls in the outer suburbs are for independent cultivators and small groups trying their luck. However, with so many people and so much chatter, this place is indeed a good place to gather information.”
“It’s just that the resources on Twenty-second Heaven are very limited. Look at all the herbs and spiritual ingredients sold here; the quality isn’t even as good as those on Twentieth Heaven.”
David nodded. “That’s right. If this continues, the cultivation level of the 22nd level cultivator will probably regress.”
After speaking, David’s gaze swept across everyone in the market without making a sound.
His divine sense, like an invisible thread, slowly unfurled, capturing every energy fluctuation and scrap of speech around him.
When David was about to walk further into the market, suddenly a noisy argument was heard from the side of the road not far away.
A hoarse voice shouted angrily, “What kind of logic is this? My ‘Underworld Cold Iron’ is clearly genuine. What makes you think it’s fake?”
Another shrill voice replied without hesitation: “I’ve been selling in this Xuanming Ancient Market for three hundred years. I can distinguish the real from the fake with just one look. The texture of your goods is wrong, and the color is too light. These are clearly fake goods made from cold ironstone mixed with 20% black silver powder!”
David’s gaze momentarily focused on the sound of the debate.
He saw a young man standing in front of a stall, his face red, holding a fist-sized dark ore in his hand, arguing with a female cultivator behind the stall who was also angry.
The young man’s cultivation aura was very weak, only in the early stage of the first rank of the Great Luo Golden Immortal. He was dressed simply and had a wrinkled face, looking like a homeless cultivator who worked as a stone collector.
Xuanzhenzi followed David’s gaze and glanced at him: “These wild cultivators who make a living in the suburbs can’t tell the real ones from the fake ones they collect. But that’s none of our business, let’s go.”
David did not immediately take steps.
His gaze momentarily fell on the dark ore in the young man’s hand, then a slight movement flashed through the depths of his purple eyes.
Although the aura emanating from the ore was mostly covered by surface cold energy, it faintly revealed traces of residual laws similar to those found deep within the territory of the Xuanming Ancient Clan.
While it wasn’t real Underworld Cold Iron, it wasn’t completely fake either. It was very likely that it was a related mineral accidentally excavated from a branch vein at the edge of the Xuanming Ancient Clan’s territory.
The young man’s face turned red and then turned pale. Angrily, he put the ore into his pocket and turned to leave.
David suddenly spoke up: “Wait a minute.”
The young man stopped, turned around, and saw a gray-robed cultivator with dark purple eyes looking at him. He was surprised and asked, “You called me?”
David walked over to him and stopped: “Where did you get that stone?”
The young man’s expression changed slightly, and he instinctively protected the ore in his hand: “So what?”
I’m not here to laugh at you.
David said calmly, “If you are willing to tell me where the ore comes from, I can give you a satisfactory price.”
Jiang Xuelan stepped forward at the right time: “Name your price. We are not here to cheat you.”
The young man hesitated for a moment, then looked into David’s deep and calm purple eyes. Finally, he gritted his teeth, took out a dark ore from his pocket, and handed it over: “This was mined from the depths of an abandoned mine in the ‘Cold Crow’s Back’ in the north.”
That place was originally part of the outskirts of the Xuanming Ancient Clan, but was later abandoned due to depletion of resources.
David picked up the ore, touched it slightly with his fingertip, and the Origin of Chaos penetrated it like a fine thread for a moment.
As he had expected, the residual laws within the ore came from the same source as the laws of the Xuanming Ancient Clan.
He reached into his sleeve and took out a nuclear energy crystal, then placed it in the young man’s hand: “The price of this ore should be enough for you to exchange for three similar materials in this market, in fact there is still some left.”
“In addition, I have a question for you—are there any landmarks related to the Xuanming Ancient Clan in the depths of Cold Raven Ridge?”
The young man stared in amazement at the blue crystal in his hand that was emitting pure energy: “Yaya!”
Deep inside the mine, I saw a large stone wall filled with tightly packed ancient runes. The aura emanating from the runes was exactly the same as the feeling inside the ore itself.
A flash of light appeared in David’s violet eyes. “Thank you.”
He said nothing more and turned to walk towards Xuanzhenzi and Jiang Xuelan.
FAQ Novel
Q: What does the name ‘Xuanming’ signify?
A: In ancient times, ‘Xuanming’ referred to ‘the most mysterious and profound, the most enigmatic and puzzling mechanism’.
Q: What is the Xuanming Ancient Clan known for?
A: The clan’s ancestor understood a special Dao, allowing them to traverse the boundary between reality and illusion, creating indistinguishable illusions and dispelling others.
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