20: Thousand Illusion Faces

The old man crouched down, carefully inspecting each item with practiced movements, softly calling out names and estimated prices: “Sawtooth arrowfish main bone spur, in perfect condition, five Spirit Stones per piece, thirty-five pieces total, one hundred seventy-five Spirit Stones… Scales… Abalone blade scraps… frigid mist grass… fire pattern pepper…”

The more he looked, the more astonished he became; the handling of these Materials was simply impeccable, preserving their Spiritual Qi and value to the maximum extent.

It took a good half an hour before the old man stood up, wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, and reported a number to the attendant.

The attendant took a deep breath, looked at Lin Feng, and said with an air of disbelief and respect, “Fellow Daoist, after appraisal, the total value of your batch of Materials is… three thousand one hundred and twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones!”

Over three thousand! This was almost equivalent to the net profit of a pillar industry of the Lin Family for half a year!

Lin Feng’s heart stirred slightly, but his expression remained calm: “Acceptable.”

The attendant quickly presented the Spirit Stones.

Watching his Storage Pouch become full again, Lin Feng pondered for a moment, then took out a delicate small box carved from chill jade, opening a slight gap.

Immediately, a sweet, rich, yet subtly fiery fragrance wafted out; inside the box lay ten crimson, lychee-sized fruits covered in profound fire patterns—crimson flame jujube pear!

The appraiser old man’s nostrils flared, and his cloudy old eyes instantly gleamed: “This is… a Spirit Fruit that nourishes Divine Sense?! crimson flame jujube pear? And in such perfect condition!”

He carefully stepped forward and picked one up with specialized jade tweezers.

Observing it closely under a special lamp and sensing it with his Divine Sense, the shock on his face deepened: “The fire and wood Spiritual Qi are pure and balanced, and the power to nourish Divine Sense contained within is extremely gentle and effective! A High Grade among First-Tier ones! Rare! Truly rare!”

The attendant was also startled by this Spirit Fruit and quickly asked, “Fellow Daoist, do you also wish to sell this fruit?”

“Yes, give me a price.” Lin Feng closed the jade box, cutting off the fragrance.

The attendant and the appraiser discussed in low voices for a moment, then the attendant quoted a price: “Fellow Daoist, crimson flame jujube pear of this quality is indeed rare.

Our Pavilion is willing to acquire it at a price of two hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones per fruit, totaling two thousand Spirit Stones for ten fruits.”

Lin Feng’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

This price was quite a bit lower than he had anticipated.

The nourishing effect of crimson flame jujube pear on Divine Sense was, for him, a qualitative change accumulated over time, and its value was far beyond that of ordinary First-Tier Spirit Fruits.

“Two hundred Spirit Stones…” Lin Feng shook his head slightly, “The efficacy of this fruit is special; this price is too low.”

The attendant looked troubled and glanced at the appraiser.

The old man stroked his beard, his eyes gleaming, and said in a low voice, “Fellow Daoist, although this fruit is good, it is after all only a First-Tier Spirit Fruit.

Its effect of nourishing Divine Sense is negligible for Cultivators above the Foundation Establishment Stage, primarily benefiting Qi Refining Cultivators.

Two hundred Spirit Stones per fruit is a fair price even for retail in the market.

However…”

He changed his tone, “If Fellow Daoist is not in a hurry to sell, our Pavilion will hold a ‘Treasures Mini-Auction’ in three days, with most participants being distinguished guests at the Late Stage Qi Refining or even Foundation Establishment Stage.

Putting this fruit on the auction block, with its unique efficacy, might result in a premium.

Of course, our Pavilion will need to extract a ten percent commission.”

Auction?

Lin Feng’s heart stirred.

This was indeed an opportunity.

He pondered for a moment and asked, “Is there a proof of entry?”

The attendant immediately handed over a palm-sized black invitation card, its edges inlaid with tiny Spirit Jade, and its front engraved with the characters “Juzhen” and an auction hammer pattern: “Fellow Daoist, with this invitation, you may attend the auction hall on the third floor of our Pavilion at the first quarter of the Xu hour in three days.

