Chapter 3942 — The Ancient Pure Land

Wei Zhao had no objection to this. He nodded at once in approval. What rather surprised him, however, was that Chen Heihu's shop could actually process spirit-jade card payments—a service utterly unique across the outer and middle streets of the market district.

Spirit-jade cards were rare, high-end goods by nature. Even a formidable late-stage Foundation Establishment expert like Nan Tianyong could not get his hands on one, which showed just how hard they were to come by.

As for merchants, those qualified to accept spirit-jade cards were even rarer. On North Island, unless you were a trading conglomerate like the Hong Merchant Guild, ordinary businesses simply had no such qualification.

This alone showed that Chen Heihu was far from the simple man he appeared to be—his connections ran wild enough, and his backing was surely solid enough. To underestimate him as just another humble little merchant of the outer street would be to court a heavy loss.

A thought stirred in Wei Zhao's mind, and he changed his plan on the spot. "Brother Chen Heihu, apart from the spirit-beast trade, do you also deal in spirit herbs?"

Chen Heihu blinked slightly, then answered, "Of course. Spirit beasts and spirit herbs go hand in hand. It's just that my focus has always been on beasts; I pay the herbs less mind. Why do you ask, Brother Lin?"

"I've been gathering a few spirit herbs lately," Wei Zhao said. "They're rather uncommon and hard to buy through normal channels. Since I rarely come to the market myself, I thought I'd see whether you could help me out."

He had originally meant to entrust the search for the Heart-Devouring Linglong Grass to Hong Zhong, but now, having witnessed Chen Heihu's reach, he could not help changing his mind. With this man's connections, there was a fair chance he could lay hands on the herb.

"Is that so..." Chen Heihu stroked his beard out of habit, then nodded in agreement. "Fine. Write down the spirit herbs you need, Brother Lin, and I'll keep an eye out for them here. If I come across any, I'll buy them up for you first. How's that?"

"I can't thank you enough. As for the price, that's easily settled—I won't let you lose out." Delighted, Wei Zhao promptly wrote a list of spirit herbs on paper. Besides the Heart-Devouring Linglong Grass, he added several other uncommon herbs, naturally to cover his true purpose.

Chen Heihu gave the list a quick scan, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes, but he tactfully asked no questions. "Rest easy, Brother Lin," he said directly. "These herbs are indeed hard to find, but with my connections, it shouldn't be a problem. Just wait for good news."

It was a bold claim, yet coming from Chen Heihu it seemed utterly natural, as though he were born with such far-reaching powers. Even Wei Zhao could not help secretly marveling: this fellow was a remarkable character indeed!

With that done, Wei Zhao left Chen Heihu's shop and headed straight for the inner street. To land fish, one must cast a wide net. Even though he favored Chen Heihu, he could not pin all his hopes on one man—a trip to the Hong Merchant Guild was still in order.

Foundation Establishment pills and golden cores were useful throughout the entire Foundation Establishment stage, so for Wei Zhao, the more Heart-Devouring Linglong Grass the better. He had no fear of having more than he could use.

On his way to the inner street, Wei Zhao did not forget to keep an eye on the small shops of the outer and middle streets. Fine goods seldom turned up in such places, but a careful watch might just yield a bargain.

Some people, broad in experience and keen of eye, even made their living by snapping up such bargains—Yu Jiang, for instance, had once plied that very trade.

Wei Zhao had not spent three years cooped up in the library like Yu Jiang, familiar with every rare treasure under the sun, but he did have a certain ghostly thing tucked away inside him!

However many ancient texts Yu Jiang had read, when it came to true discernment, ten of him would not match that one ghostly thing.

With so many shops in the market, a determined eye could always spot a bargain. Sure enough, Wei Zhao soon found an unexpected delight at an unremarkable roadside stall.

It was a pot of small blue grass, known as Blue Light Grass—a fairly common spirit herb. But what truly caught Wei Zhao's eye was not the grass itself, but the pile of black mud in the pot that no one would ever notice.

Had the ghostly thing not spoken up to remind him, Wei Zhao would never have paid it any mind. Compared with the altogether ordinary Blue Light Grass, this pile of black mud was of no small pedigree.

It was called the Pure Land. According to the ghostly thing, this soil appeared only in ancient times—a wondrous earth capable of nurturing the spiritual essence of life. Later, as the environment changed, the Pure Land faded into legend after the ancient era. Nowadays, no amount of money might be enough to find it.

What set Wei Zhao's heart racing was this: if the Pure Land were used in artifact forging, it could imbue a weapon with spirituality—and the effect of such spirituality was something that could only be sensed, never described.

It would not boost attack power, nor add any other special ability. In the short term, no obvious, tangible effect would show. But weapon spirituality was profoundly mysterious; only with time would its wonders gradually manifest.

A weapon with spirituality and one without were existences on two entirely different levels.

Without spirituality, a weapon could only ever be a dead thing. Once spirituality was born, however, it meant infinite possibility—even the legendary growth-type weapons were no longer beyond reach.

First the ten-thousand-year tree crystal, now the ancient Pure Land—with each new find, Wei Zhao grew ever more eager for his coming meeting with the Scrap King. Just imagining what the fine-steel staff might ultimately be upgraded into was enough to set his heart racing.

But for now, the pressing task was to buy the Pure Land first.

"Shopkeeper, how much for this pot of Blue Light Grass?" Wei Zhao asked, betraying nothing in his expression.

The art of the bargain lay in keeping silent and quietly making a fortune. Knowing full well that the ancient Pure Land was a treasure one might encounter but never seek out, he absolutely could not let the slightest oddity show on his face.

Bargain-snatching happened from time to time in the market, so nearly every stall owner was acutely sensitive to it. If Wei Zhao betrayed even a hint of a tell, unforeseen complications could easily arise.

The stall owner looked Wei Zhao up and down and had a vague feeling he had seen this man before, though he could not quite place him. After all, over the past two months, Nan Tianguan and Yu Jiang's crowd had gradually quieted down. Even if the man had seen a portrait of Lin Er, his impression of it had long since blurred.

"Seven spirit jades!" The stall owner, unwilling to think further, named his price without another word.

Wei Zhao could not help but laugh. Shaking his head, he said, "Shopkeeper, you're fleecing me. Blue Light Grass has some value, true, but it's an extremely common spirit herb—you're hardly the only one selling it. That price is far too steep."