Chapter 351 - 304: The Art of Forgery

Chapter 351: Chapter 304: The Art of Forgery

However, achieving this goal would not be simple.

Jiang Xu needed to conduct an in-depth study of the Forgery Technique on this cauldron, analyzing every aspect: its casting principles, required materials, Spell structure, and the user’s application techniques.

He also had to ensure that when he replicated the technique, it would be indistinguishable from the original, avoiding any slip-ups in the details.

He even had to consider the risk of backlash during the casting process and how to reasonably explain his sudden possession of a series of "Ancient Relics" without arousing suspicion.

A fire lit up in Jiang Xu’s eyes. He began to seriously examine the small cauldron in his hand, trying to decipher the secrets of the Forgery Technique hidden within.

Unfortunately, the Forgery Technique was hidden too deeply. Although his Spiritual Eye Technique allowed him to see that the item was a fake, he couldn’t figure out how the technique actually worked.

After staring at it for a long time without figuring anything out, Jiang Xu put down the small cauldron, walked around the stall, and stood before the owner.

The stall owner, feeling a bit guilty, coughed twice to mask his unease.

"Wh-what do you want?!"

"Let me tell you, Magical Combat is strictly forbidden on Xiao Jin Island."

"If you dare to make a move, someone will arrest you in no time. You’d better watch it!"

Jiang Xu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"No, what are you thinking? You haven’t done anything that would warrant me attacking you!"

"Then why did you come over?" the stall owner asked, confused.

"Well, I’m just curious how you managed to make this cauldron look so much like the real thing," Jiang Xu said softly, leaning closer to the owner.

"Wh-what do you mean ’look like the real thing’? Everything I have here is authentic!"

The stall owner immediately grew anxious, even biting his tongue in his haste. "If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll sue you for slander, you hear!"

Seeing the man was still stubbornly refusing to admit it, Jiang Xu felt helpless.

"Just drop the act. This is clearly some kind of special technique that temporarily gives a Magical Artifact a disguise, making it look impressive. But it’s all flash and no substance, completely useless."

"Relax, I’m not here to expose you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have leaned in to talk. Wouldn’t it be easier to just shout it out?"

"As for blackmail, that’s something I’d never do."

"Then what is this about?" The stall owner slowly let his guard down and asked curiously.

"I’m curious about your Forgery Technique. Can you sell it to me?"

"So you’re here to steal my business?!" The stall owner’s anger flared. Just as he was about to erupt, he saw Jiang Xu hold up five fingers.

"One hundred Spirit Stones," Jiang Xu said.

"One hundred?! Are you treating me like a beggar?!" The stall owner’s anger subsided a little, but he was still fuming.

"Two hundred."

"Uh, two hundred... That’s still a bit..." The stall owner hesitated.

"Three hundred!"

"Fine! Deal!"

...

Jiang Xu left the stall whose scheme he had exposed and weaved through the bustling market.

His gaze swept over one stall after another, sometimes lingering on an item, other times shifting elsewhere, as if he were searching for something.

When the stall owners first saw Jiang Xu, they were all full of enthusiasm, thinking they had found a potential big spender. They eagerly showed off their treasures and pushed their wares.

As time went on, they gradually realized that Jiang Xu was just browsing, with no intention of buying.

Disappointed, the stall owners stopped paying so much attention to him, turning their focus to other customers and letting Jiang Xu wander among the stalls alone.

Finally, Jiang Xu found a relatively quiet corner of the market. He stopped, took a small booklet from his robes, and began to read it with intense focus.

This booklet was the very Forgery Technique he had just purchased from the previous stall—the Spirit Attachment Technique.

A Tier One Upper Grade Technique that would later be misused as a tool for forgery.

Although it cost him a steep three hundred Spirit Stones, to Jiang Xu, the technique’s value far exceeded its price.

The Spirit Attachment Technique was originally a form of magic that could enhance a Magical Artifact to a certain degree.

When cultivated to a high Realm, it could even temporarily alter a Magical Artifact’s properties and characteristics, granting it much greater power.

