Chapter 72: Dragon Scale?

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Dragon Scale?

"This thing!"

Staring at the object in the man’s hand, Fang Xu’s pupils contracted slightly, his heart surging with shock.

In terms of shape, it was nearly identical to what the madman had stuffed into his hands earlier. The only difference was that the madman’s piece had been yellow, while the one this man held was black.

"What is this?" Fang Xu asked with a frown.

The man lowered his voice and expression, answering, "A Dragon Scale!"

PFFT!

Hearing this, Fang Xu instantly burst into laughter.

Seeing that Fang Xu didn’t believe him, the man grew anxious. He unsheathed the turquoise-inlaid dagger he had stolen earlier.

"This dagger barely reaches the first grade. I’ll test it for you to see!" As he spoke, he placed the so-called Dragon Scale on the ground, gripped the dagger, and viciously stabbed it.

Although his cultivation was only at the Martial Disciple Third Realm, his physical strength was still quite decent. The dagger struck the Dragon Scale hard, sparking brightly before violently rebounding.

The man presented both the Dragon Scale and the dagger to Fang Xu. "See for yourself.

"It withstood the heavy blow of a first-grade weapon without leaving a single mark. If it’s not a Dragon Scale, what else could it be?"

Fang Xu took the Dragon Scale and examined it carefully. Seeing that it truly didn’t bear a single scratch, he couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised.

"I’m not sure if it’s a real Dragon Scale, but since it’s only the size of a palm, what use could it possibly have?" Fang Xu asked with a smile.

Since it was similar to what the madman had given him, Fang Xu genuinely wanted to buy it and study it back home. However, the man in front of him was too shrewd; if Fang Xu showed even the slightest interest, he would undoubtedly be ripped off.

"This thing has plenty of uses!" the man hastily defended when his item was questioned.

Fang Xu chuckled and said, "To forge armor? One piece isn’t enough, right?

"To use as a weapon? It’s the size of a palm—how could it hurt anyone?

"Or perhaps for Alchemy? Since it’s this tough, how could it be refined into medicine?"

Rendered speechless by this barrage of questions, the man suddenly felt that his prized possession was indeed practically useless.

"Brother, to tell you the truth, this thing really came from the ruins of Tilan Mountain!" The man brought up the Tilan Mountain ruins again, seemingly still hoping to raise the price.

"Ten taels of silver. If you sell it, I’ll take it just for the sake of collecting." Fang Xu didn’t want to waste time arguing and directly offered a price.

"Ten taels! Of silver?!" The man fumed. "You’re insulting me!"

Fang Xu said nothing, merely looking at him with a faint smile.

Seeing no trace of eager desire on Fang Xu’s face, the man finally relented and said, "Add a little more!"

Fang Xu was about to reply when he suddenly felt a slight stir from his virtual panel. Sinking his consciousness into it, he discovered that the arrow pointing toward Wuhuan’s legacy was flashing. It clearly pointed at a stealthy man tightly bundled in clothes.

"Is it him?" Fang Xu thought. The person the arrow pointed to was likely the Wu Family servant. The item he carried was very likely the handwritten manuscript of the Alchemy Dao legacy.

Glancing at the man, a plan formed in Fang Xu’s mind. He turned back to the vendor and asked, "Do you see that person over there?"

The man followed the direction of his finger. A sharp glint flashed through his eyes as he nodded. "He looks like an easy mark. I got this treasure of mine from a fat cat just like him."

"Didn’t it come from the Tilan Mountain ruins?" Fang Xu teased.

The man smiled awkwardly.

"Go swipe whatever he has on him. Add in this Dragon Scale of yours, and I’ll give you one tael of Gold. How about it?" Fang Xu whispered.

One tael of Gold?!

Hearing this, the man greedily licked his lips. "That won’t do! What if the item on him is worth far more than that price? Wouldn’t I be taking a loss?"

"And what if the item on him is just trash?" Fang Xu replied calmly.

