"Many thanks for the treasure, Master Ying!"
He Chongxu bowed deeply to Ying Chen.
Clearly, this was a magical artifact Ying Chen had specially gifted him. Otherwise, Ying Chen would have paid for it himself.
Ying Chen accepted He Chongxu's bow with composure.
Then he turned to the stall owner, "You don't just have this one item on your stall, do you? Anything else?"
The stall owner was stomping his feet and lamenting his misfortune. Hearing Ying Chen's words, he couldn't help but grumble, "Have you become addicted to fleece-pulling? You can't just keep shearing me!"
"Oh, so you don't have anything else? Let's go!" Ying Chen waved his hand, ready to leave.
Unexpectedly, after a moment of hesitation, the stall owner suddenly called out to Ying Chen, "Wait! I do have one more thing, but..."
"But what?" Ying Chen asked.
"Alas, you'll know when you see it," the stall owner sighed, then turned and pulled something out of a sack behind him.
As the item was revealed, He Chongxu and a few lingering onlookers' eyes lit up.
What the stall owner had taken out was a golden lingzhi mushroom!
Within the golden hue, there was a faint reddish tint, and the interior of the lingzhi was crystal clear, like glazed glass.
This item, at first glance, was clearly valuable! Absolutely a good thing!
But soon, everyone noticed something odd about the texture of the lingzhi.
"Is this... petrified?"
A connoisseur recognized the reason at once.
The stall owner nodded, his face full of grief and indignation. "Yes, it was petrified when I found it. It feels like spending your entire life's luck to win the lottery, only to find out the prize pool for that draw was a hundred yuan. The heavens are simply playing with me!"
"Alas!" Hearing this, the surrounding crowd also sighed sympathetically.
A petrified lingzhi was like a fossil. Its medicinal properties were completely lost, and it could only be displayed at home as a craft. The stall owner's analogy was quite apt. Most people would never find such a beautiful lingzhi in their lifetime, and he found one, but it was useless. It was like winning the grand prize in the lottery, only for the prize pool to be a mere hundred yuan. It made people both angry and amused, helpless.
"How much do you want for this?"
Logically, such an item would be worthless. After all, they were all cultivators, here for medicinal herbs. Who would buy a decorative piece?
To everyone's surprise, Ying Chen asked the price.
Upon hearing Ying Chen inquire about the price, the stall owner's despairing heart instantly rekindled with hope. The onlookers who had been preparing to leave also crowded back around. From the earlier gourd, it was evident that Ying Chen's discernment was extraordinary. Anything Ying Chen deemed worthy and willing to bid on was definitely not as simple as it appeared! It certainly had hidden value that was unknown!
So, the stall owner cautiously held up one finger. "One million."
The stall owner had intended to quote a random price, not expecting it to be accepted. Who would have thought Ying Chen would agree so readily? "Deal."
This immediately stunned the stall owner. Damn, did I quote too low? Or is this petrified lingzhi actually a treasure?
Just as the stall owner was in doubt, the surrounding crowd suddenly leaned in as one.
"One million one hundred thousand, give it to me!"
"One million five hundred thousand, I'll take it! No one can snatch it from me!"
"Two million! I'll add more if needed! I am determined to get this lingzhi today!"
Clearly, these people saw Ying Chen as a beacon of guidance! If Ying Chen favored something, they would bid higher to buy it!
Seeing this, He Chongxu was so angry his nose was practically crooked. "Can you lot be any more shameless? Didn't you see that Master Ying asked the price first?"
"Master He, that's not right. Asking the price is one thing, but the owner has the right to decide who to sell to! If I bid higher and the owner is willing to sell to me, is that wrong?"
"Exactly, exactly. You can't just expect it to be sold to you because you asked the price first! There's no such rule in the world!"
Facing the barrage of verbal attacks, He Chongxu was too enraged to speak a word.
Ying Chen, however, remained calm and unhurried. He simply stood by, quietly watching everyone bid against each other.
Finally, the lingzhi was bought by the determined individual for three million. After purchasing it, the man was ecstatic. Fearing the stall owner might go back on his word, he promptly transferred the payment. Then, clutching the lingzhi, he sprinted away.
However, just a few minutes later, a heart-wrenching wail could be heard from a distance: "My three million, my money!"
It turned out that the man had taken it to an authoritative figure for appraisal, and the conclusion was: it was a completely worthless petrified lingzhi! Forget three million, in terms of medicinal value, it wasn't even worth three hundred yuan! This fellow had suffered a huge loss!
The others who had been disappointed at not buying it were instantly filled with relief. At the same time, their gazes towards Ying Chen seemed to convey a single word: "Scoundrel!" Ying Chen had clearly seen through their intentions and deliberately asked the price, leading them to follow suit and bid wildly!
At this, those who had planned to stay by Ying Chen's side to pick up bargains all slunk away. What a joke! Who knew if Ying Chen would set another trap for them next time, causing them to suffer the same fate? In the blink of an eye, no one was left around Ying Chen and He Chongxu.
It was then that Ying Chen turned to the stall owner and said, "I helped you make three million, how will you thank me?"