But who would have thought that a technique intended to improve the quality of Magical Artifacts would one day be used by people to create fake Ancient Artifacts, becoming a tool for deception.

Looking at the booklet in his hand, Jiang Xu couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

’He understood in his heart that when the creator of the Spirit Attachment Technique designed it, they must have done so with the intention of increasing a cultivator’s combat power and promoting the Righteous Dao.’

’But any powerful force can be abused by those with ulterior motives, and the Spirit Attachment Technique was no exception.’

’Those greedy and unscrupulous Cultivators used the Spirit Attachment Technique to forge Ancient Artifacts, deceiving others for massive profits.’

’In a way, this was its own twisted form of "development," though this was not what the creator had intended. It was a product of human greed and deceit.’

Before finishing his tour of the stalls, Jiang Xu did not leave empty-handed.

He selected a few items to put away, but they weren’t the fakes carefully disguised with the Spirit Attachment Technique. They were genuine Ancient Artifacts.

However, these so-called "genuine" items were actually just a few battered fragments of Magical Artifacts. Their integrity was severely compromised, their original Spiritual Power channels were broken, and their Magical Power was almost completely gone.

To an ordinary cultivator, these fragments had no practical use and were nothing more than decorations—a waste of Spirit Stones.

But Jiang Xu hadn’t bought them on a whim, nor because he had too many Spirit Stones to burn.

He had his own plans. These seemingly useless Magical Artifact fragments actually concealed immense value.

They were precious physical specimens for studying ancient civilization and artifact-crafting techniques. They might contain lost Artifact Refining Secret Methods or unique material formulas.

If he could find a way to repair them, he might be able to restore the fragments to their original state, turning trash into treasure and forging powerful Ancient Magical Artifacts.

Jiang Xu was extremely curious about the origin of these Magical Artifact fragments.

He noticed that many stalls on the island were selling similar broken remnants from Ancient Times. The sheer quantity and variety couldn’t be a coincidence.

There had to be a stable source that was producing these items.

Perhaps it was a little-known ruin, a Secret Realm, or a forgotten Ancient Battlefield.

He also couldn’t rule out the existence of an organization or individual specializing in excavating, repairing, and selling Ancient Relics.

They obtained these fragments through some channel and then sold them openly on Xiao Jin Island.

They might hold the secret paths into certain ancient ruins, exploring them periodically and bringing back damaged Magical Artifacts to trade on the island.

Full of doubt, Jiang Xu decided to directly ask the stall owners about the source of these ancient fragments.

He originally thought that if he offered enough incentive, he could pry some valuable clues from these merchants’ mouths.

But reality took him by surprise.

It was as if the stall owners had all coordinated beforehand.

Every single one of them, without exception, repeated the same obviously fabricated adventure stories.

Although Jiang Xu tried to trade Spirit Stones for information about the real source of the goods, the stall owners’ eyes flickered with temptation when faced with the Spirit Stones.

However, after a moment’s hesitation, they chose to remain tight-lipped, resolutely refusing to reveal a single truth about the source of the ancient fragments.

No matter how Jiang Xu pressed them, they kept their mouths shut, as if there was a secret behind it all that could not be known by outsiders.

Faced with the stall owners’ collective silence, Jiang Xu felt a bit helpless, but he wasn’t discouraged.

’Since these merchants chose to keep their secret, it meant the conventional path of inquiry was a dead end.’

Jiang Xu was not without a backup plan. He had anticipated this situation, which was the real reason he had bought those ancient fragments.

Jiang Xu decided to use a more direct method: the Seeking Technique, to find the origin of these Ancient Magical Artifact fragments.

’You won’t tell me, huh?’

’Fine, I’ll find it myself.’

Jiang Xu took a broken Magical Artifact fragment from his robes. Gripping it in his hand, he focused his mind and began to activate the Seed of Seeking within his body.

In that instant, countless powerful auras surged from the seemingly ruined artifact, like a dormant prehistoric beast awakening, instantly flooding the entire space.