Chapter 94: Chapter 2: Spirit Marrow

A sharp glint flashed through Yang Jing’s eyes, but it vanished in an instant. He immediately schooled his features, pretending not to recognize the Huang Family Cultivator before him.

“May I ask for our esteemed guest’s name?”

The Huang Family Cultivator swaggered in, plopping down brazenly across from Yang Jing.

“The surname’s Wang.”

Yang Jing motioned for the Maid to pour tea. The Huang Family Cultivator took a single sip before spitting it out in disgust.

“What is this garbage Spirit Tea? Did you just pluck some leaves off a tree? Where’s your Wusong Tea? Hurry up and pour some for me!”

“Apologies, but Wusong Tea is reserved for our most distinguished guests. Even I can only drink ordinary Spirit Tea,” Yang Jing said, before downing the Wusong Tea in his own cup.

The Huang Family Cultivator snorted coldly and slapped a Jade Box onto the tea table.

“Let’s see if this treasure is enough to earn me the title of ’distinguished guest’.”

Yang Jing didn’t open the Jade Box. Instead, he motioned for the Huang Family Cultivator to open it himself, lest he be blamed if the item inside was already damaged.

The Huang Family Cultivator didn’t open the Jade Box. His gaze fell upon the Maid instead.

Only after Yang Jing waved the Maid away did the Huang Family Cultivator open the Jade Box. Inside, a fist-sized piece of Jade Marrow lay on a satin cushion, emitting a continuous, refreshing stream of Spiritual Qi.

A faint golden light glimmered in Yang Jing’s eyes as he used his Bright Qi Talent to inspect the Jade Marrow.

SNAP!

Before he could get a closer look, the Huang Family Cultivator had snapped the lid of the Jade Box shut.

“So, what about this Spirit Marrow? How many Spirit Stones is the Celestial Treasure Tower willing to offer for it?”

Spirit Marrow was exceptionally rare. It was typically found in Spirit Stone Mines, but its price far exceeded that of ordinary Spirit Stones. This was because it was the main ingredient for the Holy Spirit Pill.

The Holy Spirit Pill was one of the few elixirs capable of improving one’s Spirit Root Talent. Its effects far surpassed the faint, legendary effects of the Dragon Blood Carp. It could raise a Lower Grade Spirit Root to a Middle Grade Spirit Root within the Five Elements Spirit Root system, and it could also slightly improve the quality of an existing Middle Grade Spirit Root. Its effects were enough to drive any Cultivator frustrated with their own talent into a frenzy.

The Holy Spirit Pill’s ability to defy fate was so profound that it was virtually priceless. Every time one appeared, it would trigger a bloodbath.

Yang Jing feigned a sharp intake of breath, but he didn’t believe for a second that this Jade Marrow was real Spirit Marrow. Si Yuan might think he had hidden his identity well, but Yang Jing had long since known he was the patriarch of the Yushan Huang Clan.

’What a coincidence. I just grievously offended Si Yuan, and now a Huang Family Cultivator shows up with an incredibly rare piece of Spirit Marrow to sell to me.’

’This is far too clumsy, Si Yuan.’

Yang Jing sneered inwardly, but his face was a mask of shock and greed.

“Fellow Daoist Wang, could you let me take another, closer look at this Spirit Marrow?”

“Hmph! Once this Spirit Marrow is removed from its vein, it constantly dissipates Spiritual Qi and can only be sealed with a Restriction. Every extra moment you look at it, its potency diminishes. Can you afford to compensate for that loss?!”

The Huang Family Cultivator tilted his head back, looking down his nose at Yang Jing.

Yang Jing shot to his feet, feigning anxiety.

“This piece of Spirit Marrow is worth at least eight thousand Spirit Stones! I can’t possibly commit to buying it without another look.”

The Huang Family Cultivator grumbled internally. ’Didn’t the Patriarch say this Wang Tong was filthy rich? That he had plenty of Spirit Stones and would be desperate to buy this Jade Marrow?’

This piece of Spirit Marrow was indeed a fake. Si Yuan had used an exquisite technique to carve a Restriction onto a Middle Grade Spirit Stone and embed it within a shell of Jade Marrow. As long as the Restriction was activated, it would gush Spiritual Qi continuously, just like real Spirit Marrow.

Any Cultivator who had never seen real Spirit Marrow would definitely be fooled.

