Chapter 453: Purchasing a Herb at an Inexpensive Price (2)

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Even though he was rich, it didn’t come from nowhere.

Naturally, he wouldn’t be so foolish as to sell an item he bought for five hundred spirit stones for five hundred gold coins.

Was there something wrong with this fellow’s head? Otherwise, how could one speak such foolish words?"

Turning his head to look at the young man, he saw the other party nodding his head with a smile, "Indeed!"

"Are you done yet? Do you know who my teacher is? How dare you speak such arrogant words here!"

Seeing how the other party was going overboard as to even provoke his teacher, Appraiser Liu Chang couldn’t hold himself back anymore and stepped forward.

"Who your teacher is? Given his sharp eyes that could determine the crux of an artifact with a single glance, if I’m not mistaken... he must be an appraiser!"

Zhang Xuan glanced at Appraiser Liu Chang.

"It’s good that you know that much. My teacher is..."

Liu Chang was just about to introduce his teacher’s identity when the elder interrupted, "Alright, since you know that I’m an appraiser, you should know that I’ve no lack of money. Thus, you should know that it’s impossible for me to sell something that I’ve already bought!"

He finally understood that that the fellow must have something wrong with his head. As he couldn’t be bothered with to argue with a psycho, he turned to his attendant and said, "Wrap these items up for me and sent them over to my residence!"

"Yes!" The attendant nodded.

Before long, several stalks of herbs and artifacts were brought to one side to be packed.

Zhao Ya and the others sneaked a glance over and they were astounded.

Even though the elder didn’t buy much, every single one of the item was exceptionally expensive. None of their prices were below three hundred spirit stones.

The total cost had already exceeded two thousand spirit stones. To spend so much money in one go without the slightest hesitation, the elder’s wealth was indeed astonishing.

Facing such a person, their teacher actually offered to purchase a herb worth five hundred spirit stones for five hundred gold coins...

Wasn’t that going a little too far?

Staring at their teacher doubtfully to see what he would do next, they only saw him placing his hands behind his back and shaking his head with a look of pity.

"Sigh, I thought that an appraiser would at least be a little sharper when purchasing something. To think that you would spend such a huge sum of money just to take away a fake. Your preferences... are indeed hard to understand!"

There was a hint of lamentation to his tone, as though disappointed by the other party’s actions.

"Fake? Do you know who my teacher is? How dare you spout nonsense here..."

Appraiser Liu Chang thought that the other party would tone it down after his teacher had spared him. Yet, the other party still went on to utter such words. Liu Chang’s face immediately darkened.

Are you done yet?

My teacher chose to let you off, and yet you still dare to say that he bought a fake. Are you seeking death?

"Sigh!" Zhang Xuan was completely unconcerned with the other party’s reprimand and simply sighed once more. Shaking his head, he continued, "It’s one thing for one’s eyes to be bad, but to refuse to admit to it as well...

"More importantly, you still claim to be some incredible figure, how humiliating. Forget it, since you’re unwilling to listen to my advice and insist on buying a fake, I won’t be nosey then. Let’s go!"

After finishing his piece, Zhang Xuan prepared to leave with Zhao Ya and the others.

"Hold it right there! Who did you say is buying a fake? If you don’t clarify yourself right now, don’t even think of leaving..." Seeing how the other party was hinting at his teacher buying a fake and shamelessly denying the matter, Appraiser Liu Chang couldn’t hold himself back any longer and immediately stepped forward.

At the same time, his aura gushed out. Zhenqi drove through his body, granting him immense strength.

Transcendent Mortal 1-dan Prolonged Longevity realm!

Even though he was at the same realm as Ding Hong, he was a cultivator of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance and was entitled to significantly greater resources than the latter, and as such, he was much stronger as well.

If he were to make a move, Zhang Xuan would probably find it hard to withstand his might.

