151: The Vanke Conference and the "Scrap Metal Gambling Game"

Tianxing City, 30th Floor.

This is the "Commercial Waistline" of Tianxing City and the dividing line between Mortals and low-level Cultivators. Today, on this massive plaza covering a thousand acres, colorful flags fluttered and the sound of people was deafening.

[Myriad Treasures Convention].

This is a decennial grand event in the Chaotic Star Sea. Not only does it feature official Star Palace auctions, but it also hosts countless merchant associations from the Inner Sea, Outer Sea, and even major Sects setting up stalls.

"Take a look, come and see! Deep-sea Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, the perfect choice for forging a Flying Sword!"

"Freshly harvested Tier-3 Demon Core! Don't miss out as you walk by!"

Amidst a row of magnificent, treasure-glowing stalls, one corner appeared completely out of place.

There stood a weathered wooden plaque: [Qingyun Recycling Station].

Beneath the plaque, Zhou Wannian (Old Man Han) was still lying on that rattan chair that looked like it might fall apart at any moment, fiddling with a pair of pitch-black iron balls in his hand.

To his left, Li Feiyu stood like a door god holding his blade, his face full of fierce flesh, scaring passersby from approaching.

To his right, Ling Yunxiao was squatting on the ground with a tattered cloth spread before him, displaying several newly repaired second-hand Magical Artifacts.

"Old Man Han, aren't we being a bit too shabby?"

Ling Yunxiao looked at the gold-inlaid and jade-encrusted display next door, then at the tattered cloth beneath his own rear, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Look at that 'Golden Whale Chamber of Commerce'; they have two rows of female Cultivators just for welcoming guests, while we just have us three grown men..."

"Shabby?"

Zhou Wannian's eyelids lifted slightly as he glanced at the grand stall next door.

"That's called 'not showing off one's wealth.' Besides, we're here to 'source goods,' not to enter a beauty pageant."

His gaze landed on the display stand of the "Golden Whale Chamber of Commerce."

A large group of Cultivators surrounded it, letting out gasps and sighs from time to time.

"That is 'Treasure Gambling.'"

Zhou Wannian said indifferently, "The Golden Whale Chamber of Commerce specializes in excavating 'lumps' from deep-sea ruins and ancient battlefields that have been eroded by time and are unrecognizable. Buyers pay to purchase them and cut them open on the spot. If a treasure is cut out, they become rich overnight; if it's just a pile of rotten stones, they lose everything."

"Commonly known as—Stone Gambling."

"Stone Gambling?" Ling Yunxiao became interested. "Old Man Han, with your eyesight, why don't we go have a gamble?"

"Nine out of ten gambles are losses."

Zhou Wannian shook his head. "Since the Golden Whale Chamber of Commerce dares to put them out for sale, it means their internal appraisers have already screened them once. The good stuff was kept long ago, and what's left is used to scam... hm?"

Zhou Wannian's voice stopped abruptly.

The iron balls in his hand stopped spinning.

Just now, the Cloud Seal Heavenly Scripture within him and the set of "five elements magnetic rings" he had recently implanted into Ling Yuling's body produced an extremely faint resonance.

This resonance came from the Golden Whale Chamber of Commerce's "Scrap Area," where items were tossed haphazardly in a corner and marked with the cheapest prices.

"A bit interesting."

Zhou Wannian sat up straight and put away his cattail fan.

"Let's go, let's give our neighbor some business."

...In front of the Golden Whale Chamber of Commerce stall.

A middle-aged manager in a brocade robe with a potbelly was standing on a high platform, spit flying as he introduced a grey-white stone the size of half a man.

"Everyone! This is a 'Source Stone' salvaged from the outskirts of the 'Immortal Burial Abyss'! The surface has ancient Restriction patterns! We've also appraised it; the Spiritual Qi reaction inside is extremely strong!"

"Starting price, five thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Six thousand!"

"Eight thousand!"

The surrounding Cultivators bid with bloodshot eyes.

Zhou Wannian didn't even glance at that stone (he had checked with his Spiritual Sight Technique; it was just an ordinary Spirit-Sealing Stone containing a broken Second-Tier Flying Sword, not worth a damn).

He led Ling Yunxiao and Li Feiyu straight to the ignored "Scrap Area."

Piled here were small, ugly-looking, or extremely weak Spiritual Qi-reacting "scraps."

The price for everything was just one hundred Spirit Stones.

Zhou Wannian squatted down and began picking through the pile of rotten stones like he was choosing cabbage at a vegetable market.

Finally.

His hand stopped on a fist-sized, pitch-black lump that looked like burnt charcoal.

This was it.

