Chapter 152: Vice President Su

As everyone was puzzled, Jiang Fan suddenly swept his sleeve, gathering all the withered skins from the table into his palm. Then, activating his spiritual energy, a ball of flame instantly rose in his palm. With crackling sounds, the withered skins began to burn, turning into wisps of black smoke and dissipating.

Until no impurities remained, Jiang Fan extinguished the flame and opened his palm.

Everyone looked over in astonishment. They saw that the pile of withered skins in his palm had been mostly burned away, with only some shimmering gold powder remaining.

Wen Hongyao fixed her gaze, as if she had discovered something, and her expression changed sharply. She quickly stepped forward, leaning on her crutch, and examined it carefully, exclaiming in surprise, "Sky-Shattering Powder? It really is Sky-Shattering Powder! Hidden within the skin of that spirit ginseng were some Sky-Shattering Powder!"

Upon hearing "Sky-Shattering Powder," the entire hall erupted in an uproar.

"No way? Is this the legendary Sky-Shattering Powder that explodes upon contact with water and can even kill a Core Formation cultivator?"

"On the market, a single grain of this item is an absolute rarity, hard to find even for a hundred spirit crystals!"

"This pinch alone could sell for at least ten thousand spirit crystals!"

"Oh my heavens! What opportunity did I miss? Such an expensive material was right in front of me, and I didn't even notice!"

Sounds of people slapping their thighs echoed throughout the scene. The brawny man counting spirit crystals stared blankly. He felt an urge to spit blood. It turned out he hadn't made a huge profit from Jiang Fan; instead, Jiang Fan had made a killing from their Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion!

Wen Shengnan was dumbfounded. She looked at Jiang Fan in disbelief. If the Foundation Establishment Pill was just Jiang Fan getting lucky, like a blind cat catching a dead mouse, the Sky-Shattering Powder, however, was no coincidence at all.

"Aunt, this boy... no, this Young Master Jiang, he..." Wen Shengnan mumbled.

Wen Hongyao no longer concealed it, saying, "This child has a near-demonic talent when it comes to medicinal ingredients. Do you believe it now?"

Wen Shengnan nodded blankly. Her aunt hadn't even noticed the existence of the Sky-Shattering Powder, yet Jiang Fan recognized it at a glance. Saying his talent was almost monstrous was no exaggeration. She finally understood why her aunt showed such favoritism towards Jiang Fan. Who wouldn't cherish such a prodigy?

Just then, the manager of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion rushed over upon hearing the news, looking at the Sky-Shattering Powder in Jiang Fan's hand with immense regret. He glanced at Jiang Fan's attire, realized he was a disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect, and could only accept his fate. He clasped his hands and said, "Young Master, we are willing to buy back the Sky-Shattering Powder at a high price. How about one thousand spirit crystals?"

"One thousand?" Jiang Fan chuckled in exasperation, saying, "Since I could extract the Sky-Shattering Powder from the spirit ginseng, how could I not know what it is or how much it's worth?"

The manager gave an awkward smile and clasped his hands again, saying, "How about eight thousand?"

The market price should be around ten thousand spirit crystals. Eight thousand was slightly low. However, buyers who could afford Sky-Shattering Powder were few, and selling it would take a considerable amount of time. With the auction imminent, he needed to raise money to buy the Yellow Springs Purifying Water.

"Junior Brother Jiang, this is a rare treasure; Sky-Shattering Powder is extremely uncommon. Why not send it to the auction? The price will certainly be more than ten thousand spirit crystals then." Wen Shengnan, seeing Jiang Fan's interest, quickly stepped forward to intervene.

Jiang Fan thought it over and readily agreed, saying, "Oh, right, I also have a batch of materials that I'd like to sell through your auction house. See if they meet your standards."

Wen Shengnan was surprised. Jiang Fan had good items on him? But he was just a disciple. Considering his remarkable talent, Wen Shengnan didn't hesitate, saying, "Follow me to the auction house; this isn't the place to talk."