The man paused, struggling internally for a long while before giving a sheepish grin. "This kind of deal is pretty damn thrilling!

"Wait here!"

In a flash, he appeared beside the man suspected of being the Wu Family servant. After doing nothing more than gently brushing past the servant, he returned to Fang Xu’s side, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Got it!" The man smiled, handing a bundle over to Fang Xu like a show-off.

Fang Xu felt it with his hand; there was indeed something resembling a book inside, and the arrow on his virtual panel vanished at that exact moment. He immediately fished a small gold bead out of his coin pouch and handed it to the man. "The gold is yours. Give me that piece of junk now."

Taking the gold, the man bit into it to test its authenticity, then somewhat reluctantly handed the so-called Dragon Scale to Fang Xu.

"Brother, what’s in the bundle? Why don’t you open it up and let us see?"

Fang Xu shook his head. "It’s better not to. If I struck it rich, you’d feel terrible, and if you came out ahead, you’d just laugh at me.

"Let’s leave it at that."

Having paid the money and secured the items, he turned around and walked toward the other stalls in the alleyway.

After browsing for a long time without finding anything to his satisfaction, Fang Xu simply left the area, planning to check out the weapon shop Yun Qing had mentioned. He casually visited a few weapon shops, and after seeing their wares, he couldn’t help but click his tongue in shock!

The most ordinary graded weapon cost around thirty taels of Gold, while slightly better ones were priced at nearly a hundred!

No wonder Yun Qing had told him not to buy things here. After covering the expenses for Blood Food and Elixirs, how could an ordinary Martial Artist have enough spare cash to afford weapons like these? More importantly, he could sense that these so-called graded weapons were far inferior to the wooden stick resting within his Inner Acupoint.

Whatever! He would slowly search for one in the future.

Leaving the weapon shop, Fang Xu returned to the place where he had separated from Yun Qing, finding him in a private room on the second floor of the tavern.

Seeing Fang Xu carrying a bundle, Yun Qing took a sip of his wine and said calmly, "Did you buy what you were looking for?"

Fang Xu shook his head. "I didn’t find anything handy."

Yun Qing smiled faintly, stroking his own sword. "Good weapons aren’t that easy to come by. My father had to swallow his pride and beg Master Ou for three whole months before he reluctantly agreed to forge this sword for me."

"Master Ou is an Artifact Refiner?" Fang Xu asked, his curiosity piqued.

Yun Qing nodded. "Both Artifact Refining and Alchemy require immense talent. Even someone of my father’s esteemed status wouldn’t dare slight a skilled Artifact Refiner or Alchemist."

To a Martial Artist, Divine Weapons could significantly enhance their strength, while Elixirs were essential consumables for everyone on the martial path. Therefore, it was perfectly understandable that exceptional Artifact Refiners and Alchemists held such revered status.

"Young Master Yun, do you know any Alchemy Masters?" Fang Xu asked.

Chu Muyun’s body was almost recovered. Once she was fully healed and able to cultivate, she could study the Alchemy Dao, which meant she would need the guidance of an Expert. The only Alchemist Fang Xu was familiar with was the Wu Family Ancestor, Wuhuan; he hadn’t interacted with any other Pill Masters.

"Naturally. The Yun Family has a fairly good relationship with several Pill Masters at Huichun Hall," Yun Qing said, before adding with a chuckle. "But don’t even think about it. They don’t take on apprentices.

"Whether it’s Pill Masters or Artifact Refiners, they all place great importance on passing down their legacy. Unless they find a disciple they truly favor, these stubborn old fools would rather take their teachings to the grave than pass them on lightly.

"Let’s go."

Finishing the last of his wine, Yun Qing tossed two pieces of loose silver onto the table and turned to head downstairs.

By the time the two returned to Fenglin Town, it was late past 7 p.m.

Yun Qing returned to the inn on his own, thankfully not lingering to bother Chu Muyun anymore. After returning home, Fang Xu gave Chu Muyun a massage before heading back to his own room. There, he took out all the loot he had acquired during the day.