Chapter 2016: Wuhai Trading Company

"Once you enter my sect, you must obey my commands without the slightest deviation!" Zhang Xuan said, his expression solemn. "The cultivation technique I teach you must not be spread externally. You cannot even tell Elder Bai Ye. Can you promise this?"

"Yes!" Bai Ruanqing nodded repeatedly.

A master's command is like a mountain, not to be defied; a master's grace is like the sea, never to be forgotten.

"Alright, you stay here and consolidate your cultivation. I'm going out for a bit..."

Knowing that the formation of the Book of Heaven's Path meant genuine gratitude and no betrayal of secrets, Zhang Xuan gave his instructions, then pushed open the door and left the room. With the pills acquired, he still needed to find cultivation techniques for the True Immortal realm. Since there were none here, perhaps the Black Sea Merchant Guild, mentioned in the task, would have books for sale. In any case, he didn't need to buy them; he just needed to glance at them to add them to his Library of Heaven's Path and complete the remaining seven flaws. He had specifically checked the previous map, and the Black Sea Merchant Guild wasn't too far from here. Without even riding a flying sacred beast, he walked for less than half an hour before arriving. True to its reputation as a top-tier city in the Firmament, it was bustling with people and carriages. Even before reaching the main entrance, it was already crowded.

The first floor contained various ordinary stalls, offering everything from medicinal herbs and rare ores to weapons. After walking around, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but shake his head. There were simply too many fakes. Even without the Library, his Eye of Insight alone could see through them. Furthermore, their quality was below the Virtual Immortal realm, rendering them of little use to him.

"Do you know if there's a place here that sells cultivation techniques?" Zhang Xuan asked, finding a stall owner and giving him a Sword Pavilion coin as a tip.

"Cultivation techniques are usually auctioned at the auction house..." The stall owner's eyes lit up as he quickly replied. A single Sword Pavilion coin was something he might not earn in half a month.

"Just ordinary techniques are fine; I don't need anything particularly precious..." Zhang Xuan interrupted him. Anything auctioned at the auction house would undoubtedly be very valuable. Whether a technique was valuable or rare made little difference to him; he sought quantity, not quality! Of course, high-quality techniques would naturally have fewer flaws, making it easier to complete the Heaven's Path cultivation technique. However, such techniques were, firstly, extremely rare, and secondly, too expensive, making them unnecessary for his purposes.

"Ordinary techniques? The Changxuan Pavilion over there has quite a few. For just one Divine Coin, you can read there all day, but... the techniques and manuals there are very common. Even I wouldn't practice them. When we go there, we usually look for 'those' kinds of books..." The stall owner emphasized "those" with a knowing smile. This person, who could casually hand out a Sword Pavilion coin as a tip, must be a talented disciple from the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, quite possibly a core disciple! Such a powerful individual would certainly have high standards. They probably hadn't even finished reading all the techniques within their own sect, so why would they bother cultivating techniques that even a fake medicine seller like himself wouldn't bother with!

"Take me to see!" Zhang Xuan said, ignoring the implicit meaning in his words.

"Alright!" With a chuckle, the stall owner said no more and immediately led the way. Soon, they arrived in front of a bookstore. "This is it..." Zhang Xuan looked inside and saw indeed many books displayed: cultivation techniques, combat skills, but also strange tales, celebrity anecdotes, gossip, and more... Of course, there were also many of "those" kinds of books he mentioned, complete with alluring covers and illustrations.

Handing over a Sword Pavilion coin, Zhang Xuan stepped inside. His eyes swept around, quickly recording all the cultivation technique books into his mind. A moment later, he wore a bitter smile. There were indeed many techniques, but they were too low-level. Virtual Immortal realm was the highest among them; there wasn't a single True Immortal realm technique, let alone anything that could eliminate the flaws in the simplified Heaven's Path cultivation technique. He walked out of the room, feeling helpless.

"How was it? Didn't appeal to you, right? These techniques are simply too poor..." The stall owner from earlier hadn't left yet. Seeing Zhang Xuan enter and then immediately exit, he also shook his head. "If you truly want advanced techniques, there is a way!"

"Oh?"

"The Black Sea Merchant Guild's auction house recently acquired a treasure that many people have failed to identify. If someone can recognize what it is, they will be granted access to the auction house's library and can choose any cultivation manual they wish!" The stall owner lowered his voice.

"Identify a treasure?" Zhang Xuan was momentarily stunned. What the other party described seemed to be precisely his mission for coming to Black Sea City... If he had known there was such an opportunity, he would have come earlier. However, he still needed to ask for specifics beforehand. After a moment's thought, Zhang Xuan asked, "Does the auction house have many cultivation techniques? Do you know if there are any for True Immortal realm cultivators?" He needed to confirm in advance; otherwise, he'd find himself in a similar exasperating situation as before.

"There are definitely many techniques! The Black Sea Merchant Guild's auction house has a history of over five hundred years. Among the experts guarding their treasures, the strongest have reached the Half-Step Immortal Monarch realm. So, techniques for the True Immortal realm certainly exist, and there should be quite a few!" The stall owner nodded quickly. "Many cultivation arts are auctioned here every year. My guess is they secretly copy them..."