Scamming Wang Tong out of eight thousand Spirit Stones wasn’t Si Yuan’s main goal. He was planning to wait until Wang Tong bought the Spirit Marrow, then secretly spread the word that Wang Tong was in possession of a piece.

At that point, every Tribulation Cultivator in the entire Chen Kingdom would be after the Spirit Marrow in his hands. And since the Spiritual Qi in this fake Spirit Marrow would be depleted in just six hours, Wang Tong wouldn’t even be able to hand it over to save his own life. All he could do would be to wait for death in a state of constant terror.

It could be said that this venomous scheme was perfectly tailored to Wang Tong’s greedy nature. As long as he bought the Spirit Marrow, his death was certain. After all, who with enough Spirit Stones could refuse a piece of Spirit Marrow placed right before their eyes?

“Hmph! Buy it or don’t. If you’re not buying, I’ll take my business elsewhere. It’s not like your Celestial Treasure Tower is the only one in Huangyuan Marketplace that can afford a piece of Spirit Marrow.”

The Huang Family Cultivator’s eyes darted around. Putting on an angry front, he snatched the Jade Box and made to leave. The reason Si Yuan had sent him was because he had connections with all sorts of ruffians and was a veteran of swindles and scams. He was the least likely to have his deception seen through at the Celestial Treasure Tower.

Yang Jing put on a show of indecision, pacing back and forth for a long time before finally seeming to make up his mind.

“Apologies, Fellow Daoist Wang. This item is simply too precious. I really can’t dare to buy it without a more careful inspection.”

The Huang Family Cultivator’s heart sank. He had no idea what had gone wrong. He could only open the Jade Box and display the Spirit Marrow once more.

Yang Jing scrutinized it carefully with his Bright Qi Talent and finally spotted the minuscule, dust-speck-sized Talismanic Script inside the Spirit Marrow.

“Fellow Daoist Wang, please wait a moment. I’ll go get our tower’s Chief Shopkeeper. He will certainly offer you a high price for this Spirit Marrow.”

“You damned fatso, are you trying to mess with me?!”

Realizing the scam had likely failed, the Huang Family Cultivator packed up the Jade Box and left, muttering curses as he went.

About a quarter of an hour later, the Chief Shopkeeper and Second Shopkeeper of the Celestial Treasure Tower entered the tea room.

“Wang Tong, how could you let a piece of Spirit Marrow slip through your fingers! If we had acquired it and sent it to headquarters, we would have at least earned a minor merit, and you could have even earned a major one! You fool!”

The Chief Shopkeeper said, his voice filled with anguish and frustration.

The Second Shopkeeper, Yuan Caiyi, was a rather beautiful woman. She shot Wang Tong a sideways glare and said with disgust:

“That damned fatso Wang Tong obviously wanted to drive the man away so he could find him later and buy the Jade Marrow for himself. He’s a traitor, undermining the Celestial Treasure Tower for his own gain.”

The Chief Shopkeeper flew into a rage. His tone turned icy, and the aura of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator bore down on Yang Jing.

“Wang Tong, I can overlook you taking small advantages from the tower on a normal day. But if you try to secretly pocket a treasure like Spirit Marrow, don’t blame me for reporting you to headquarters to be punished!”

Yang Jing shook his head.

“Chief Shopkeeper, if I had such intentions, may lightning strike me down! It’s just that this piece of Spirit Marrow was riddled with inconsistencies. I simply didn’t dare to accept it.”

“What inconsistencies?”

The Chief Shopkeeper asked, still seething with indignation.

“I recognized that Cultivator, but he pretended not to know me. He’s a Cultivator from the Jade Mountain Huang Family who often associates with petty crooks and swindlers around the Marketplace. The only reason you two don’t know him is because he never dared to run his scams on the Celestial Treasure Tower. He came here claiming his surname was Wang, and the moment I said I was going to get you, Chief Shopkeeper, to inspect the Spirit Marrow, he left immediately.”

As he spoke, Yang Jing took out a Memory Pearl and presented it to the Chief Shopkeeper.

The Chief Shopkeeper took the Memory Pearl, half in belief and half in doubt. He reviewed the recorded images, but even he couldn’t tell from the recording whether the Spirit Marrow was real or fake.

“You will wait here in this tea room. Don’t go anywhere. I’m going to investigate this Cultivator’s identity.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep