Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Chapter 363: Chapter 274: Golden Beast Bone Hairpin

Watching Han Jiang leave in a discomfited state, Song Mingyue muttered a complaint to Ling Xiao, "Look what you did. You scared him off. You think he didn’t know someone was listening from behind the bushes?"

Ling Xiao gave a knowing chuckle, watching Han Jiang’s rapidly retreating back. "You think he didn’t know?" he said softly. "I was using him, but wasn’t he also using me? If you rashly spread this kind of news, true or false, it would certainly get you killed! But this way... heh, it’s just something that came up in an idle chat. A rumor... When the time comes, I’m afraid even if those people come looking, they won’t be able to trace it back to us!"

Song Mingyue looked at Ling Xiao, speechless. "You’ve gotten devious!"

Ling Xiao, however, sighed softly. "If I had unparalleled power, why would I need to resort to such schemes!" ’I don’t know if this is progress or a regression for me,’ he thought. ’Compared to this complicated and chaotic world, the Cultivation Realm really was quite simple!’

Seeing Ling Xiao’s slightly unhappy expression, Song Mingyue smiled and consoled him, "There’s nothing wrong with it, really. I was just joking with you. Even Saint Tier Powerhouses can’t resist the Holy Sanctuary Gate, can they? So, no matter how strong you are, there will always be things to fear. Often, high intelligence is more useful than high martial strength. Like right now, for example." As she spoke, a bright smile bloomed on her face, and she gently took Ling Xiao’s arm.

"Don’t be unhappy anymore. You’re supposed to be a wild yet elegant scholar right now!" Song Mingyue said in a syrupy sweet voice. Paired with her currently bewitching and dazzling appearance, she really did look like a Demoness.

Ling Xiao smiled and took Song Mingyue’s hand. ’She has a point,’ he thought. ’In my past life, I was too naive. Being able to use schemes means this is a kind of progress!’

If he had been this cunning in his past life, why would he have been so foolish as to run over and try to pick up scraps when his Grand Master was undergoing his Celestial Tribulation? Everyone knew that if the tribulation failed, the Grand Master would be reduced to ashes, perhaps without even time for his soul to reincarnate. Wouldn’t his collection of treasures and Spiritual Artifacts become ownerless?

Moreover, legend had it that even if the tribulation was successful, not a single treasure would be taken along. When a Cultivator ascended to the Immortal Realm, they arrived completely naked. Once in the Immortal Realm, the potent Immortal Spirit Power could be directly converted into all sorts of clothing. There were even mighty Immortals who could transform Immortal Spirit Power directly into battle armor capable of withstanding powerful attacks.

So, whether the Grand Master succeeded or failed, the treasures and Spiritual Artifacts would be left behind. But why, out of the several thousand Disciples in the entire Shushan Sect, and the several hundred Inner Sect Disciples, was he the only one who got close to the core of the tribulation? Did those people not know to pick up treasures?

At this thought, Ling Xiao couldn’t help but let a bitter smile touch his lips. ’My past self was truly... adorably foolish!’

Seeing the smile on Ling Xiao’s face, Song Mingyue cheered up as well and said, "Should we go check out the trade meet?"

Ling Xiao laughed. "Of course! Let’s go try our luck. Maybe... we’ll even find something good!"

"Picking up scraps... The chances of that are too slim!" Song Mingyue muttered to herself. Her words made Ling Xiao’s smile freeze on his face in utter embarrassment. ’If this girl had been born in my era and knew what I did,’ he thought, ’who knows how she would have ridiculed me!’

But at the time, Ling Xiao had truly believed the Celestial Tribulation would only strike the person undergoing it. With his weak strength, how could the might of the heavens possibly notice him?

As it turned out, Ling Xiao paid a heavy price.

...

As they walked out of the small garden, they were met with a bustling clamor. People streamed back and forth on the wide, straight street, most of them heading in the same direction.

When they arrived at the trading plaza, both Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue were stunned speechless by the sight before them.

Before them was a massive plaza, packed with a jostling crowd, just like a country fair! It was a sea of people, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Fortunately, the one difference between this place and a marketplace was that there was no particularly noisy clamor; no one was shouting and hawking their wares like a street vendor.

’At least they’ve maintained some of the decorum and dignity of the great families,’ Ling Xiao thought, slightly chagrined. He hadn’t expected so many people to show up—it looked like there were at least ten thousand! Many of the great families and sects hadn’t just sent their young people; many older individuals, whose strength was clearly not weak, had also come to wander through the crowd, looking for anything that might suit them.

Thinking again of the Qin Family’s possible conspiracy, Ling Xiao couldn’t help but admire the person who planned this. ’Truly audacious!’ They had exploited people’s greed by releasing news of a Tier Nine Magical Beast. Those major families, used to their own arrogance, would rush in one after another even if they knew it was a trap.

The potential reward was too great to ignore. If they truly managed to slay that Giant Python Magical Beast, their family’s power would rise by at least a full tier. At the very least, they could forge several more peerless experts!