Even so, Zhang Xuan remained completely nonchalant to the immense might the other party was exuding. Instead, he glanced at the other party disdainfully and said, "Why? Not only do you have bad vision, causing you to be unable to discern a fake good, you’re also attempting to silence all those who those who advised you out of goodwill?"

Zhang Xuan had encountered many of such situations as Yang Xuan. Without such confidence, he wouldn’t have been able to fool others with his act.

"Bad vision? Do you know who my teacher is? There are countless people in Honghai City who are begging my teacher to spare a glance at their artifacts..."

With a face reddened in anger, Liu Chang lashed out. However, halfway through his words, the elder walked over.

"Enough!"

Waving his hands casually to stop Liu Chang, the elder turned to Zhang Xuan and said, "You said that I’ve bought a fake, so may I know which one is it? Do you have any proof of it?"

Even though the elder had asked an extremely ordinary question, his tone carried deep confidence, exerting a huge pressure on Zhang Xuan. It felt as though as long as Zhang Xuan were to misspeak, he would immediately be punished.

"Proof? Are you sure you want to know?"

Zhang Xuan smiled.

"If your reasoning is sound and you have evidence of the matter, I’ll admit to my vision being bad! However, if it ends up that you’re only spouting rubbish to gain the attention of others, I can overlook it but... I’m afraid that Liu Chang might not share my sentiments!"

The elder’s tone was filled with authority.

As an appraiser, being accused of making a flawed judgement was a huge matter. If the other party was truly speaking nonsense, even if he didn’t make a move, his student, Liu Chang, also wouldn’t let the other party off.

"This fellow sure knows how to cause trouble..."

Taking all of these into sight, Zhao Feiwu rolled her eyes.

In her view, if Zhang Xuan really wanted the Spirit Calming Grass, he should just take out the money required for it. To make an enemy out of such a powerful figure for it was the most foolish decision one could make.

Why must he cause trouble wherever he goes? Couldn’t be learn how to stay still?

If only he was willing to take out the money, wouldn’t the matter be solved easily?

If Zhang Xuan were to learn of the other party’s thoughts, he would definitely burst into tears.

You are the daughter of the Alliance Head, the princess of the empire. It’s easy for you to say those words since you don’t lack money. If I had the money too, do you think that I’d be so bored as to put my life at risk just to act cool...

...

"Spouting rubbish to gain the attention of others? You’re thinking too much into it!"

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan stepped forward and pointed at the pile of objects that the elder had just bought. "This Verdant Bamboo is something that you have just bought, right?"

"Indeed. Teacher spent three hundred spirit stones on buying this Verdant Bamboo. Just to let you know, it’s the only one you’ll find in the entire Honghai City!" Liu Chang sneered coldly. "Why, do you think that there’s a problem with it?"

The item was right there and there was a label beneath it. There was nothing to deny about it.

Besides, Liu Chang didn’t think that there was a problem with this object either. He had also taken a close look at that item and verified that there was no problem with it.

Ignoring the other party’s words, Zhang Xuan circled around the bamboo, touched it with the tip of his finger, and as though having confirmed something, he smiled and asked, "May I know what the properties of the Verdant Bamboo are and what do you intend to do with this medicinal herb?"

"The Verdant Bamboo is a unique spirit medicine. Its leaves are the main ingredient to forging [Verdant Crystalline Pills]. This pill can nurture a Heart of Crystal within one to dispel one’s inner demons, thus putting one in a state of calmness. It’s exceptionally useful to Transcendent Mortal 3-dan Yin-Yang realm experts.

"As for the stem, it’s extremely tough and it can be used to forge the Spirit weapons [Verdant Bow] and [Piercing Arrows]. The Verdant Bow is a Spirit low-tier weapon, and when paired with the Piercing Arrows, it can easily pierce through one’s body. Due to the extreme speed of arrow when the two are paired together, it’s capable of killing one without even leaving behind a wound. It’s one of the weapons that Transcendent Mortal experts are willing to fork out an exorbitant sum to buy.

"And of course, it has one last method of utilization; it can be used as a formation core. However, this property is significantly weaker than the former two and it’s not worth mentioning at all!"