The stall owner blinked. He thought about it and realized that without Ying Chen's help, he wouldn't have made those three million. So, he generously opened the sack behind him. "This is all I have left. Take whatever you want!"
He Chongxu leaned over to look and then curled his lip. "You're quite generous. I thought there would be more good stuff left. Turns out it's all just rotten herbs!"
The stall owner chuckled sheepishly. Ying Chen, however, waved his hand indifferently. "When you're out and about, there's no need to be so concerned with profit. Consider it making a friend."
With that, Ying Chen casually pulled a medicinal herb from the sack. "This one will do!"
The stall owner gave Ying Chen a thumbs-up. "You're clearly a man of vision! This herb is on the house. I should be packing up and leaving now. Goodbye to you both!"
With that, the stall owner shouldered the sack and turned to leave. Clearly, his earnings today far exceeded his imagination, and he had no intention of lingering, lest unforeseen complications arise.
Only after the stall owner's figure disappeared into the night did Ying Chen reveal a slight sneer. "Tianxian Teng, acquired."
He Chongxu was startled. He distinctly remembered that Tianxian Teng was one of the materials Ying Chen needed for refining artifacts! He never expected it to look so unremarkable! And even more so, he never expected to acquire it without spending a single cent!
"Put it away. Let's check out the next stall." Ying Chen handed the Tianxian Teng to He Chongxu and continued towards the depths of the ghost market.
The further they went, the larger the stalls became, and the better the goods they sold. There were indeed many rare and excellent items. Unfortunately, they were mostly useless to Ying Chen. And the artifact refining materials Ying Chen sought were nowhere to be found. Especially the two most crucial materials for artifact refining – Chanji Sha and Luosong Zi – were absent.
"Master Ying, why don't we take a look inside that tent?" He Chongxu pointed to a tent in the distance. "That tent is quite large; it looks like it belongs to a major seller. Usually, such major sellers have materials that ordinary small vendors can't compare to. Perhaps we'll find something!"
That place, at a glance, was extraordinary. The two guards standing at the entrance alone were at least fifth-tier martial artists. Those entering and leaving the tent were all extraordinary and possessed considerable cultivation.
"Let's go take a look," Ying Chen nodded and headed towards the tent.
Upon entering the tent, they discovered it was a world of its own. It was decorated quite luxuriously and arranged in a manner resembling an auction. At the front, a staff member was diligently promoting a magical artifact. Its grade was only mid-to-low tier, but its power was quite decent. In a critical moment, it could self-destruct to unleash the might of a mid-to-high tier artifact. This item could be used for saving one's life at a crucial juncture. However, the price was also exorbitant. The starting bid was a staggering ten million. This indicated that while the items in this tent were of quality, the prices were also outrageously high.
"Please, have a seat, sirs. If there's anything you fancy, feel free to make an offer."
"We support both monetary transactions and bartering. However, the final pricing for bartering will be determined by our appraiser. We do not accept private valuations." A staff member soon offered tea and fruit, saying.
Ying Chen waved his hand noncommittally. The staff member retreated with a sheepish smile. In the front, the mid-to-low tier artifact had already reached thirty million. In the blink of an eye, it had tripled in price. After several more rounds of bidding, it was finally sold for fifty million.
Soon, several more items were presented. Although they were good, none were what Ying Chen wanted. It wasn't until a staff member appeared carrying a tray that Ying Chen's previously indifferent expression suddenly turned solemn.
He Chongxu noticed something was amiss and quickly whispered, "What is it, Master Ying?"
Ying Chen didn't say much, merely pointing to a medicinal herb on the tray that resembled a pine branch with a pinecone hanging from it. "Luosong Zi."
Upon hearing the name, He Chongxu immediately stiffened. Chanji Sha and Luosong Zi were the two most crucial materials for Ying Chen's artifact refining! This meant that today, they absolutely had to acquire this Luosong Zi!
"Leave it to me, Master Ying," He Chongxu said calmly, waiting for the Luosong Zi to be auctioned.
Soon, the auction for Luosong Zi began. It seemed that the people present were not very interested in this item, or perhaps no one knew its specific use. Despite the staff member's repeated explanations that this item only matured once a century, and only one pinecone grew on the entire tree, making it extremely rare, the crowd was unmoved. No matter how precious something was, if it was useless, its value was zero.
Finally, only a few people, out of a desire for collection, added a small amount to the starting price. It was less than a million. Seeing the lack of interest from the crowd, the staff member reluctantly ended his sales pitch and prepared to drop the gavel.
It was at this moment that He Chongxu unhurriedly raised his hand and submitted a bid: "One million three hundred thousand." This price was neither too high to reveal his determination to win, nor did it exceed the "collection value." Therefore, no one suspected anything. The few who had previously bid hesitated. It seemed someone recognized He Chongxu and immediately cupped their hands towards him. They clearly intended to do him a favor and directly yield the item to He Chongxu. He Chongxu thanked them with a grateful cupped-hand gesture.
Just as this item was about to be acquired at such a low price, an unexpected turn of events occurred. The tent flap outside was lifted, and a group of people walked in. The woman leading them directly shouted a price that shocked everyone: "Ten million! I'll take it!"