Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

  “Well……”


  Wei Zhishu did not know how to answer just then, and so asked tentatively, “Mister Jiang, should I have someone bring a drop over?”


  “Sure.”


  Jiang He nodded, despite his many complaints in his head.

  One drop……

  The Wei clan was more or less one of Jiangnan’s three great martial clans. Why so stingy?

  That being said, having one drop would still be enough for Jiang He to know the taste.

  After that, he continued flipping through the catalogue.

  All he saw were weapons and combat suits.

  What surprised Jiang He, however, was that most of the combat suits and weapons were not crafted from new alloys, but were ‘Old Martial Armament’, passed down from the Old Martial Era.

  Still, compared to modern alloy armaments, both have their respective advantages, and neither type really came out on top.

  “Are you interested in any of these weapons Mister Jiang?”


  “Our clans had recovered all these items from one heritage site, which we deduce to be dated around the Song dynasty, making these armaments at least seven hundred years old. Given that they did not deteriorate after that long, one could see that the craftsmanship was exceedingly immaculate.”


  Murong Buyi walked up to him, keen on offering an introduction.

  Nonetheless, Jiang He shook his head and replied, “Let me have a look.”


  To tell the truth, he really wasn’t interested in the Old Martial Armaments, unless it was some sword or blade that elites had left behind. Those might have a lingering remnant of their will contained within, allowing him to gain certain insight.

  All that was left were the rare treasures.

  There were quite a lot of interesting items in this category, with some having been excavated out of heritage sites, while others took shape under the Revival of Qi.

  There was even a spatial ring, too.

  Even so, Jiang He’s gaze fell upon a photograph in the catalogue.

  It showed a tuft of flora.

  It resembled aloe vera that grew just around thirty centimeters and had nine leaves, each of which were narrow and long like a sword, with tiny saw tooth growing on the edge of the leaves.

  Two short and simple captions were written behind the photo.

  [Sword Will Barrenwort]

  [Users without sword will would gain certain chance of grasping sword will after consumption. Elites who grasped sword will may use it to improve their sword will.]

  Behind him, Elder Lin stirred.

  After he revived, he had been running around to gather funds for buying the Sword Will Barrenwort. Still, he would not protest if Jiang He wanted it, since Jiang He was the one who saved his life.

  Even so, Jiang He appeared doubtful and puzzled. “A tuft of grass could help in the grasping sword will…… is this for real?”


  “Items that our clans would offer on the auction are naturally real.”


  “But……”


  Jiang He seemed to be at a loss for words at that. “Does this thing count as a floral spirit? Those things generally improve cultivation, spirit, or physique. Helping in the Boundary of Wills…… That’s Illogical.”


  Long Qi’s mouth twitched in response.

  He turned by reflex at the piece of band-aid dumped on the ground, and thought, ‘Illogical? Is your own stuff even logical in comparison?’


  Subtly picking up the used band-aid, Long Qi stuffed it in his pocket with a straight face as he smiled and explained, “The reason that the Sword Will Barrenwort could help elites grasp sword will, is because it contains a strong sword will within itself.

  “This treasure only grows in the heritage sites belonging to sword will elites, and our clans had was incidentally a sword will elite.”


  “Oh?”


  Jiang He’s gaze twitched.

  He understood it somewhat now.

  A sword will elite who could leave behind a heritage site was certainly not work—after all, their sword elite were so powerful that it might not fade even with their deaths, and some lingering sword will must have nurtured the growth of this Sword Will Barrenwort.

  “Then how many of this Sword Will Barrenwort do you have?”


  Jiang He closed the catalogue at that.

  He has no need for the other stuff.

  In return, Murong Buyi walked up and said, “We’ve found nine tufts in total at the heritage site. The Murong clan was allocated three, but we’ve already used up our stock.”


  In truth, it was not—Murong Buyi had saved one for himself.

  Even so, he definitely would not hand this out.

  After all, Murong Buyi was most adept at swordplay and had a certain extent of mastery over it. All he had to wait was to ascend up to rank-nine before consuming the Sword Will Barrenwort, and once he grasped sword will then, he would instantly become a top rank-nine elite.

  “We, the Wei clan has one tuft, and it’s the one being auctioned tonight.”


  However, Wei Zhishu laughed bitterly after some thought, “However, the Sword Will Barrenwort placed on auction is one of the most important auction items, Mister Jiang. Many sword will elites such as Elder Lin had come expressly for it……”


  His meaning was clear: the Wei Clan’s Sword Will Barrenwort was not for sale.