If you decide to auction, simply hand the Spirit Fruit to the auctioneer then.”

“Good.” Lin Feng put away the invitation card and the crimson flame jujube pear jade box, “We’ll talk in three days.”

He had no intention of staying longer, paid for the Magical Artifacts he had purchased earlier, and under the respectful gaze of the attendant, put on the “thousand illusions mask”, transforming into the appearance of an ordinary middle-aged Cultivator, and turned to walk out of Juzhen Pavilion.

The afternoon sun was a bit dazzling, and the market street was still bustling with people.

Lin Feng mingled with the crowd, seemingly strolling casually, but the “Turtle Breath Qi Concealment Art” had already quietly operated to its extreme, and his Divine Sense, like an invisible spider web, cautiously sensed his surroundings.

Not long after leaving Juzhen Pavilion, he keenly noticed that three faint gazes, filled with scrutiny and greed, had clung to him like maggots.

‘As expected, I’ve been targeted…’ Lin Feng sneered inwardly.

Selling Yao Beast Materials worth over three thousand Spirit Stones at once made it difficult not to attract attention.

He remained calm, but his footsteps quietly quickened, and at the same time, he infused a trace of Spiritual Qi into a “Light Body Talisman” in his embrace.

His figure became slippery in the crowd, like a swimming fish.

Using corners, stalls, and even passing Cultivators as cover, a few clever turns, and he disappeared into a narrow back alley filled withsundries.

“Where is he?”

“Damn it, we lost him!”

“He’s an old hand!”

A few suppressed curses and frustrated conversations came from the alley entrance.

Lin Feng held his breath, pressing against the cold shadow of the wall, listening as the footsteps reluctantly faded away until they completely disappeared.

He did not immediately show himself, but instead continued to sneak through several more streets and alleys in the shadows, confirming that he had completely shaken off his pursuers, before taking a large detour back to the vicinity of the Lin Family’s rented courtyard.

He did not go in directly, but instead found a secluded corner, took off the “thousand illusions mask”, changed back to his original appearance and aura, and then calmly pushed the door open and entered.

In the small courtyard, Lin Jianghe was idly wiping his Flying Sword.

Seeing Lin Feng return, he immediately jumped up: “Brother Feng! You’re finally back! You’ve been out so long, did you buy anything good? Eh? You’ve changed into a new Dharma Robe? This material… it doesn’t look cheap!”

He keenly noticed the Flowing Cloud Dharma Robe on Lin Feng.

“Yes, I bought one for protection.” Lin Feng said vaguely, not mentioning the encounter at Juzhen Pavilion.

“The Family’s ship will stop here for five days before returning, so we can have a good look around!”

“5 days?”

“Recently, I heard that several nearby Sea Domains seem to be restless, and the Family is also worried about potential problems on the way.”

Lin Jianghe frowned, “Although it is said that our West Flow Sea Region is surrounded by large and small Families, there should theoretically be no major danger.”

The entire West Flow Sea Region is too vast, tens of thousands of miles wide; who knows if there will be any crises.

It is said that only one or two tenths of the area have been explored and have human traces.

Ultimately, the ocean is still the domain of Yao Beasts; human Cultivators are too few, and top-tier Cultivators are even fewer.

Humans can only gather together to guard against the end of this ocean.

Lin Feng nodded, but was still very curious about what had happened in other Sea Domains, as this place was too far from there.

It was said that even Golden Core Cultivators would need more than ten days of full effort to fly there.

Why think about these things?

If the sky falls, tall people will hold it up; it’s not something a small Qi Refining Stage Cultivator like himself can solve.

“Then I’ll go into seclusion after we return in 5 days! I’ll strive to Breakthrough as soon as possible!” Lin Feng nodded.

Seeing Lin Feng so determined, Lin Jianghe also felt motivated.

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