Normally, auction houses do not allow the copying of auctioned techniques, but there were exceptions. Once a technique was in their hands, no one knew whether a copy had been kept or not. In fact, copying techniques had long been an unwritten rule among auction houses; many knew about it but chose not to expose it. Seeing him say this, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that there were True Immortal realm cultivation manuals. In any case, he intended to take on this treasure appraisal task. After clarifying the auction house's location, he bid farewell to the stall owner and walked straight towards it.

"Do you have an invitation?" Before he could enter, a young man blocked his path.

"I am a disciple of the Lingyun Sword Pavilion. I've taken on your esteemed auction house's treasure appraisal task and have come specifically to appraise the treasure!" With a flip of his wrist, Zhang Xuan produced his task token.

"This way, please..." The young man glanced at the token and immediately bowed, his attitude becoming respectful. As one of the six great sects, and with Black Sea City under its jurisdiction, the Lingyun Sword Pavilion's disciples were all geniuses among geniuses, invincible at their own level. No one dared to treat them with the slightest disrespect.

Following behind, they arrived at a room where an elder was standing in front of an object, carefully observing it.

"Elder He, this is a disciple from the Sword Pavilion who has come for the treasure appraisal task!" the young man announced.

"Let him wait for a moment..." Without even turning his head, Elder He continued to gaze at the item before him, his fingers gently caressing it, his face filled with excitement.

Seeing that the elder was ignoring him, Zhang Xuan looked over. Elder He appeared to be around sixty, and his cultivation was profound and pure, revealing him to be a True Immortal realm expert. Before him was a statue about a foot tall. Its features were indiscernible—at least Zhang Xuan didn't recognize them. The statue emanated an ethereal aura, giving off a sense of tranquility and peace at first glance. The statue was vibrantly colored, showcasing deep artistry that, in the Master Teacher Continent, would require at least a nine-star painter-calligrapher to achieve.

"Good, good!" After studying it for a moment, Elder He couldn't help but stroke his beard and nod repeatedly.

Not far away, a middle-aged man, seeing Elder He's expression, his eyes gleaming, looked over respectfully. "Elder He... Is this genuine?"

"According to my appraisal, this statue was left by Immortal Monarch Du He, carved from Tranquility Stone. If used as the core of a formation, it can calm the mind and soothe the spirit, allowing one to cultivate without being troubled by inner demons..." Elder He nodded and chuckled.

"Thank you, Elder He..." Hearing that it was genuine, the middle-aged man excitedly waved his hand. A servant behind him immediately stepped forward and handed over a pouch filled with a considerable amount of Divine Coins.

"Guild Master Wang, no need to be so polite!" Elder He waved his hand.

"It's only right. It's the proper price for troubling Elder He with the appraisal..." The middle-aged man, known as Guild Master Wang, quickly nodded and took a few steps towards the statue, carefully preparing to pack it up and take it away.

Witnessing this scene, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but shake his head, though he remained silent. After completing his appraisal, Elder He turned around. Seeing a young man, his brows furrowed. "You are the disciple from the Lingyun Sword Pavilion who accepted the task?"

Zhang Xuan nodded. "May I know what treasure your esteemed auction house needs appraised?" He didn't want to waste time; he wanted to finish the appraisal quickly so he could go read books.

"No rush!" Turning around, Elder He sat on a nearby stool, picked up his tea cup, and looked over with an indifferent expression. "Sword Pavilion disciples may have profound sword arts, but their treasure appraisal skills are mediocre. Last time, two came, and after failing to identify anything, I sent them away! Do you wish to try as well? What abilities do you possess? Would you care to demonstrate them?"

Zhang Xuan frowned. Treasure appraisal wasn't some monkey show to be casually displayed! The crucial point was the elder's contemptuous attitude, clearly not thinking highly of him.

"What I'm saying might not be pleasant to hear, but it's the truth! Although Black Sea City is under the jurisdiction of the Sword Pavilion, its disciples spend their days only practicing swordsmanship. Treasure appraisal... let's not insult the profession!" Shaking his head, Elder He raised a hand. "Yuan Qing, fetch two Sword Pavilion coins and give them to this sword arts genius. Have him leave! I don't need anyone causing trouble..."

"Yes!" The young man who had led Zhang Xuan in quickly bowed, took two Sword Pavilion coins from a pouch, and offered them. "Please!"

"Causing trouble?" Zhang Xuan frowned. He hadn't intended to speak... but why did this fellow insist on sticking his face out, waiting to be slapped? Did he not feel comfortable unless he was being hit? Ignoring the young man offering the Sword Pavilion coins, he turned and walked over to the middle-aged man who was packing up the statue. "My friend, I advise you not to be in such a hurry to take that item away!"

"Oh?" Guild Master Wang paused, frowning. He had heard the previous conversation. Elder He might not fear offending a Sword Pavilion disciple, but he certainly did.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to tell you... this item of yours is absolutely not something left by Immortal Monarch Du He, nor is it carved from Tranquility Stone. If you truly arrange it into a formation, I fear you'll soon suffer qi deviation and won't even know how you died!" Zhang Xuan smiled faintly.

"I just finished appraising it; it is undoubtedly left by Immortal Monarch Du He. You say it isn't? What, do you think my appraisal is wrong?" Elder He's face darkened. He had been appraising treasures for over a hundred years with hardly any mistakes. For a twenty-something young man to try and cause trouble, he was still too green.

"Not just wrong..." With a raised eyebrow, Zhang Xuan's lips curled into a smirk. "It's utterly nonsensical and complete fabrication! If Guild Master Wang truly believes your words, I guarantee he'll be dead within three days!"