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Join the Server“Young man, don’t be foolish. This is clearly a scam!”
“Exactly! It’s not even a jade slip. I wouldn’t take it for free, so why spend money to be conned?”
“Oh my, your voice, sir, is absolutely enchanting! After we leave Ghost City, come have a drink with this elder sister!”
“You perverts, little brother, come with me instead. I’ll protect you.”
Perhaps it was due to the scarcity of men in the cultivation world, coupled with Ye Cha’s captivating voice, that the surrounding cultivators couldn’t help but tease him. As they advised him, they also flirted with him verbally.
Yet, beyond the playful banter, their advice to Ye Cha not to buy such useless items was genuinely heartfelt.
Even if one wished to try their luck, a paper book like this held no utility whatsoever.
Compared to mortals, whose lifespans rarely exceeded a century, even low-level cultivators only gained a few decades. Yet, who could claim they wouldn’t suddenly encounter a fortuitous opportunity, dramatically increasing their cultivation and, consequently, their lifespan?
Furthermore, most powerful cultivation techniques were preserved by great cultivators.
Such preservation often spanned vast amounts of time.
For this reason, jade slips were the superior method of preservation; paper books simply couldn’t compare.
“This ancient book was crafted using a secret technique! It’s not just an ordinary paper book. If you don’t know, don’t speak nonsense!”
Upon hearing the gossip from the onlookers, the seller, who had produced the book, immediately grew displeased.
As they spoke, they couldn’t help but glance at Ye Cha, who wore a mask. It was their first time hearing such an appealing male voice, and not being able to see his true face felt like a genuine pity.
If his voice was so pleasant, his appearance must surely be exceptional!
However, even if he looked like a celestial being, the seller’s priority was to maximize their profit.
This ancient book was priced at 20 high-grade spirit stones. While not a low sum, after purchasing the spirit herbs, they would be left with nothing.
“Heh heh, I don’t know about that, but is this book of yours a cultivation technique?”
“…No.”
“My heavens! It’s not even a cultivation technique, and you still want to exchange it with the stall owner? Isn’t that just swindling him?”
“Though it’s not a cultivation technique, anything retrieved from an ancient cultivator’s ruins is certainly no ordinary item!”
However, before the seller could even negotiate a higher price, the onlookers were the first to speak.
Engaging with these individuals made the seller feel somewhat apprehensive, yet they ultimately stiffened their neck and argued defiantly.
The casual observers, naturally, were not convinced.
Indeed, some busybodies even stepped forward, reaching out to flip open the paper book, only to find its pages completely blank.
This discovery caused an uproar among everyone, and the stall owner’s face instantly darkened.
“Nowadays, swindling costs absolutely nothing! Trying to sell this piece of junk for money? They must be mad for spirit stones!”
“I just heard they weren’t trying to sell for spirit stones, but to exchange it for spirit herbs with the stall owner.”
“Pfft, the stall owner, how pitiful, being played for a fool.”
Seeing that the situation was deteriorating, the seller abandoned any thoughts of raising the price. They decided to sell it directly, then quickly leave Ghost City with the spirit herbs.
They had not lied.
This book had indeed been retrieved from an ancient cultivator’s ruins.
However, the book seemed to contain a restriction; opening it revealed only blank pages, completely devoid of any text.
Because of this, even if it came from ancient cultivator ruins, its value was significantly diminished.
Ultimately, no one wanted it.
It was precisely for this reason that it had fallen into their hands.
Originally, they hadn’t wanted to sell it so cheaply, intending to keep it for more research, hoping to decipher its mysteries. However, that particular spirit herb was crucial for their breakthrough.
They absolutely could not miss it.
“What do you all know? This is a restriction placed by an ancient cultivator; only by breaking it can you see the contents… Fine, I’ll take a loss this once. 20 high-grade spirit stones, and it’s yours.”
Subsequently, the seller’s words were met with a chorus of boos, but upon hearing them, Ye Cha’s heart swelled with delight.
To others, this ancient book was as worthless as scrap paper.
But for him, it was an indispensable item.
As for the reason…
Ye Cha looked at the book’s cover, where four large characters read, ‘Records of the Heavenly Net’. At this moment, he felt an intense sensation, believing this book was intimately connected to his Heavenly Net Physique!
Ye Cha didn’t know much about the Heavenly Net Physique.
Aside from the precautions written on the silk pouch, all he knew were rumors about the Heavenly Net Physique heard from others; there was simply no other source of information.
Therefore, he had to acquire this book!
However, another problem arose at this moment.
He had no high-grade spirit stones.
More precisely, the spirit stones Shen Ruotong had given him were all top-grade spirit stones.
According to the exchange rates in the cultivation world, high-grade spirit stones were incredibly expensive due to their higher spiritual energy purity, and their necessity for continuous spiritual energy transmission in formations, alchemy, and artifact refining. They were so valuable that even finding opportunities to exchange them for lower-grade spirit stones was difficult.
Consequently, the exchange rate steadily climbed, eventually settling at 1:100.
This meant one top-grade spirit stone could be exchanged for 100 high-grade spirit stones, yet even then, they were rarely available on the market.
Ye Cha had ascended to a high position in the Lingtian Sect overnight, leaving him with only a few mid-grade spirit stones from his previous accumulation, which now felt rather awkward.
With Ke Qian not by his side, he couldn’t expose his spatial ring or the top-grade spirit stones.
He feared inciting greed in others, which could lead to ambushes, robbery, or even murder outside Ghost City.
For a moment, Ye Cha found himself in a dilemma.
He couldn’t expose his top-grade spirit stones, nor could he abandon this ancient book.
“Why aren’t you speaking? Do you want it or not? Give me a definite answer!”
Seeing Ye Cha remain silent, the seller began to panic.
If this ancient book didn’t sell, the spirit stones they possessed wouldn’t be enough to buy the spirit herbs. At this point, even if Ye Cha was a male cultivator, the seller disregarded everything else, speaking with an anxious tone.
“Why are you so anxious? Are you trying to force a sale? Selling a broken book for 20 high-grade spirit stones? Why don’t you just rob someone instead!”
“Exactly! Can’t someone change their mind? You should take this precious book back and pass it on to your daughter!”
“Perhaps, it’ll eventually be burned for warmth.”
“Hahaha!”
Male cultivators enjoyed many conveniences in the cultivation world. Even though Ye Cha hadn’t shown his face in Ghost City, many female cultivators still voiced their support for him, unwilling to see a male cultivator bullied.
Seeing this, Ye Cha felt helpless, thinking to himself that it wasn’t that he didn’t want it, but that the situation was simply too complex!
“You short-sighted women! You have a treasure right in front of you and don’t know how to grasp it. Forget it, forget it, I’m not selling! And you, man, if you don’t have spirit stones to buy things, don’t speak so boastfully. Aren’t you afraid of the wind flashing your tongue!”
Amidst the cold sarcasm of the onlookers, the seller’s mood soured considerably.
Realizing the book wouldn’t sell given the current circumstances, they immediately directed their frustration at Ye Cha, thinking that no matter how pleasant his voice, it was useless. Vain male cultivators who told such lies were truly detestable.
However, upon hearing the seller declare they wouldn’t sell, Ye Cha grew anxious.
This ancient book was incredibly important to him; he absolutely couldn’t miss it.
‘Should I just take out the top-grade spirit stones?’
Yet, at that very moment, a female voice suddenly rang out.
Immediately, a top-grade spirit stone was tossed directly before the seller. In the faint glow of the stall, its shimmering radiance captivated everyone’s attention.
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read How a Reincarnated Villain Wins the Audition! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : How a Reincarnated Villain Wins the Audition