In his Spiritual Sight Technique, this lump had no Spiritual Qi fluctuations at all, and even Divine Sense couldn't penetrate it.

But when he circulated his "Magnetic Force," this thing actually generated an extremely subtle suction, as if it were a tiny black hole.

"Boss, how much for this piece?"

Zhou Wannian picked up the black lump and weighed it in his hand.

The middle-aged manager had just sold the large stone for a high price of ten thousand Spirit Stones and was in a great mood. He glanced at Zhou Wannian, saw a shabbily dressed old man, and waved his hand impatiently:

"Doesn't it say on the sign? Everything in the scrap area is one hundred Spirit Stones, no bargaining."

"One hundred?"

Zhou Wannian shook his head. "This thing looks like a piece of coal cinder; will you take fifty?"

"What are you doing here causing trouble, you poor old man?!"

The manager grew angry. "If you have no money, get lost! Don't get in the way of my business!"

The surrounding Cultivators also burst into a fit of laughter.

"Who is this old man? Dressed like a beggar."

"Seems to be the junk collector from next door."

"Hahaha, a junk collector playing Stone Gambling? Isn't that just losing his coffin money?"

Facing the crowd's mockery, Zhou Wannian's expression remained unchanged.

"Fine, a hundred it is then."

He sighed, looking pained as he fumbled a tattered cloth bag from his robe, counted out one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and lined them up on the table.

"Deal."

Zhou Wannian picked up the black lump and turned to leave.

"Hold on!"

Just then, a cold voice came from the back of the chamber of commerce.

A sharp-eyed old man in a golden robe walked out. He emitted the Spiritual Pressure of the Golden Core Late Stage; he was the presiding Elder of the Golden Whale Chamber of Commerce, Venerable Jin Ya.

Venerable Jin Ya stared at the black lump in Zhou Wannian's hand, his brow furrowing slightly.

As someone who frequently dealt with antiques, he had an intuition. This seemingly ordinary old man's bargaining was a ruse; his real goal was to pick up a bargain.

"Fellow Daoist."

Venerable Jin Ya said with a fake smile, "According to the rules, since you bought the Source Stone here, why not cut it open on the spot to let everyone see? If it's a profit, our chamber of commerce is willing to buy it back at a high price."

He wanted to see the hand. If it really was a treasure, he would definitely find a way to renege on the deal or force a purchase.

"No need, I'm taking it back to prop up a table leg," Zhou Wannian said indifferently.

"This is the territory of the Golden Whale Chamber of Commerce."

Venerable Jin Ya waved his hand, and four guards at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage immediately surrounded them, blocking the way.

"If I say cut, it must be cut."

"If you don't cut it, this stone... you won't be taking it away."

The atmosphere froze instantly.

Ling Yunxiao's hand moved to his sword hilt, and Li Feiyu's body surged with Evil Qi.

Zhou Wannian reached out to stop them.

He looked at Venerable Jin Ya and suddenly smiled.

"Fine."

"Since you want to see it so badly, I'll open your eyes."

"However..."

Zhou Wannian looked around, his voice rising slightly.

"If a treasure is cut out and your Golden Whale Chamber of Commerce dares to get greedy and go back on the deal... the rules of Tianxing City won't allow it."

"A joke!" Venerable Jin Ya sneered. "My Golden Whale Chamber of Commerce is wealthy beyond measure; would I covet a piece of your broken stone? Cut!"

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

Zhou Wannian placed the black lump on the stone-cutting table.

He didn't use a stone-cutting knife.

Instead, he extended two fingers, and a streak of purple-gold thunder light lit up at his fingertips.

"Zizi—"

The thunder light was like a blade, gently cutting open a corner of the black lump.

Crack.

The black outer layer fell off.

There was no soaring treasure light as imagined, nor was there dense Spiritual Qi.

Revealed inside was a mass of... silver-gray sand.

The grains of sand were extremely tiny, each one vibrating slightly, and... they were suspended in the air, not falling to the ground.

The entire scene was dead silent.

"What is this? Sand?"

"A failure?"

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Only Venerable Jin Ya, upon seeing the mass of sand, almost had his eyes pop out, his whole body trembling violently.

"This... this is..."

"taiyi star sand?!"

"The legendary top-tier divine material for refining 'Space Magic Treasures' and 'Lifebound Flying Swords'! A single grain weighs over a thousand pounds and can break all laws!"

"Such a large mass... at least half a kilogram?!"

"The value... is immeasurable! It could even be traded for an ancient treasure!"

Boom!

The entire place erupted.

One hundred Spirit Stones had cut out the priceless taiyi star sand! This wasn't just picking up a bargain; this was digging up the Golden Whale Chamber of Commerce's ancestral grave!