Stroking his beard, the elderly spoke impassively.

His composed voice was tinged with confidence as he revealed his broad knowledge on the matter.

Most people knew that the Verdant Bamboo was valuable but very few were aware of its uses. It was only because of his identity as an appraiser that he knew a thing or two about it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent a hulking sum of three hundred spirit stones to purchase it.

"Indeed, most people only know that the leaves of the Verdant Bamboo can be forged into a pill. Very few know that it can be forged into a bow, arrow and serve as a formation core as well. It’s impressive that you know all of these!"

After praising the other party, Zhang Xuan’s lips curled up and he continued on, "Since you know the various functions of the Verdant Bamboo, may I know if you’re using it to lay out a formation, forge a bow and arrows, or forge a pill?"

Given that the stem and the leaves came from the same origin, the medicinal properties of the leaves could be best brought out if the stem was used as fuel for the pill forging process.

On the other hand, for the forging of the bow and arrow, the Verdant Bamboo would have to be nourished in a unique medicinal fluid when it’s still in its freshest state. However, if one were to do so, the leaves would be mixed in with impurities, rendering it useless.

And similarly, if the Verdant Bamboo was used as a formation core, one would have to carve inscriptions on it. This would damage the leaves and bamboos, rendering it unusable for any other purpose.

Thus, even though the Verdant Bamboo had three uses to it, one could only choose one of it for each bamboo. If one attempted to be ambitious and use a single bamboo for multiple purpose, one might potentially end up simply wasting the bamboo instead.

"Of course it’s for pill forging! Even though it isn’t too bad to use it for the other purposes, the Verdant Crystalline Pill is still the most valuable of the three!"

A deep frown appeared on the elder’s face. He had no idea what Zhang Xuan was up to, but even so, he still answered his question patiently.

The Verdant Crystalline Pill was a nourishment that was useful to even a Transcendent Mortal 3-dan Yin-Yang realm expert. Every single pill could fetch an astronomical sum; this wasn’t something that the Verdant Bow or the formation could match up with.

If one wanted to maximize one’s profit from the Verdant Bamboo, one should definitely choose to forge the most valuable Verdant Crystalline Pill.

After receiving the answer to his question, Zhang Xuan declared, "Since you’re intending to forge Verdant Crystalline Pills, I can tell you upright that what you bought is a fake!"

"Fake? The Verdant Bamboo has a smooth green body, reminiscent of jade. There is a huge gap in between its leaves, and even the sharp edge of a blade cannot wound it. On every single division, there are three leaves, and each leaf has seven veins on it..."

This time, it was Liu Chang who replied. He swiftly stated the dozens of ways to appraise the authenticity of a Verdant Bamboo, and every single point that he mentioned matched the properties of the bamboo in his hand. "This is the way to ascertain the authenticity of a Verdant Bamboo. Even I can easily tell that it’s definitely an authentic good, and yet you’re saying that it’s a fake? Fine, if this is a fake, why don’t you tell me what’s wrong with it?"

"Your method of appraising is indeed correct!" Zhang Xuan nodded with a smile, not refuting the other party’s words at all.

"Ah? Since you know it, why do you say that it’s a fake?" Liu Chang was taken aback by the other party’s words.

"You’ve memorized it accurately, and your method of appraisal is correct as well. There’s no doubt that this is a Verdant Bamboo!" Zhang Xuan chuckled lightly.

"These have been confirmed by our predecessors, how dare you try to deny... Huh? What did you just... say? If that’s the case, why do you claim that it’s fake..."

"Are you making a fool of us?"

Everyone thought that Zhang Xuan would deny the matter, but he admitted to it directly. For a moment, everyone was stunned.

Even Zhao Feiwu and Jin Conghai found their eyebrows shooting up.

You claimed that the other party had bought a fake, and yet, the next moment, you turned around and said that it is real... Even a person with dissociative identity disorder wouldn’t be as fickle as you!