  Aside from crossing a bunch of sword-will elites, selling it to Jiang He would be a breach of trust……

  In fact, the auction the three clans organized had used the Sword Will Barrenwort to hype up the event. Selling it ahead of time would make the auction a laughing stock.

  Meanwhile, Long Qi was quite pleased with himself after picking up the band-aid.

  This little thing……

  The medicine had yet to wore off entirely, and could be used a second time.

  As for bacterial infection……

  That did not really matter.

  A rank-eight martial artist getting spooked by something like that?

  And he had the Amoxicillin capsule too!

  Nonetheless, he appeared taken aback after hearing what Wei Zhishu and Murong Buyi said, and exclaimed in surprise, “The Sword Will Barrenwort that we, the Wei clan was given is still around. How did your clans use it up so quickly?”


  Both Wei Zhishu and Murong Buyi’s mouths twitched.

  The Long clan would use it for what?

  Every last member of your clan are big, sweaty men who cultivated in either fist techniques or palm techniques—the Sword Will Barrenwort was useless even if they consumed it.

  Nonetheless, Long Qi started to laugh out loud, appearing rather thrilled. “Allow me to trade with you, Mister Jiang. I have the Sword Will Barrenwort kept back home, and it costs us a lot to keep it.”


  “Sure!”


  Jiang He smiled, his interest piqued. “I’ll have all three tufts of Sword Will Barrenwort. How do you wish to trade, Chief Long?”


  After some thought, Long Qi replied, “The value of the Sword Will Barrenwort is not equal to your average rank-nine floral spirits. One tuft could develop a top rank-nine elite grasping sword swill, so it won’t be a problem if I ask for five Bezoar Detox Pills, five Amoxicillin capsules, and five band-aids, yes?”


  “You’re quite the businessman, Chief Long.”


  Jiang He smiled. “My spirit medicine can save a life in vital moments, and when it comes to value, one Bezoar Detox Pill would not lose out to the Sword Will Barrenwort.

  Pausing, he then added, “But since Chief Long had spoken, let’s go with the value you’ve set: three tufts of Sword Will Barrenwort for fifteen Bezoar Detox Pills, fifteen Amoxicillin capsules, and fifteen band-aids.”


  Delighted, Long Qi rose to his feet and strode outside. “Please wait for the moment, Mister Jiang. I shall return home personally to bring you the Sword Will Barrenwort.”


  Soon, the Wei clan’s rank-nine Origin Fluid had arrived. It was a single drop, but it was put inside a porcelain bottle.

  Levitating the droplet with True Qi, Jiang He opened his mouth and drank it.

  He closed his eyes and tasted it carefully, feeling an icy sensation once the drop of Origin Fluid reached his mouth. A faint fresh sweetness also unfurled within, and while it was not as concentrated as the Origin Fluid of the willow tree, it was extraordinary on its own.

  “Not bad, not bad. The taste is incredible.”


  Jiang He chuckled. “I’ll take all the Origin Fluid you have, Chief Wei, and I’ll stick to the deal Chief Long offered: five Bezoar Detox Pills, five Amoxicillin capsules, and five band-aids.”


  Delighted, Wei Zhishu exclaimed, “I shall leave right now to prepare the remaining fifteen hundred drops for you, Mister Jiang.”


  With that, only Murong Buyi was left of the three chiefs in the room.

  He was rather disappointed that he did not get anything, and so left after offering Jiang He a fist-palm salute.

  After that, only Long Mountain Lin and Jiang He remained.

  The former could not help asking, “Brother, don’t you think you are losing out with this trade?”


  Jiang He smiled but said nothing.

  Losing out?

  No way……

  How was he losing out by exchanging Bezoar Detox Pills, Amoxicillin capsules, and band-aids for Sword Will Barrenworts?

  The stuff might be worth kingdoms for you lot, but it’s no different from cold medicine to me.

  ***

  Outside Hotel Caesar.

  Murong Buyi climbed inside a black Bentley.

  Right after he entered, he promptly whipped out his phone and dialed a number. “Notify every clan elder that we’ll be having an emergency meeting in ten minutes!”


  Being an ancient martial clan with centuries of history, the Murong clan was extremely affluent. However, being ever seclusive, they never present themselves to be ranked on rich lists, or the top ten richest people of Hua Nation would be replaced.

  The clan also had a giant courtyard in Jiangnan city that spanned almost a hundred Mu like a massive park. There were garden, fake mountains, pavilions, and even a small artificial lake.

  By the time Murong Buyi reached the clan conference room, there were over twenty people waiting for him.