The major families and sects truly had deep foundations. The items laid out for sale ranged from sword techniques and Cultivation Techniques to medicinal herbs and Crystal Cores, and from weapons and ores to Alchemy and potion-making supplies... You could say that anything you could think of could be seen here. Moreover, the quality of the goods sold here was simply in a different league compared to those sold at auction houses in the Mortal World!

To put it another way, those auction houses might only see one or two exquisite items in a whole year! But those same exquisite items, if brought here, would just be considered common goods.

Song Mingyue’s gaze suddenly fell upon a beast bone hairpin. The hairpin was golden-yellow and about the length of a palm. One end was carved with a beautiful firebird. Miraculously, the firebird was actually red! Like a burning flame, it contrasted brilliantly with the golden yellow of the hairpin itself, making it exceptionally eye-catching.

In just a moment, no fewer than ten pretty girls had already looked at the hairpin. But after asking the price, some simply walked away in silence, while others glared angrily at the seller. Ling Xiao pulled Song Mingyue over to listen and discovered that this hairpin, carved from some unknown beast bone, was actually being sold for the price of a Tier Five Crystal Core!

This was outright robbery!

Although the hidden families and sects mostly had deep coffers, they also had numerous Disciples. Once everything was averaged out and an appropriate amount was set aside for reserves, what each person actually received wasn’t much!

Therefore, to trade a Tier Five Crystal Core for a hairpin like this, you were either crazy or ridiculously rich! Otherwise, no one would ever do such a thing.

Ling Xiao had already used up many of the various Magical Beast Crystal Cores in his ring. Song Mingyue, however, had brought quite a few from her family. But for a single hairpin to cost a Tier Five Crystal Core—even Song Mingyue, who had little concept of money, felt the seller was being too ruthless.

The person selling the hairpin didn’t look like he was from any major family or sect. He wore plain gray clothes and had an ordinary face—the type you wouldn’t be able to find if he was thrown into a crowd.

Ling Xiao stared at the hairpin, and it suddenly seemed familiar. An image of a famous beast from the Cultivation Realm suddenly came to mind—the Golden Tiger!

If ranked by strength, the Golden Tiger definitely wouldn’t make the top one hundred among the Beast Cultivators of the Cultivation Realm. The main reason for its fame was that its bones were golden-yellow! And the bones of a Golden Tiger were even harder than refined gold!

Therefore, many Cultivators hunted it, took its bones, and forged them into palm-sized flying swords. They would then slowly refine them with their Lifebound True Essence through a Refining Sacrifice. Once the refinement was complete, these small flying swords would possess extremely powerful destructive force!

However, this hairpin also had a fiery-red firebird attached to it, which surprised Ling Xiao. With his discerning eye, he couldn’t spot the slightest trace of forgery. He couldn’t help but wonder if he was mistaken, and this wasn’t made from the bone of a Golden Tiger after all. After all, this world and the Cultivation Realm were two completely different places!

"Could I take a look at it?"

Just as Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue were staring at the hairpin, another pleasant female voice spoke up. The voice felt suddenly familiar to Ling Xiao. He looked up and froze. Who else could that woman with the noble, elegant air and beautiful features be, if not Shangguan Yutong?

At that moment, standing beside Shangguan Yutong was a graceful and noble middle-aged beauty. She had a faint smile on her face and looked at Shangguan Yutong with a doting expression. This was Shangguan Yutong’s master, Qiuyue Yao, the daughter of the Lanyue Empire’s Grand Marshal, Qiu Chen.

The two of them seemed to be casually strolling around as well. A few strands of hair were stuck to Shangguan Yutong’s smooth forehead, which was covered in a thin layer of sweat, likely from walking for so long.

As if noticing someone staring at her, Shangguan Yutong frowned slightly out of habit, even though she was used to it. She felt that the person looking at her was being quite rude, staring blankly for a long time!

Thinking this, she took the beast bone hairpin from the seller and looked up, sweeping a cool glance in their direction. She was momentarily stunned. Then she glanced at the enchanting woman beside Ling Xiao, and a trace of confusion flickered across her face.

’That man’s eyes... they’re so familiar! Where have I seen them before?’ The thought flashed through her mind for only an instant before her attention was drawn back to the beast bone hairpin in her hand.

Seeing the extremely beautiful woman stare at Ling Xiao for several moments, Song Mingyue whispered with a hint of jealousy, "You know her?"

Ling Xiao kept his head down and said casually, "Let’s go."

Although Song Mingyue found it strange and was also a little reluctant to leave the hairpin, she saw that Ling Xiao did seem to know the woman and didn’t want to reveal his identity. So, she suppressed her curiosity and followed behind him, heading in another direction.

After asking about the price, Shangguan Yutong’s eyes also widened in astonishment. When she looked again for the person with the familiar eyes, he was already gone. She couldn’t help but shake her head slightly. ’I was probably overthinking it,’ she thought. ’Although that boy is elusive, he wouldn’t show up here, would he?’

Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue walked for a while before turning back. By this time, Shangguan Yutong was nowhere to be seen, and the beautiful beast bone hairpin was once again being ignored.

No matter how beautiful an item was, if it had no practical use, no one would buy it.

"Let me see it."

Ling Xiao glanced at the vendor, who was sitting on a chair with an indifferent expression, and spoke politely.

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