Led personally by her, a principal manager, Jiang Fan easily entered the private courtyard where the auction house's high-ranking members were temporarily resting. As they walked, Wen Shengnan explained, "The Traveling Auction has one president, two vice-presidents, and six principal managers. I am one of the three principal managers under Vice-President Su, normally responsible for liaising with various major powers and searching for all kinds of high-grade treasures."

Jiang Fan nodded slightly. Wen Shengnan's brows furrowed in worry as she said, "My performance has been poor lately. I haven't been able to find any good treasures, and Vice-President Su has been quite critical of me. Even coming to Azure Cloud City this time, I haven't been able to find suitable treasures to send to the auction house. I'm afraid... alas..." She sighed repeatedly, feeling quite pessimistic about her future.

Jiang Fan understood. There was competition between the two vice-presidents and among the six principal managers. Whoever could find more treasures would gain higher status, benefits, and honor at the auction. He chuckled and said, "If you can bring the items I have to Vice-President Su, I believe your troubles will be resolved."

Wen Shengnan thought Jiang Fan was referring to the Sky-Shattering Powder and said happily, "That should be no problem. Sky-Shattering Powder is a treasure, after all. Come, I'll take you to meet Vice-President Su."

At that moment, in a living room, Vice-President Su, Su Xiangquan, was receiving Wang Chengjian and Liu Qingxian. He was around seventy years old. His eyes were like an eagle's, his face sharply chiseled, his lips thin and narrow, and his eye sockets deeply set. He gave off a very harsh impression, and indeed, he was.

Holding his tea, he indifferently glanced at the Foundation Establishment realm demonic core on the table and said, "Young Master Wang, this is the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion's Traveling Auction, and we only sell top-tier treasures of this era. If this Foundation Establishment realm demonic core were to be auctioned, it would damage the prestige of our auction house."

Wang Chengjian's expression stiffened slightly. He added, "Vice-President Su, this is not an ordinary Foundation Establishment realm demonic core. This demonic beast was infinitely close to Core Formation, so its demonic core is different from ordinary ones."

Su Xiangquan took a nonchalant sip of tea. He said flatly, "Infinitely close to Core Formation? Isn't that still Foundation Establishment? Young Master Wang, take this item and sell it to any shop on the market. It won't be too late to come back when you truly have a Core Formation realm beast core."

Wang Chengjian, who had come full of confidence, was met with a rebuff, and it was in front of Liu Qingxian. He felt quite humiliated. He said awkwardly, "In that case, I will take my leave." He paused, then remembered the main purpose of this visit was to help Liu Qingxian inquire about Core Formation realm spirit pills. He said, "Oh, right, Vice-President Su, this is the daughter of our Azure Cloud Sect Master. She is currently looking for Core Formation realm spirit pills. I wonder if this auction will have..."

Su Xiangquan's face hardened, and he said, "This is auction house confidential information. The president strictly forbids any leaks, so I cannot disclose it."

Wang Chengjian was once again humiliated. He had no face to stay any longer. He picked up his demonic core and said, "Junior Sister Liu, let's go."

Liu Qingxian also reluctantly stood up. This Vice-President Su was truly difficult to deal with: arrogant and rude. Figuring there was no way to get the information she wanted, she also stood up to leave. As she bent down, the Swift Wind Orb, which was tucked into her collar, was too large and fell out, dangling in front of her chest. She quickly grabbed it, intending to tuck it back in.

However, Su Xiangquan, who had been calmly drinking tea, suddenly narrowed his eyes, shot to his feet, and asked in surprise, "Miss Liu, may this old man take a look at the round bead on your neck?"

Liu Qingxian was stunned for a moment. The gift from Jiang Fan? At the time, she had been angry and hadn't listened to Jiang Fan's explanation of the item. She couldn't help but take it off curiously and hand it to Su Xiangquan. Su Xiangquan spread it in his palm and examined it repeatedly. Finally, after infusing a bit of spiritual energy into it, a wisp of black mist rose from the surface of the bead. His pupils constricted, and his aged face overflowed with surprise and delight.

Liu Qingxian looked astonished: "Vice-President Su, could this item be very valuable?"

Su Xiangquan was still toying with the Swift Wind Orb. He paused, then showed a look of astonishment: "You've been wearing this item, yet you don't know what it is?"