  They were all core hierarchs of the Murong clan, with two rank-nines, six rank-eights, and eleven rank-sevens amongst them. And without further ado, Murong Buyi went straight to the point and told them about the effect of Jiang He’ spirit medicine.

  The clan elders were left astonished.

  “Having this medicine is equal to having saved a life. That is why I’ve decided to offer the clan’s immortal art that we’ve been reserving in exchange for Mister Jiang’s medicine.”


  “What?”


  Many of the elders were stunned, with a rank-eight martial artist rising to say, “No way, brother! How valuable is the immortal art in comparison to some medicine?”


  He felt many a stare shot at him right after he spoke, and he braced himself as he continued, “Dear elders, our clan’s immortal art is obtained by our ancestor through sheer coincidence. He even wrote in his will that any who could grasp the art would definitely bring the Murong clan to new heights.”


  “Humph!”


  One of the rank-nine martial artists snorted at that and barked, “Murong Bufan, I knew you’ve been holding a grudge against Murong Buyi ever since you lost the struggle for clan leader all those years ago. This, on the other hand, concerns our clan’s progress—I’ll cripple you if you dare to utter more useless crap!”


  Murong Bufan’s face went purple at that, and he snorted, sat down and but said nothing.

  After all, that rank-nine martial artist was the strongest individual in the Murong clan and held seniority. He was the brother of Murong Buyi’s grandfather, although he was now over a hundred and then years old and approaching the end of his life.

  When it came to cultivation……

  Lifespans would not be extended if one did not ascend up to divine-tier.

  And now, he rose to his wobbly feet and said, “Everyone knows that the immortal art is a torn script and no one had grasped its contents even after centuries had passed. It is certainly a good thing that it could be exchanged for some miraculous medicine.”


  “Moreover, we have copies of that immortal art, and anyone who wants to cultivate it could use that.”


  Murong Buyi hence bowed and offered the elder a rank-nine salute, saying, “Second Grandfather, it’s said that Jiang He also possesses a treasure that promotes longevity. I will definitely trade for it!”


  The old man, however, shook his head and sighed. “Do you know how precious such treasures are? Don’t waste it. I’ve already lived for a hundred and sixteen years and that’s enough.”


  Nonetheless, Murong Buyi insisted, “I’ve asked Long Mountain Lin—that reassure improves both physique and extends one’s lifespan by almost five years. Having grasped the Boundary of Wills with perfection, Second Grandfather, your body could gain youth and in turn strive for divine-tier.”


  ***

  Hence.

  Twenty minutes later.

  Murong Buyi returned to Hotel Caesar with a Venus Rosewood box and went straight to the point. “Mister Jiang. This is a torn script from an immortal art. I wonder if you are interested?”


  Murong did not hold back from explaining that the immortal art was a torn page.

  “The Murong clan’s secret technique, ‘Star Shift’ was incidentally developed according to the torn script of this immortal art.”


  Jiang He’s eyes twitched.

  Star Shift……

  Murong clan?

  Could the Murong clan’s ancestor be Murong Longcheng?

  Jiang He did not ask.

  His attention was all drawn to Murong Buyi’s immortal art.

  Being a torn script……

  Did not matter.

  I could just fill in the blanks and plant it. Voila, a complete immortal art manual!

  Jiang He kept a straight face despite his excitement and smiled. “I did hear that an era of immortals might have existed before the Old Martial Era. Now that an immortal cultivation manual pops up, there seems to be some truth to it…… well, I am interested in that cultivation manual, Chief Murong.”


  “But……”


  Jiang He paused then and added, “To be frank, the torn script of an immortal art is not all that valuable. If I’m not mistaken, most of the Murong clan would have studied it as well, right? There is no way you would put it out on offer if they could grasp any of its contents.”


  Murong Buyi did not deny that.

  Musing to himself for a moment, Jiang He said, “Still, it remains an immortal art and is valuable even as a collectible. So, fifteen Bezoar Detox Pills, fifteen Amoxicillin capsules, and fifteen band-aids.”


  Murong Buyi could not help feeling delighted!

  That number was more than what he expected, but he did not quickly agree to it. He bowed respectfully with a fist-palm salute and asked, “Mister Jiang, I wish to exchange for a treasure that promotes longevity. If this torn script is not enough, I’m willing to trade with another treasure.”


  He spoke about his second grandfather’s condition.

  In response, Jiang He drew out a giant eggplant with a turn of his hand and passed it to Murong Buyi, saying, “I shall give you this one since you’re such a devoted son.”


  Murong Buyi: “.……”