Zhou Wannian smiled slightly and waved his hand, about to put away the star sand.

"Stop!!!"

Venerable Jin Ya roared, his eyes bloodshot as greed completely overrode his reason.

"This stone is a non-sale item of our chamber of commerce! That manager made a mistake! This was meant for display!"

"Men! Take the item back! Refund him two hundred Spirit Stones... no, five hundred Spirit Stones!"

Shameless.

Utterly shameless.

Although the surrounding Cultivators felt contempt in their hearts, under the pressure of a Golden Core Late Stage, no one dared to speak up.

The four guards immediately moved, about to snatch the star sand from Zhou Wannian's hand.

"Is this the rule of the Golden Whale Chamber of Commerce?"

Zhou Wannian's eyes turned cold.

"Since you have no shame..."

"Then don't blame me for not showing any."

"Tiezhu."

Zhou Wannian snapped his fingers.

"Here."

A tall figure cloaked in a mantle, who had been standing on the outskirts of the crowd, instantly vanished.

The next moment.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Four muffled thuds rang out almost simultaneously.

The four Late Foundation Establishment guards were sent flying in unison, as if hit by a high-speed train, crashing into the Golden Whale Chamber of Commerce's display and smashing the expensive exhibits to pieces.

And that tall figure already stood before Zhou Wannian.

The mantle slipped off.

Revealing a steel Puppet with a five-colored glow flowing over its body and star runes carved into its joints.

[Five Elements All-Purpose Type · Tiezhu 3.0].

"A... a Puppet?!"

Venerable Jin Ya was shocked, but as a Golden Core Late Stage, his reaction was extremely fast.

"Courting death!"

He sacrificed a golden scissor Magic Treasure, which transformed into two golden dragons, fiercely snipping toward Tiezhu's neck.

These "Golden Dragon Scissors" were a top-grade Magic Treasure, enough to snip through the Physical Body of a Cultivator of the same rank.

However.

Tiezhu did not dodge.

It simply raised its left arm.

Kaka.

The armor on its left arm instantly transformed, becoming a five-colored light shield carved with cloud seal runes.

[Five Elements Magnetic Shield].

Clang—!!!

The Golden Dragon Scissors snipped at the light shield, letting out a tooth-aching vibration as sparks flew in all directions.

The light shield didn't budge an inch.

Instead, the Golden Dragon Scissors were sent flying by a massive counter-shock force, and a crack even appeared on its surface.

"What?!"

Venerable Jin Ya was completely dumbfounded.

This Puppet... withstood a Golden Core Late Stage Magic Treasure head-on?!

"It is impolite not to return a favor."

Zhou Wannian said indifferently.

"Tiezhu, give him a punch. Don't kill him, just make him a paraplegic."

Buzz!

The runes on Tiezhu's right arm lit up, and Five Elements spiritual power gathered at its fist, forming a high-speed rotating spiritual power vortex.

[Five Elements · Mountain-Collapsing Cannon].

Boom!

Tiezhu threw a punch.

The air exploded, forming a visible shockwave that lunged straight at Venerable Jin Ya.

"No!!!"

Venerable Jin Ya felt the threat of death and desperately sacrificed three layers of shields.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The three layers of shields shattered like paper.

That punch landed solidly on his chest.

Pfft!

Venerable Jin Ya flew out like a tattered sack, crossing the entire plaza before hitting a stone pillar at the edge with a "splat" and slowly sliding down.

His chest bones were crushed, and his Meridians were severed.

Truly a paraplegic, no more, no less.

The entire field... was dead silent once again.

Everyone gaped, looking at the steel Puppet standing in the ruins, completely unharmed, and then at the old man who was still slowly putting away the star sand.

"Qing... Qingyun Recycling Station..."

Someone swallowed hard.

"How is this a junk collector..."

"This is clearly a Tyrannosaurus Rex in sheep's clothing!"

Zhou Wannian finished storing the star sand, walked to the terrified manager, and threw the one hundred Spirit Stones in his face.

"Payment and goods cleared."

"Furthermore..."

Zhou Wannian pointed at the smashed display.

"These 'trash' of yours are quite an eyesore to me."

"I'll give you a discount and take them all, consider it... medical expenses for that fellow just now."

"Ling Yunxiao, Li Feiyu, pack it up!"

"Yes! Old Man Han!"

The two excitedly rushed forward and began their "legal zero-dollar shopping" amidst the mess.

This day.

On the 30th floor of Tianxing City, a legend began to spread.

Better to provoke the King of Hell than to provoke Qingyun.

Because you never know how much 'trash' that old junk collector has that could crush someone to death.